Suppose that after the realignment dust settles, Cal's only remaining option is to join a conference like the Mountain West. Not saying that it will end up this way, but it certainly could end up this way.

If that's the only option available, should Cal join the non-power conference and march on, or should we instead undertake a strategic deemphasis of IA altogether? Unfortunately, it may come down to this.

Would like to get others' thoughts and opinions about this; I, myself, am undecided.

Worst case scenario, go independent and hold on until the next cycle.

Fund the program though bodybag away games. Host Stanford every other year for a home game.

I'm always amazed at the level of worst case scenario Cal fan fretting.

BearoutEast67 said:

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I'm always amazed at the level of worst case scenario Cal fan fretting.

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And yet we still fail to realize how bad it will be.

Strykur said:

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Worst case scenario, go independent and hold on until the next cycle.

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Lol, this administration can't even arrange cheerleaders or announcements of former stars in attendance at games. Would love to see how that would work out.

PtownBear1 said:

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Strykur said:

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Worst case scenario, go independent and hold on until the next cycle.

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Lol, this administration can't even arrange cheerleaders or announcements of former stars in attendance at games. Would love to see how that would work out.

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Periodically (preferably annually) have a home game against an HBCU team. Their bands are fabulous and (as we saw when Grambling came to town a few years ago) the game will be close to a sell out.

I'd rather we go independent and try to hold on for the next cycle than bury ourselves in the MWC.

PtownBear1 said:

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Strykur said:

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Worst case scenario, go independent and hold on until the next cycle.

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Lol, this administration can't even arrange cheerleaders or announcements of former stars in attendance at games. Would love to see how that would work out.

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"Arranging cheerleaders" would most likely result in very expensive settlements.

Rhetorical Question: How do Lafayette or Lehigh fund their sports programs?

mirabelle said:

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Rhetorical Question: How do Lafayette or Lehigh fund their sports programs?

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I'm sure there's numerous other factors, but looking at their schedules, almost all of Lehigh and Lafayette's games are within a few hundred miles of campus. They rarely leave the northeast except maybe to the Washington DC/Virginia area. So, they most likely use a few buses rather than flying. That will save quite a bit. I suspect recruiting and training table expenses are considerably more modest than FBS teams too.

southseasbear said:

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PtownBear1 said:

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Strykur said:

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Worst case scenario, go independent and hold on until the next cycle.

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Lol, this administration can't even arrange cheerleaders or announcements of former stars in attendance at games. Would love to see how that would work out.

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Periodically (preferably annually) have a home game against an HBCU team. Their bands are fabulous and (as we saw when Grambling came to town a few years ago) the game will be close to a sell out.

I'd rather we go independent and try to hold on for the next cycle than bury ourselves in the MWC.

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With the fluidity that exists in conference affiliations these days, we'd hardly be "buried" in any 2nd tier conference. It's hard to see how we could fund life as an independent in the absence of a guaranteed revenue stream that could come from conference membership.

I'm pretty sure that Mountain West schools enjoy their football programs. It wouldn't be the end of the world. We'd miss the familiar pac12 foes, but would enjoy winning games instead.

dmh65 said:

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I'm pretty sure that Mountain West schools enjoy their football programs. It wouldn't be the end of the world. We'd miss the familiar pac12 foes, but would enjoy winning games instead.

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MWC schools all run huge athletics deficits. Cal would probably be losing 50-60 million per year in the MWC.

ColoradoBear said:

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dmh65 said:

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I'm pretty sure that Mountain West schools enjoy their football programs. It wouldn't be the end of the world. We'd miss the familiar pac12 foes, but would enjoy winning games instead.

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MWC schools all run huge athletics deficits. Cal would probably be losing 50-60 million per year in the MWC.

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And we would no longer be able to recruit NFL caliber players. Do you think Kyle Boller, Aaron Rodgers or Jarod Goff would have signed with an MWC team? Or Desean Jackson, Marshawn Lynch, Keenan Allen, Marvin Jones, Justin Forsett, Jahvid Best, Camryn Bynum, Cameron Goode, et. al would have come to Cal if we were an MWC school?

The fact is we would be lucky to be in the middle of the conference while losing millions of dollars a year.

southseasbear said:

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ColoradoBear said:

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dmh65 said:

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I'm pretty sure that Mountain West schools enjoy their football programs. It wouldn't be the end of the world. We'd miss the familiar pac12 foes, but would enjoy winning games instead.

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MWC schools all run huge athletics deficits. Cal would probably be losing 50-60 million per year in the MWC.

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And we would no longer be able to recruit NFL caliber players. Do you think Kyle Boller, Aaron Rodgers or Jarod Goff would have signed with an MWC team? Or Desean Jackson, Marshawn Lynch, Keenan Allen, Marvin Jones, Justin Forsett, Jahvid Best, Camryn Bynum, Cameron Goode, et. al would have come to Cal if we were an MWC school?

