Pac-12 and Big-12 (less TX, OK) to merge? UPD: alliance to also include ACC

[LadyStanley]

Pac-20 Conference? How an expanded Pac-12 Conference could look after merger with Big 12

With the departure of Texas and Oklahoma, might the two big western conference join forces?

Click to read more...

 

[awfulwaffle]

Pac-20 Conference? How an expanded Pac-12 Conference could look after merger with Big 12

With the departure of Texas and Oklahoma, might the two big western conference join forces?

If the Pac-12 didn't have a commissioner with rocks for brains, this wouldn't even have to be brought up. Pac-12 is fine as it is. If anything, this helps them out because 2 of the juggernauts are now leaving. I don't understand TV deals, but I imagine that ESPN/Fox might want to pay more to the Pac-12 for games during the day compared to showing another Kansas game. Pac-12 might need to alter their schedule so they have some day games, but it is what it is. Really should have had more day games because of the fact that I hate hearing the "pac 12 after dark", games would finish at like 11 on the west coast, who is still watching games on the east coast for a team they don't care about at that point?

 

[No Fun Shogun]

I could see the Pac 12 being interested in Texas Tech, Kansas, and maybe Oklahoma State, but I wouldn’t view them as interested in the others for a variety of reasons (not needing to double dip in a state or not being interested in small market states), but a wholesale adoption of most of them seems highly unlikely to me.

 

[PhillyWings]

Kansas would be a better fit in the Big 10. Tech and Oklahoma state bring very little little value to the PAC 12 when it comes to increasing conference revenues.

 

[KevFu]

If the Pac-12 didn't have a commissioner with rocks for brains, this wouldn't even have to be brought up. Pac-12 is fine as it is. If anything, this helps them out because 2 of the juggernauts are now leaving. I don't understand TV deals, but I imagine that ESPN/Fox might want to pay more to the Pac-12 for games during the day compared to showing another Kansas game. Pac-12 might need to alter their schedule so they have some day games, but it is what it is. Really should have had more day games because of the fact that I hate hearing the "pac 12 after dark", games would finish at like 11 on the west coast, who is still watching games on the east coast for a team they don't care about at that point?

They got a new guy after finally firing Larry Scott.

The first thing he tweeted was a quote about "Listening is the ultimate form of flattery."

He's listening to the Big 12. The Pac-12 and Big 12 aren't merging.

I think in the future, the Big Ten/Pac-12 could merge. But it would be way down the road in a situation where the SEC and Big Ten are just dividing the rest of college sports when they become Coke & Pepsi.

 

[tank44]

Pac-12 needs to hold strong and stay West of the Rockies *Colorado exempted and not be the West of the Mississippi conference. if B1G & SEC continue to evolve & expand the PAC can not compete. Focus needs to be to be #3 in this case

I think it's funny that the SEC & B1G will got to 20 teams but then divide itself into "conferences" and then come full circle essentially to the older 8-10 team conferences under the larger umbrella. SEC East is the old SEC and the SEC West is the old SWC. BIG East is almost the old Big East and BIG West is the old Big Ten. From the OP then, the PAC-12 will then just be PAC West as the old Pac-10 and the PAC East to be the old Big-8+.

 

[PCSPounder]

If the Pac-12 didn't have a commissioner with rocks for brains, this wouldn't even have to be brought up. Pac-12 is fine as it is. If anything, this helps them out because 2 of the juggernauts are now leaving. I don't understand TV deals, but I imagine that ESPN/Fox might want to pay more to the Pac-12 for games during the day compared to showing another Kansas game. Pac-12 might need to alter their schedule so they have some day games, but it is what it is. Really should have had more day games because of the fact that I hate hearing the "pac 12 after dark", games would finish at like 11 on the west coast, who is still watching games on the east coast for a team they don't care about at that point?

That’s not how this works.

The Pac-12 is paid the way it’s paid and is scheduled the way it’s scheduled BECAUSE the networks don’t want them competing time-wise with SEC and B1G games… or one at a time at most. Pac-12 After Dark exists because that’s the time slot ESPN wants to fill. Most fans out west hate this, but TV runs sports, so that’s what we get. Most fans really want more 1 pm kickoffs.

The sad part is that Pac-12 After Dark is usually a trip of a game.

 

[LadyStanley]

Big Ten, Pac-12, ACC alliance expected to be formally announced soon: Sources

Paywall. The Athletic sources report for all announcement could be next week.

 

[LadyStanley]

Reports: ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 to announce alliance, but it's currently unclear what it will look like

While an announcement of the alliance is reportedly impending, there seem to be a lot of details yet to be worked out.

