The Saga Continues

All of the drama surrounding the Pac-12 over the past six weeks really has been fascinating to watch play out.  And I don't think that drama's gonna stop anytime soon.  Stanford and Cal, two of the remaining four, were thrown a lifeline by the ACC.  It was an offer that had to be made and had to be accepted.  On both sides.

It still completely blows my mind that nobody wanted Stanford in the initial rounds of Pac-12 raiding.  I really don't know what boxes they don't check.  It's an academic power located not just in a major city, it's in freakin' San Francisco!  They have a ton of sports and are good at all of them.  What am I missing here?

When all the dust settled, Stanford was the only prize remaining to be claimed.  And wherever Stanford went, Cal was going too.  It made sense for them to be a package deal, just like it made sense for UCLA/USC, Washington/Oregon and Arizona/Arizona State to be package deals.  So, whoever wanted Stanford was also getting Cal.  They went in knowing that.  And, if you think about it, that actually wasn't a bad deal.

Up until now, the ACC had been the only Power 5 conference sitting out the latest round of realignment.  The reason for that is the ACC's grant-in-rights, which keeps the 15 members bound to the league thru the 2035-36 school year.  However, the guaranteed money each school receives from that grant-in-rights pales in comparison to what SEC and Big Ten schools will be getting in their new media rights deals.  That made schools like Florida State and Clemson very unhappy, and they made that known.

Should the SEC seek to expand again so that they can match the Big Ten with 18 teams, Florida State and Clemson would be the most logical candidates to make the jump.  You know both schools would be interested and likely actively seek out SEC membership, especially because of how much more money SEC schools will get per year from the conference's media rights deal.  The ACC knew they had to find a way to make up the revenue gap or risk losing Florida State and Clemson.  Their solution was creative, and it was enough to appease Florida State and Clemson, while also helping to ensure the ACC survives should they leave.

The additions of Cal, Stanford and SMU will bring the ACC to 18 members.  That's the same as the Big Ten.  The SEC and Big 12 will both have 16 next season.  Had the ACC not made the three additions and the SEC did eventually take Florida State and Clemson, that would've theoretically dropped the conference to 13, the fewest among the remaining Power 4.  Now, even if they do eventually leave, the ACC will still have 16.

Is it weird that two schools in California will be members of the Atlantic Coast Conference next season?  Absolutely!  But geography is no longer a concern in major-conference college sports.  Also, not for nothing, the Atlanta Braves were in the NL West for years, and the Arizona Cardinals were in the NFC East, so it's not exactly like geography was relevant to the pros, either!  (I also love it how the Pac-12's original name was the Pacific Coast Conference, so Stanford and Cal will have been members of the conferences along the coast of both oceans!)

Stanford and Cal had to take a reduced share in order to join the ACC, but their options were either that or not being in a Power 4 football conference.  It was a no-brainer!  And they're still getting more than SMU, which will receive no ACC revenue for the first seven years.  SMU is essentially joining the ACC for free, a concession they were willing to make in order to get back into a major conference.  (Yahoo did a great, in-depth article about SMU's pursuit over the last year and a half, when they were simultaneously courting the ACC, Big 12 and Pac-12, hoping for an invite to one of them.)

With Stanford and Cal solidifying their long-term future and guaranteeing themselves a seat at the table, they simultaneously determined the future of the Pac-12 as a viable conference.  Any attempt to rebuild the league through expansion would've centered around those core four institutions.  Now it's just Oregon State and Washington State, who've definitely drawn the short straw in all of this.  Or have they?

According to the current Pac-12 bylaws, Oregon State and Washington State own the Pac-12 brand.  As they understand it, they're entitled to split all of the conference's assets 50-50 (they'd also be responsible for all of the conference's liabilities).  If they were to disband the conference, however, whatever's left would be split among all 12 schools.  So, you can understand why they'd want to keep the Pac-12 alive in some form.  And the brand does still have value, even if that value is significantly reduced.

That's why they got a court order preventing the Pac-12 from holding a board meeting (with all 12 members) later this week.  Frankly, I've gotta say, I agree with Washington State and Oregon State on this one.  They're the only ones left.  Thus, they should be the only ones making decisions about the conference.  The other 10 members have announced their intention to withdraw from the league, so why should they have any say in matters involving the Pac-12's future?  Especially when that future doesn't involve them.  It only involves Washington State and Oregon State.

Washington State and Oregon State's remaining options are limited.  The general consensus is that they'll assimilate into the Mountain West.  But will they join the Mountain West?  Or will it be a reverese merger where it's the Mountain West that ceases to exist and all 11 of its members join Oregon State and Washington State in a reimagined Pac-12?  (Should that happen, it would be interesting to see if they could convince Hawaii, which plays football in the Mountain West and everything else in the Big West, to become a full conference member.)

Both remaining Pac-12 schools and the Mountain West have expressed interest in some sort of merger, which makes it even more likely that'll end up being the ultimate solution.  Whether it's called the "Mountain West," the "Pac-whatever" or something else, they're also in agreement that they want current Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez to be in charge of the league.  (Which really tells you all you need to know about Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff.)

So, even though the Pac-12 as we know it will be no more after this school year, the league isn't officially "dead" yet.  Oregon State and Washington State went from the odd men out to suddenly holding a lot of power.  Even if they keep the Pac-12 alive, it won't be a Power 5 conference anymore, which is unfortunate.  But the Pac-12 name has such history.  It doesn't deserve to suffer the same fate as the Southwest Conference.  Oregon State and Washington State are now the stewards of that history, and they're doing everything they can to make sure that doesn't happen.  Here's hoping they succeed!