The fact is we would be lucky to be in the middle of the conference while losing millions of dollars a year.

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The PAC-12 is the better brand. The more likely worst case is the PAC-12 will absorb MWC schools and essentially become the MWC rather than any PAC-12 schools joining the MWC.

Of course we could. Then they'd immediately transfer after getting in a year of free training.

SRBear said:

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Of course we could. Then they'd immediately transfer after getting in a year of free training.

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A Big 12 Fresno State would have an immense recruiting advantage over an MWC Cal when it comes to football and basketball players who have the skills to go pro.

dmh65 said:

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I'm pretty sure that Mountain West schools enjoy their football programs. It wouldn't be the end of the world. We'd miss the familiar pac12 foes, but would enjoy winning games instead.

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I dunno. I live up near Sacramento and know a lot more people who regularly attend Giants games than attend the Sacramento River Cats (Giants AAA affiliate). Given a choice, and assuming the cost differential isn't too extreme, most sports fans would rather see the higher quality teams.

calumnus said:

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southseasbear said:

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ColoradoBear said:

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dmh65 said:

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I'm pretty sure that Mountain West schools enjoy their football programs. It wouldn't be the end of the world. We'd miss the familiar pac12 foes, but would enjoy winning games instead.

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MWC schools all run huge athletics deficits. Cal would probably be losing 50-60 million per year in the MWC.

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And we would no longer be able to recruit NFL caliber players. Do you think Kyle Boller, Aaron Rodgers or Jarod Goff would have signed with an MWC team? Or Desean Jackson, Marshawn Lynch, Keenan Allen, Marvin Jones, Justin Forsett, Jahvid Best, Camryn Bynum, Cameron Goode, et. al would have come to Cal if we were an MWC school?

The fact is we would be lucky to be in the middle of the conference while losing millions of dollars a year.

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The PAC-12 is the better brand. The more likely worst case is the PAC-12 will absorb MWC schools and essentially become the MWC rather than any PAC-12 schools joining the MWC.

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This seems most likely. Top Pac teams leave and teams like SDSU and MWC teams get invited in. Arguably already happening.

southseasbear said:

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ColoradoBear said:

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dmh65 said:

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I'm pretty sure that Mountain West schools enjoy their football programs. It wouldn't be the end of the world. We'd miss the familiar pac12 foes, but would enjoy winning games instead.

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MWC schools all run huge athletics deficits. Cal would probably be losing 50-60 million per year in the MWC.

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And we would no longer be able to recruit NFL caliber players. Do you think Kyle Boller, Aaron Rodgers or Jarod Goff would have signed with an MWC team? Or Desean Jackson, Marshawn Lynch, Keenan Allen, Marvin Jones, Justin Forsett, Jahvid Best, Camryn Bynum, Cameron Goode, et. al would have come to Cal if we were an MWC school?

The fact is we would be lucky to be in the middle of the conference while losing millions of dollars a year.

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There are 55 active MWC players on NFL rosters so I think Cal could recruit NFL caliber players, especially with our NIL money.

The bigger question is if we want to watch games against MWC opponents and does anyone else?

dimitrig said:

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southseasbear said:

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ColoradoBear said:

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dmh65 said:

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I'm pretty sure that Mountain West schools enjoy their football programs. It wouldn't be the end of the world. We'd miss the familiar pac12 foes, but would enjoy winning games instead.

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MWC schools all run huge athletics deficits. Cal would probably be losing 50-60 million per year in the MWC.

---

And we would no longer be able to recruit NFL caliber players. Do you think Kyle Boller, Aaron Rodgers or Jarod Goff would have signed with an MWC team? Or Desean Jackson, Marshawn Lynch, Keenan Allen, Marvin Jones, Justin Forsett, Jahvid Best, Camryn Bynum, Cameron Goode, et. al would have come to Cal if we were an MWC school?

The fact is we would be lucky to be in the middle of the conference while losing millions of dollars a year.

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There are 55 active MWC players on NFL rosters so I think Cal could recruit NFL caliber players, especially with our NIL money.

The bigger question is if we want to watch games against MWC opponents and does anyone else?

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That is less than 5 per team. How many of them were blue chip recruits? I would not be surprised if Cal has as many as 5 walk-on on NFL rosters.

With the exception of Air Force and possible exception of Colorado State (rumored to be a candidate for an invite to the prestigious Association of American Universities) none of them have the high academic standards of Cal. I think we will have a hard time competing against Fresno State (in the Big XII) if we are in the MWC.

dimitrig said:

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southseasbear said:

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ColoradoBear said:

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dmh65 said:

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I'm pretty sure that Mountain West schools enjoy their football programs. It wouldn't be the end of the world. We'd miss the familiar pac12 foes, but would enjoy winning games instead.