Alliance, not merger

 

[KevFu]

Yup, the alliance is more about voting than it is about "realignment"

Like I said in the other thread, maybe this thread, too... the Big Ten/Pac-12 are peers and brothers in the way they view academics and athletics within the context of academics. The SEC and most the Big 12 view most subjects the same. In the P5 era, the votes on topics almost always fell along those lines, with the ACC breaking the ties.

If you view college athletics as a cold war between the AAU-thinking schools of Big Ten, Pac-12 vs the SEC thinking... you'll get a much clearer picture about the future of realignment.

 

[LadyStanley]

With college football Alliance near, what could it ultimately mean for Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC?

The Alliance will mean the three leagues can form a voting block that will blunt the growing influence of an expanded SEC.


Editorial

 

[LadyStanley]

Big Ten, Pac-12, ACC expected to formally announce alliance on Tuesday: Sources

Paywall. Sourced say... announcement coming Tuesday

 

[cutchemist42]

As long as they truly vote as a block, they can make the new expanded playoff worse for the SEC and if they get auto bids instead of more at large bids like the SEC wanted.

B12 left out for obvious reasons.

 

[tank44]

Yes it will be cool to have Ohio State vs USC, Penn State vs Clemson, Oregon vs Wisconsin, Washington vs Miami & Michigan vs Florida State But with these, you're going to have to deal with the likes of Oregon State vs Duke, Rutgers vs Arizona & Georgia Tech vs Illinois.

If the PAC& BIG teams keep their 9 game conference schedules , then add in 1 game vs each ACC & BIG/PAC then there's just 1 other non-con for a G5 team. Not sure how that will affect the Notre Dame games scheduled in here

 

[cutchemist42]

Yes it will be cool to have Ohio State vs USC, Penn State vs Clemson, Oregon vs Wisconsin, Washington vs Miami & Michigan vs Florida State But with these, you're going to have to deal with the likes of Oregon State vs Duke, Rutgers vs Arizona & Georgia Tech vs Illinois.

If the PAC& BIG teams keep their 9 game conference schedules , then add in 1 game vs each ACC & BIG/PAC then there's just 1 other non-con for a G5 team. Not sure how that will affect the Notre Dame games scheduled in here

That's how I see it too. Creates a few cool games but creates just more expensive travel costs for crap games.

I do think though this alliance really screws up how the SEC envisioned 4-5 teams getting into the expanded playoff.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Aside from this at least temporarily shutting the door on the Big Ten poaching the ACC, the big thing from this to me is assuredly them presenting a unified front on NCAA and playoff decision making.

This alliance being lockstep basically would guarantee whatever they want when it comes to future change as they'd have more voting power, soft influence, and media sway than the SEC + the remnants of the Big 12 + the indies at the mid majors.

 

[Big Z Man 1990]

If the ACC insists on standing pat they should at least adopt this divisional alignment for football:

James Division (named for Bob James, ACC commissioner from 1971-87, contains most pre-2004 ACC schools):
Clemson
Duke
Georgia Tech
North Carolina
North Carolina State
Virginia
Wake Forest

Tranghese Division (named for former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese, most schools in this division were in the BE while he led it):
Boston College
Florida State
Louisville
Miami
Pittsburgh
Syracuse
Virginia Tech

It puts the four NC schools in the same division and puts Miami in a division with the other former Big East members, three of which are in the Northeast and thus have a lot of alumni in the Miami area.

 

[Big Z Man 1990]

There would be protected crossovers in this alignment. They would be:

Clemson-Miami
Duke-Syracuse
Georgia Tech-Florida State
North Carolina-Louisville
North Carolina State-Boston College
Virginia-Virginia Tech
Wake Forest-Pittsburgh

 

[Big Z Man 1990]

The Thanksgiving weekend schedule under this divisional alignment would include Virginia-Virginia Tech every year. The four NC schools would rotate among themselves on Thanksgiving weekend. Pittsburgh and Boston College would alternate playing at Miami every year, the school that doesn't would play Syracuse. The four remaining schools would play their in-state SEC opponents as they usually do.

 

[Big Z Man 1990]

I've also proposed an overhaul of the basketball schedule formula. The 20-game conference schedule would be kept, but now teams would be organized into the following geographic pods:

Boston College, Pittsburgh, Syracuse
Louisville, Notre Dame, Virginia, Virginia Tech
Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Wake Forest
Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami

Teams in the top pod listed would play each other 4 times (for 8 games), and every other ACC school once (for 12 games) to make up their 20-game conference schedule. Teams in the other pods would play each other three times (for 9 games) and every other ACC school once (for 11 games).

The idea is to make regional rivals meet more often.