It looks like Colorado will be the first domino to fall in realignment, and it could be "soon"
Some major points:
-A Big 12 source told me last week that Colorado is ready to commit to joining the Big 12 “soon.”
-the Colorado comment has a lot more juice after the events this week.
-CBS reported a couple of weeks ago that Big 12 officials were told by ESPN that the Big 12 would be one of the three conferences (with the SEC and ACC) that ESPN would air on a "Tier 1 level".
-the prevailing opinion was that the Pac-12 members would find a way to stay together. That’s becoming an increasingly difficult decision financially.
-The Pac-12 is still feeling the financial hit from 2020
-the Big 12 added four new members – Brigham Young, Cincinnati, Houston and Central Florida – and signed a TV deal that brought in more money per school than the previous contract, which included OU and Texas.
-If Colorado, which also faces financial dilemmas with its athletic department, jumps, others are expected to follow. (my bolds added, because this could be the bottom line, pun intended, as to why Colorado wants to jump to the Big 12)
LINK: https://www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/college/big-12/2023/05/23/big-12-expansion-speculation-is-colorado-close-to-leaving-pac-12/70247928007/
The part about ESPN saying the Big-12 would be broadcast on a "Tier 1 level" could be very revealing as to why ESPN left the Pac-12 bargaining table. With USC and UCLA already leaving, they may have known that other teams will be leaving the Pac-12, and ending up in the Big-12. Brett Yormark had said almost a year ago he was eyeing the West for expansion. And it appears to be on the threshold of happening:
LINK: https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/texas-tech-red-raiders/2023/03/08/big-12-commissioner-brett-yormark-no-surprise-conference-eyeing-west-coast-expansion/
While the Pac-12 is headed down, the Big-12 is clearly headed up. Commissioners at both the Pac-12 and Big-12 are fairly new hires. George Kliavkoff took over Pac-12 on July 1, 2021. Brett Yormark took over the Big-12 on August 1, 2022. The Pac-12 has continued it's downward trend under Kliavkoff. But the Big-12 seems to be doing better than it's done in quite a while since Yormark was hired. Both men have had good success in what they were doing before hired as commissioners. So why the difference now? Apparently the brass at the Big-12 has been willing to work with, and aggressive to back Yormark. The story is apparently (I say apparently) different for Kliavkoff with the brass at the Pac-12. Maybe it's that good ole mid-west work ethic that is doing it for the Big-12. But whatever the case, we see two ships heading in different directions. ..... do I hear Taps playing for the Pac-12?
How long ago did Colorado leave the Big 12 for the Pack 12?
Don't worry, they saved their receipt.
Store credit only.
A little longer than Schemy did!
/too soon?
Agreed 2010, effective 2012-2013.
Maybe Nebraska should do this too.
I don't think the whole Big Ten thing has worked out that well for them.
Um, except for all that $$$ they sold their souls for.
This was my first thought after I learned that they are our only non-AAU school.
Odd, right?
They were a AAU school upon entering the B1G iirc.
IIRC they lost it right before actually entering
I think they initiated the break from AAU which was odd
Iirc, it had to do with separating the campuses. UNO had the medical school which elevated the entire NU system. UNL doesn’t have some of that same research cred which is how they lost AAU status around the time of joining. The big let it slide / let them count UNO’s programs at conference entry.
I wonder if adding Denver and PrimeTime is worth the gamble given the continued expansion of the big — gives NU a more natural rival and maybe they’d elevate hockey to D1 with enough “encouragement”. Be good to have someone else competing with CC and UD for talent out there.
Nebraska is rolling over in its grave
I never saw Nebraska leaving the Big XII for the B1G as selling their souls for money. Sure they benefitted financially, but they also left a conference that had to deal with Texas looking to call the shots at the expense of everyone else. IIRC there was speculation that other schools were contemplating leaving (which Colorado did) and Nebraska was trying to do what was best for them before the conference disintegrated.
Texas was a big part of Nebraska, Missouri, Colorado and Texas A&M leaving the conference. The Longhorn Network was one of the main issues of financial inequality that pissed off the other schools
Yeah, Texas wanting to own everything is almost as bad a team wanting to own the word THE.
C'mon now, I hope you asked Ryan Day for permission to use that word.
The Ryan Day?
Plus, Texas didn’t even want equal revenue sharing of the league’s own TV deals, iirc.
The vast majority of conference re-alignments are for money. Actually, just about all of them. So as long as Nebraska has made more money — which it has — they aren’t going anywhere.
The Big 12 is trash both now and before they disintegrated. Nebraska is trash that had amazing records because they played a lousy non-conference and then played in a lousy conference. Nebraska has been making more money since they joined the B1G, but they have also lost a lot of games. Their fanbase would be much happier if they rejoined the Big 12 and went 11-1 every year.
Yeah but the Athletic Department’s bottom line would be totally different. There is no guarantee they are going 11-1 in the Big XII either. If you’re going to lose…might as well make big money to do it.
I find it hard to believe espn really wants the Big 12 for tier 1. The conference doesn’t have that much draw to it
I think a lot of it is geographic location. The Big 12 is located in states that love college football. I live in northern California and I can tell you that people don't give a shit about college football here. Without USC and UCLA, the Pac 12 may struggle to get viewers because the sport is not as big on the west coast.
The same could be said for Arkansas. Geographically, they are a better fit in the Big 12, and haven't been super successful in the SEC over the past three decades. But that money ...................................
Arkansas? Bring back the Southwest Conference! Darrell Royal. Frank Broyles. Phi Slamma Jamma. Jerry LeVias. The SMU death penalty.