---

MWC schools all run huge athletics deficits. Cal would probably be losing 50-60 million per year in the MWC.

---

And we would no longer be able to recruit NFL caliber players. Do you think Kyle Boller, Aaron Rodgers or Jarod Goff would have signed with an MWC team? Or Desean Jackson, Marshawn Lynch, Keenan Allen, Marvin Jones, Justin Forsett, Jahvid Best, Camryn Bynum, Cameron Goode, et. al would have come to Cal if we were an MWC school?

The fact is we would be lucky to be in the middle of the conference while losing millions of dollars a year.

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There are 55 active MWC players on NFL rosters so I think Cal could recruit NFL caliber players, especially with our NIL money.

The bigger question is if we want to watch games against MWC opponents and does anyone else?

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That NIL money dies if Cal is in a MWC type conference.

wifeisafurd said:

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dimitrig said:

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southseasbear said:

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ColoradoBear said:

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dmh65 said:

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I'm pretty sure that Mountain West schools enjoy their football programs. It wouldn't be the end of the world. We'd miss the familiar pac12 foes, but would enjoy winning games instead.

---

MWC schools all run huge athletics deficits. Cal would probably be losing 50-60 million per year in the MWC.

---

And we would no longer be able to recruit NFL caliber players. Do you think Kyle Boller, Aaron Rodgers or Jarod Goff would have signed with an MWC team? Or Desean Jackson, Marshawn Lynch, Keenan Allen, Marvin Jones, Justin Forsett, Jahvid Best, Camryn Bynum, Cameron Goode, et. al would have come to Cal if we were an MWC school?

The fact is we would be lucky to be in the middle of the conference while losing millions of dollars a year.

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There are 55 active MWC players on NFL rosters so I think Cal could recruit NFL caliber players, especially with our NIL money.

The bigger question is if we want to watch games against MWC opponents and does anyone else?

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That NIL money dies if Cal is in a MWC type conference.

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You mean that alumni will stop supporting the program in that instance?

dimitrig said:

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wifeisafurd said:

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dimitrig said:

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southseasbear said:

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ColoradoBear said:

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dmh65 said:

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I'm pretty sure that Mountain West schools enjoy their football programs. It wouldn't be the end of the world. We'd miss the familiar pac12 foes, but would enjoy winning games instead.

---

MWC schools all run huge athletics deficits. Cal would probably be losing 50-60 million per year in the MWC.

---

And we would no longer be able to recruit NFL caliber players. Do you think Kyle Boller, Aaron Rodgers or Jarod Goff would have signed with an MWC team? Or Desean Jackson, Marshawn Lynch, Keenan Allen, Marvin Jones, Justin Forsett, Jahvid Best, Camryn Bynum, Cameron Goode, et. al would have come to Cal if we were an MWC school?

The fact is we would be lucky to be in the middle of the conference while losing millions of dollars a year.

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There are 55 active MWC players on NFL rosters so I think Cal could recruit NFL caliber players, especially with our NIL money.

The bigger question is if we want to watch games against MWC opponents and does anyone else?

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That NIL money dies if Cal is in a MWC type conference.

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You mean that alumni will stop supporting the program in that instance?

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I agree that may also happen, but I mean the large donors to NIL are not going to support a team playing non P5 teams. and not going to major bowls, etc.

wifeisafurd said:

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dimitrig said:

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wifeisafurd said:

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dimitrig said:

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southseasbear said:

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ColoradoBear said:

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dmh65 said:

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I'm pretty sure that Mountain West schools enjoy their football programs. It wouldn't be the end of the world. We'd miss the familiar pac12 foes, but would enjoy winning games instead.

---

MWC schools all run huge athletics deficits. Cal would probably be losing 50-60 million per year in the MWC.

---

And we would no longer be able to recruit NFL caliber players. Do you think Kyle Boller, Aaron Rodgers or Jarod Goff would have signed with an MWC team? Or Desean Jackson, Marshawn Lynch, Keenan Allen, Marvin Jones, Justin Forsett, Jahvid Best, Camryn Bynum, Cameron Goode, et. al would have come to Cal if we were an MWC school?

The fact is we would be lucky to be in the middle of the conference while losing millions of dollars a year.

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There are 55 active MWC players on NFL rosters so I think Cal could recruit NFL caliber players, especially with our NIL money.

The bigger question is if we want to watch games against MWC opponents and does anyone else?

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That NIL money dies if Cal is in a MWC type conference.

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You mean that alumni will stop supporting the program in that instance?

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I agree that may also happen, but I mean the large donors to NIL are not going to support a team playing non P5 teams. and not going to major bowls, etc.

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Agreed, we need to have a chance to A) be winning games against teams our alumni care about and B) have a shot at the CFP.