They are probably best off with SDSU and one of SMU, Boise, Fresno, UNLV. I feel like adding four would be even worse for them.
Realignment Megathread (All The Moves)
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San Diego State and SMU would probably be my picks if the networks told me that 12 schools was better than 10. Which I’m guessing is the reason why the Big 12 went to 12 last year instead of just stopping with BYU and Cincinnati.
Dallas presence slightly beats out the better and more established program in Boise for that last Pac-12 spot. Plus the presidents will take SMU’s academics over Boise’s juco.
I have a feeling though the politics of the P12. If they add it will be SDSU and Fresno or UNLV. A lot of political academic and cultural pressures are going to push them not to add Boise or SMU, even though for Ratings and money they may be better picks than at least 1 of the others.
Obviously, because of regionality and new markets and gaining a foot in new areas there are reasons to add one or another of these for them, but there has always been some elitist and cultural issues that has interfered with the management decisions.
USC President Carol Folt 'shut down' potential Pac-12 expansion plans last year
During a call with Pac-12 university presidents and athletic directors last year, USC President Carol Folt 'shut down' potential expansion plans.
"First-year Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff was fielding calls from desperate Big 12 schools and had zeroed in on a few that he felt added enough value to strongly consider expanding the Pac-12 footprint into America’s Great Plains.USC President Carol Folt 'shut down' potential Pac-12 expansion plans last year
During a call with Pac-12 university presidents and athletic directors last year, USC President Carol Folt 'shut down' potential expansion plans.www.latimes.com
Kliavkoff assembled a committee of three presidents and three athletic directors to decide whether or not to recommend expansion to the larger group. The group met on a Zoom call to go over a 20-slide deck. But the Pac-12 was only about 15 minutes into its hourlong presentation before USC President Carol Folt spoke up.
Folt told the group that she did not understand why the Pac-12 would expand and expressed surprise they were even talking about it, according to multiple sources who were familiar with the call but not authorized to speak publicly because of the sensitivity of the subject.
“Carol shut it down,” one source said.
“She cooled the whole process,” another source said.
In late August, the Pac-12 announced it would not expand."
You have to assume FOX had been in contact with USC about moving to the B1G after the OUT leak, right? Why else shut down a discussion that quickly?
Also, if you consider the PAC's lean away from religious institutions, they were likely discussing OSU, TTU, KU, and ISU. What could have been...
Just like OuT said nah 3 or 4 years ago, before they dipped out.USC President Carol Folt 'shut down' potential Pac-12 expansion plans last year
During a call with Pac-12 university presidents and athletic directors last year, USC President Carol Folt 'shut down' potential expansion plans.
What i am getting out of this is that a handful of powerful tv and college admin people know what is happenening FAR more in advance than was thought. Like 2 years, not 2 months.
Wonder if PAC10 is going to get 40m per and stay together or not? Doesnt seem likely but you never know.
I think they stay together for the rumored 5-6 year contract. We'll be here waiting for the 4 corner schools then.
If Carol already knew about the B1G move, then why shoot down PAC expansion? Why would you care?
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Just delaying the inevitable, and doing damage to all leftovers in the process. Aggregating as many former P5 schools as possible into a 3rd super conference is the real chance the non-P2 schools have to not quickly fade.
But it is clear many in the PAC did not see this coming, and did not realize it was already a P2 era. As laughable as it is, they say themselves as peers to BIG. This delusion is why USC HAD to get out.
In their defense, the Big 12 has had 10+ years to see this coming- knowing that the P2 era was OUT away. The simpletons viewed the past decade as Big 12 weakness, but it was really just consolidation, starting with liquidation of the conference that was a corporate marriage (Big 8 and SWC)
That would have been the Pac's best move adding four different states to the footprint with four different major state universites (all good in men's b-ball and 3 good in football) in the Central Time Zone building a wall from the Pacific Ocean to the Mississippi River, but they were too prideful to do it. I would have been fine with that. However, it would have been odd and insecure being at the far corner of the conference like West Virginia in the Big Xii or Wash. State in the Pac now. Plus, I prefer the 4 corner schools coming to the Big Xii and ISU being part of the established order.
Many possible reasons. If nothing else, if they were not yet sure the BIG moved would be agreed to by BIG, they don't want more of a voting block against them for things like unequal revenue sharing.
There are also possibilities that FOX didn't want it, and worked with USC. If there are any desires to move more PAC to other time zone conferences, expanding is a no-go.
This is why those foolishly wanting the Big 12 to breakup and go to the PAC were being simpletons.
The PAC12 with a few big 12 leftovers isn’t a P2. Not even close Imo. And adding Big 12 leftovers isn’t appeasing USC and Co, it likely would have been a bait and switch was going down. From the USC perspective, if playing flyover states and 2nd rate Texas schools in PAC, it’s no longer PAC, and might as well go BIG
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I think a really strong argument could be made that the sports media landscape is more focused on now and the future. Every year you go back in TV viewership. The less and less relevant the data is.
Nobody knew what streaming was in 2013. Streaming didn't really become mainstream until the pandemic.
Ari from Big 12 radio showing the hypocrisy of the PAC 12 commissioner
Reasonable guesses.
Another could be to give illusion you believe in PAC stability/strength ... not "needing" to expand.
What about the Big12 juco argument if the Pac12 adds Boise & UNLV. Both have worse rankings than ANY Big12 school.
I say that in jest, because outside the top 50 or so- there is not much difference in state universities. A person's academic experience is more about personal effort.
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Why would usc care about that? The commissioner maybe.
But the usc president isn’t shutting down the expansion presentation by the commissioner 1/4 of the way through for optics
Likely would have required an extended GOR for the new schools to join and they would have looked odd arguing against signing it with one foot already out the door.
Rice would make sense ONLY if there's any motivation to keep any loose identity with "academia" (it's AAU), but that's probably out the window for all practical purposes (esp if UO/UW/Stanford/Cal don't stay).
Realistically, SMU could happen (not saying it will). If PAC is forced to dip into G5, it's probably San Diego State first (for so-cal angle) and SMU gets it into Texas. (Notable aside: SMU and Rice are the final ex-SWC G5s.)
SMU might make more sense before Air Force or even Boise.