Those were the days...
next you'll be clamoring for Texas v Texas A&M on Thanksgiving!
What times it on?
Imagine Nebraska without the Big Ten lifeline and money? That program would be stuck in the Big 12 without the resources. At least Nebraska has a chance right now. Rutgers, Missouri, Maryland, and Nebraska were the biggest winners of the conference realignment of the 2000s as they have a seat at the table while many other programs are on the outside trying to get in.
The new Big 12 without Texas and Oklahoma is going to be a better version of the current American conference, but it will still be a stepping stone and feeder system for coaches and players to the big leagues (SEC and Big Ten). ESPN is the big winner here by slowly killing off other conferences that they no longer have to pay rights fees to.
I have to imagine I'm one of the few people that really enjoy the soap opera of conference realignment. Historically it is just as much a part of college football as what happens on the field. The Southern Conference was the first super conference in the 1920s and it eventually split into the ACC, SEC and SoCon. Who's to say in 50 plus years that the Coast to Coast Big Ten conference splits into regional conferences.
I did a 10 plus page paper in grad school back in 2013 about the history of conference realignment in college football and how I believe inevitably super conferences would return. I'm just really excited to see my prediction come to fruition.
I enjoy it too. Some people don’t seem to get that all things evolve. All leagues, too. None of them ever stay the same because times change. The drama is pretty exciting, and more so if you’re a fan of Michigan or other marquee teams — because we know these rainmakers will always end up in optimal spots. If I were a fan of a second- or third-rate team, then, yes, I’d be worried. On the other hand, who cares about those teams. They don’t matter.
The only thing constant in life is change.
Conference realignment is kind of like plate tectonics. We are heading toward Pangea for the moment but you know that sooner or later there will be more breakups to come.
Hmmm, very interesting. I've always wanted to do an extensive analysis of recent re-alignment and how it affected the teams' on-field competitiveness. There was a pretty long period of stability in conferences for a long time and to me, the real moment was in c. 2002 when BC and Syracuse wanted to leave the Big East. Then Miami and V-Tech.
I took a raw look at it once and it seemed like every team that went to a bigger conference for more $ ultimately did worse on the field. By my count, no team ever won a conference championship in football and only a smattering of teams won conference championships in basketball - all in conference tourneys.
(But think about it - BC, Syracuse, Miami, VT, UConn, Nebraska, Missouri, Colorado, A&M. I feel like Utah football has fared the best? But, I'd be wary if I were Texas and Oklahoma).
My guess is it will be a very bad move for Oklahoma in regards to their on field success. They were at the top of the B12, but could very well end up in the middle to bottom of the SEC.
On the other hand, it may work out for Texas. Their recent on field performance hasn't been great. More high profile games may help them better cash in on the rich recruiting base of Texas.
Syracuse left the Big East in 2013, not 2002. UConn never left the Big East; they left the AAC for the new Big East in a relatively lateral move. Their football team has always been pretty bad, but the basketball team just won its 5th championship in ~25 years.
Oh my goodness. Nobody fucking cares about Colorado. With each passing day I pray for Deion to fail more and more miserably.
Fucking 1-11.
This isn't a rant against the poster. Just annoyed that this is news. A shitty team from one awful conference is moving to another conference! Oh my heavens!
Nobody cares about Colorado, but what everybody's waiting for is that one domino to fall and start the explosion of change. Which is inevitably going to happen.
I thought USC being one of those dominos is a bigger deal than Colorado. Thats just me though.
Denver is a massive market and will continue to grow rapidly. If Colorado can become even somewhat relevant there is a huge benefit to the Big 12.
They were there before... Net neutral at best?
Denver is a growing market, and I live in Denver. Thus, it is my desire to have CU join the B1G so I can see Michigan stampede the Buffaloes every few years. I was at the game in 1996 in Boulder and it was great. It helped sooth the 1994 wound from the game in Ann Arbor. Yes, CU was pretty good in back in the day with coaches like McCartney and Mallory. But alas, I don't think it will be.
I definitely missed that book and passage of the bible!
It is news. Realignment of any Pac 12 teams affect a lot.
The 2022 Colorado football win/loss record is not important...they have historically been better (at least last few decades) and probably will be again soon.
Right. It’s hard to see the Pac12 surviving if 1-2 more programs leave. This would trigger a free for all, and the remaining teams would get eaten up by the bigger leagues. So be it.
"Oh my goodness. Nobody fucking cares about Serbia. Just annoyed that this is news. A shitty region from one awful country is moving to another country! Oh my heavens!" -Kaiser Wilhelm II...probably.
So, Molotov is the SEC. I think we should throw them some of his cocktails.
I still think that Oregon / Washington / Cal / Stanford will wind up in the Big Ten. It is not sustainable for USC and UCLA to be the only teams in their time zones out on an island versus the rest of the Big Ten, especially for sports that have to play multiple times per week.
USC and UCLA need playmates in their own timezone to break up the constant travel to the midwest and east coast. They won't last in the Big Ten without it.
Adding Oregon / Washington / Cal / Stanford to the Big Ten needs to be viewed as part of the cost of getting USC and UCLA to join.
I'm a huge fan of the pod system so I say add them. You can make the Atlantic, Midwest, Plains & Pacific pods. Each pod would have five teams that would play every year and you would rotate a different pod every year. In 4 years you would play every single team the conference.
I don't think you need a conference championship game since there are more teams going into the playoff, but if financially it had to be done best winning percentage and highest ranking determines the top two teams.