Poor Cal fans are in full-on meltdown mode
TL;DR - Cal is in some serious trouble, and their fans are buying up torches and pitchforks. The B1G presidents (who are supposedly pushing for Cal and Stanford to be invited) might be their only hope.
I'm not posting this for schadenfreude because no one really wishes ill upon Cal. If anything, I'm guessing that most of us want to see Cal do well since UC-Berkeley is basically Michigan's West Coast twin (albeit the dirtier, poorer, and more disheveled twin).
https://writeforcalifornia.com/p/oregon-washington-big-ten
The comments give a window into how angry their fans are at the university leadership that has driven their AD completely into the ground over the past 10+ years. They've incurred a massive amount of debt that would have taken them the better part of the next century to pay off even if the Pac-?? were on solid financial footing. Now, with the Pac facing imminent collapse, they may not ever be able to pay it off.
As a Michigan alum in the Bay Area, I definitely want to see Cal get its act together and thrive. But if they can't manage to snag a B1G invite, their athletic department might literally be facing total disintegration. Given that it's Berkeley, there are influential nutjob factions within the university that hate college football and everything it represents. The impending collapse of the Pac could energize those factions and force a shutdown of the program altogether. It seems inconceivable that an FBS football program would go from Power 5 status to defunct seemingly overnight, but here we are.
Relatedly, I'm hearing that the B1G university presidents are pushing hard for Cal and Stanford to be invited, but that Fox Sports and the other media partners are pushing back (I can't find the link where I read that). For mostly selfish reasons, I'm hoping they can find a way to get a deal done.
Really hoping B10 picks up Cal and Stanford. ND who knows since they always think they're better than the rest of us.
I feel the most for Wazzu and Oregon State. Their fans are going to be left holding the bag. Today is a dark day for college football.
The hell with Notre Dame. I hope they get cast into the void with all this chaos.
I agree 1,000%, FUCKING HATE notre dame. They are a bunch of narcissistic, my shit don't stink, douche bags.
Their ability to straddle the conferences and not get nut-sacked is pretty amazing though.
August 4th, 2023 at 10:19 PM ^
Outside of a few good seasons under Brian Kelly, their program has been pretty much adrift for the last 30 years.
Last game vs Michigan 45-14 loss, hanging over their head for 15 years
I feel the exact same way about Southern Cal, but I guess that genie's way too far out of the bottle for us to cast them anywhere. But hey, (even) stranger things have happened...
Small chance Oregon State and Washington State get a B12 invite.
Notre Dame can join the ACC or stay independent.
August 5th, 2023 at 12:28 AM ^
You mean the ACC that's probably headed the same place the PAC12 is? Serves them right. They had their chance(s) to join the top conference and let pride get in the way.
August 5th, 2023 at 10:32 AM ^
Is the ACC really in as bad shape as the Pac? Assuming FSU and Clemson leave, they still have 12 viable schools. They could easily add nd and might stretch for a school like UConn and/or another Florida school (USF, I guess, starting to be slim pickings). Not solid, but they don't seem on the verge of collapse like the Pac.
Eh. P5 College football has been operating under the illusion of relative equality for a long time now. It’s time that people face the truth that schools like Cal, Stanford, Oregon State, or Washington State are not going to be challenging for national titles.
Stanford and Cal should drop to Ivy and Oregon State and Wazzu go to Mountain West.
I really would like to see FBS football tiered like English Football because that way less affluent programs can compete for national titles. If they can build toward being able to compete at the highest level there should be a mechanism to allow them in.
I don't wish ill will on any program (OK, except probably Ohio), but this idea that there was ever parity in college football is a funny idea some hang on to. Roughly 80% of AP championships have been won by just 13 or 14 programs. That's almost an entire century's worth of championships that have been won by a small subset of teams.
The sport has never been an equal playing field and programs have been cheating and paying players since literally the very beginning. This thought that it used to be more noble and fair is pretty foolish.
I doubt Cal and Stanford join the Ivies. The Ivy League are all close proximity geographically. The Ivy teams take busses. Would it be worth adding to west coast teams and ruining that ease of travel, ease of time zones, and ease of travel expenses?
August 4th, 2023 at 10:16 PM ^
The Ivies have no reason at all to do that.
Cal/Stanford might be looking at the MWC.
I was just spitballing. Kind of stupid now that I think about it.
August 4th, 2023 at 10:04 PM ^
I really would like to see FBS football tiered like English Football because that way less affluent programs can compete for national titles.
Wait, what? Are we talking about the league where a Middle Eastern state-run team has won a bunch of titles in a row?
August 4th, 2023 at 11:55 PM ^
He means they can compete for second division national titles or third division national titles.
We do already have that - it's called FCS division football, and there is already a means of relegation or promotion. The only difference is relegation and promotion are self-selected, not enforced by win-loss record.
Precisely. I would also place most of FBS in that as well. EMU is in the same division as Michigan which is ludicrous.
August 4th, 2023 at 10:52 PM ^
The Ivy League is purely Northeastern.
A one-team conference seems rather limiting...
Go Huskies!
I don't like the idea of national tiers, but with the Big Ten getting as big as it is, I think it'd be really fun to have a big ten top division A and a big ten second division B, with say two teams moving up and down each year. This would ensure that the best teams in the conference played every year, give less competitive teams something to play for, and wouldn't be a revenue issue since everyone shares it anyway.
I agree in the sense that Cal offers literally no value in joining the B10. Great academic school, zero value with athletics or their addition bringing significant eyes to the program.
Meh, I wouldnt feel bad for MSU in the same situation.
August 4th, 2023 at 11:56 PM ^
Let's not insult WSU or OSU (ntOSU) by comparing them to MSU.
August 4th, 2023 at 10:31 PM ^
With a 12 team playoff, does ND really need to join a conference?
August 5th, 2023 at 12:41 AM ^
Who in a super conference situation will schedule them when you have 50 million other teams in conference to play against.
I mean I guess losing to them lessens the blow in conference standings...
The B10 is in a cutthroat capitalist fight for survival against the SEC. I agree with the sentiment, but Cal and Stanford have terrible market value, worse than any in the big ten currently, thus watering down tv contract value that will be used to win high value ACC teams to the conference in the future. This is about money. It’s not happening.
I’d rather get unc and uva than cal and Stanford if we are adding schools based somewhat off academic chops and nd can fuck right off
Eventually college football will be two major divisions; B1G in the north and SEC in the south. Notre Dame will continue to be an independent…
All due respect, I do not want to watch Michigan-Cal in September. I’ve watched enough Rutgers games to have learned my lesson on that
It seems inconceivable that an FBS football program would go from Power 5 status to defunct seemingly overnight, but here we are.
I mean, Chicago did it. I say, don't sell Berkely short - they're a tremendous slouch.
August 4th, 2023 at 10:53 PM ^
I get your idea. But Michigan - Cal or Michigan - Stanford is still a 1000% increase over Michigan - Rutgers or even Maryland.
Michigan culturally aligns with the Bay area elite institutions.
Ohio aligns with the Rutgers of the world. They are all spray paint, hair gel, and big mouths.
If we could, I'd like to propose a trade.
One is a rutgers fan and the other is an osu fan, can you tell which is which???
August 4th, 2023 at 10:23 PM ^
This seems very elitist.
i am starting to think about these smaller schools and how they are going to suffer. If Indiana or Northwestern were in a league that went defunct, it would be sad that those teams fell off in oblivion. I’m putting myself in these other schools shoes.
August 4th, 2023 at 10:53 PM ^
It's D1 sports. It's competitive. If you can't compete, find another league.
August 4th, 2023 at 11:29 PM ^
"This ain't intramurals, brother"
I prefer "If you don't like getting beat-get better." The misunderstandings and misplaced blame in athletic competition is quite remarkable. Thank goodness social media was not a thing 50 year ago when my sister's HS basketball team beat a conference opponent 108-0. My sister and her teammates felt very badly... "What were we supposed to do?"
Some of those smaller schools have been raising tuition money on all students to prop up sports so they can better compete. Couldn't someone argue that sort of existence in the Pac12 is elitist towards their students who have no interest in sports?
Michigan vs Cal in 1940 was a fun game - it launched Tom Harmon’s Heisman campaign. Watch this clip at the end when a drunk fan tried to tackle Ole 98 on the field.
You Won't Believe What Happens When This Sloshed Old Man Tries To Tackle the Heisman Trophy Winner!
...oh no wait you would
you totally would
August 4th, 2023 at 11:20 PM ^
Thanks for that. Super interesting (and well done, MVictors!).
Cal is at least a prestigious school.
I disagree with you on this point. Have you been to the Bay Area late summer/early fall? It’s amazing.
The other thing that I don’t see get said enough here is that there are a bunch of Michigan fans that are ready to pounce on Michigan games played on the west coast. I moved to the Bay Area after my undergrad (ended up with a Berkeley degree eventually) and am in Oregon now. The Washington game was canceled due to COVID and the UCLA game was cancelled so this is all very disappointing. Michigan can come out here once every three years or so. It would be very welcomed for those who have a tough time getting to AA for a game.
Interesting, because I’ve been reading for awhile that Cal has no fans and that no one in the Bay Area watches college football. Seriously though, I’m sure their diehard fans are upset. This sucks for them. But, it’s Berkeley, they’re used to protesting
Their fanbase is a lot smaller than you'd think for the flagship school in a state of 40 million people. They averaged 38,596 fans per game last year. I feel bad for the fans they do have, but they're really not much of a football school.
As for Stanford, they didn't even average 30K last year. The job Harbaugh did there is just incredible.
Just means more seats for M fans to fill the stadium a la any road game