Dennis Dodd thinks Cal and Stanford would get left out

8,899 Views | 48 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by ColoradoBear
Econ141
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If PAC is dissolved

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/will-the-pac-12-break-up-where-each-team-would-go-if-league-disintegrates-over-media-rights-deal/

Hard to imagine the 6th largest media market being left out but hey, we have only ourselves to blame.
Golden One
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Just goes to show how important a hard-charging, dynamic, and innovative commissioner is to conference success. Not too many years ago, it was the Big 12 whose disintegration was being projected. But they had a strong, bold commissioner who led them out of the wilderness. We had a useless idiot that just sat on his hands and did nothing. His successor Kliavkoff doesn't seem to be any better. The outlook isn't good. The fact that the Pac is talking about streaming games is just another indication that death is a strong possibility. Streamed games are not going to attract a significant audience.
ColoradoBear
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He also says the pro rata share for new teams in the Big 12 tv contract is $20 million per school. That is far to low to even get consideration from the 4 corner schools. So in a way he's right - if the p12 cannot crack $20 million per school, there is going to be a push to break up. But that seems very very low.

If Kliavkoff is pushing for (and promising members) $35-40 million per school, but only can get $20 million in the end, he's far worse than Scott. Dodd doesn't seem to actually have any info on the p12 situation, just a doomsday scenario.
TomBear
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Ugh.
WalterSobchak
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FUD
Give to Cal Legends! https://calegends.com/donation/ Do it now. Text every Cal fan you know, give them the link, tell them how much you gave, and ask them to text every Cal fan they know and do the same.
calumnus
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ColoradoBear said:

He also says the pro rata share for new teams in the Big 12 tv contract is $20 million per school. That is far to low to even get consideration from the 4 corner schools. So in a way he's right - if the p12 cannot crack $20 million per school, there is going to be a push to break up. But that seems very very low.

If Kliavkoff is pushing for (and promising members) $35-40 million per school, but only can get $20 million in the end, he's far worse than Scott. Dodd doesn't seem to actually have any info on the p12 situation, just a doomsday scenario.


Scott is the one that put us in this hole. Kliavkoff inherited a really bad hand. He is not playing it well though.

I still think his best move is working WITH the Big 10 and UCLA and USC for a quasi merger for football only.

His next best is probably an alliance with the ACC (and Notre Dame!) or the Big 12 (don't trust them though).

He has to own the late time slot and improve the content he has to offer to the broadcasters in order to improve the payouts. That can only come from eliminating games against FCS teams and having teams from other time zones play on the West Coast, grabbing SDSU could be defensive at this point.
CALiforniALUM
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Econ141 said:

If PAC is dissolved

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/will-the-pac-12-break-up-where-each-team-would-go-if-league-disintegrates-over-media-rights-deal/

Hard to imagine the 6th largest media market being left out but hey, we have only ourselves to blame.

We place a lot of blame on the commissioner, the coach, the AD, and the chancellor for our problems, but when should we blame the fans?

If we had a rabid fanbase that demanded accountability none of this would even be a problem. The problem is that we don't have what it takes as a fanbase. Apathy has been part of Cal athletics since I graduated, and apparently with the exception for the few years I was on campus has also been the status quo since before my time back to the Pappy Waldorf's days.

I'm not holding my breath for anything to change with Cal Athletics. I've written too many letters to people who never respond. I don't give enough to warrant anything other than a cut and paste email response. I don't live close enough to Berkeley to spend on the product.

I think a streaming service will just point out what is obvious to the media companies is that we think we are worth more than we really are. You can't claim your wealthy alumni base as a valuable asset if nobody tunes in. Furd is even worse.



Bobodeluxe
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Cool. Play Davis, Stanford, Oregon State, Washington State, whoever else wants in who doesn't get scooped up by the NIL leagues. Kids can prove themselves, and get paid to leave if they want. Stream all games, played in the afternoon, when the Flying Spaghetti Monster intended, with no commercial interruptions. Two and a half hour games.

I would buy tickets again.
AXLBear
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southseasbear
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Bobodeluxe said:

Cool. Play Davis, Stanford, Oregon State, Washington State, whoever else wants in who doesn't get scooped up by the NIL leagues. Kids can prove themselves, and get paid to leave if they want. Stream all games, played in the afternoon, when the Flying Spaghetti Monster intended, with no commercial interruptions. Two and a half hour games.

I would buy tickets again.
Tickets should be cheaper and other sports will be cut due to the loss of TV revenue.
Fire Knowlton!
Fire Fox!
Put Wilcox in a hot seat!
kal kommie
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southseasbear said:

Bobodeluxe said:

Cool. Play Davis, Stanford, Oregon State, Washington State, whoever else wants in who doesn't get scooped up by the NIL leagues. Kids can prove themselves, and get paid to leave if they want. Stream all games, played in the afternoon, when the Flying Spaghetti Monster intended, with no commercial interruptions. Two and a half hour games.

I would buy tickets again.
Tickets should be cheaper and other sports will be cut due to the loss of TV revenue.
The athletic department would be massively downsized both in total and in the salaries of those positions which remain. That alone almost guarantees Bobodeluxe's lovely vision will never be realized. Add the cut programs on top and the guarantee is ready. That would make a lot of people angry, people who may not matter to me but who have friends at the university or among influential alumni. The athletic administration is not going to pursue institutional suicide. If the Pac-(10) falls apart, whatever plan we pursue will be the one the athletic department believes will maximize revenue. I will be psychologically prepared for bad case scenarios.
mbBear
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Econ141 said:

If PAC is dissolved

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/will-the-pac-12-break-up-where-each-team-would-go-if-league-disintegrates-over-media-rights-deal/

Hard to imagine the 6th largest media market being left out but hey, we have only ourselves to blame.
I would blame Larry Scott long before I would blame "ourselves"....but I also agree that the media market factor is in play...
nwbear84
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CALiforniALUM said:

Econ141 said:

If PAC is dissolved

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/will-the-pac-12-break-up-where-each-team-would-go-if-league-disintegrates-over-media-rights-deal/

Hard to imagine the 6th largest media market being left out but hey, we have only ourselves to blame.

We place a lot of blame on the commissioner, the coach, the AD, and the chancellor for our problems, but when should we blame the fans?

If we had a rabid fanbase that demanded accountability none of this would even be a problem. The problem is that we don't have what it takes as a fanbase. Apathy has been part of Cal athletics since I graduated, and apparently with the exception for the few years I was on campus has also been the status quo since before my time back to the Pappy Waldorf's days.

I'm not holding my breath for anything to change with Cal Athletics. I've written too many letters to people who never respond. I don't give enough to warrant anything other than a cut and paste email response. I don't live close enough to Berkeley to spend on the product.

I think a streaming service will just point out what is obvious to the media companies is that we think we are worth more than we really are. You can't claim your wealthy alumni base as a valuable asset if nobody tunes in. Furd is even worse.




I think you have a point. I recall going to a game in 2009, I'm pretty sure, with several alum friends. We all graduated in the mid 80s. They all went to games as students, but I got the impression they didn't go to games much anymore. They lived in the Bay area and I lived out of state. I happened to mention something specific about a player or two before the game and they all looked at me funny and said "you don't follow Cal football do you?", like I was some sort of oddball. I suspect they reflect the majority of Cal alumni.
LunchTime
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Econ141 said:

If PAC is dissolved

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/will-the-pac-12-break-up-where-each-team-would-go-if-league-disintegrates-over-media-rights-deal/

Hard to imagine the 6th largest media market being left out but hey, we have only ourselves to blame.


How does Cal and Furd do in their own market? Seriously, how much of the market do you get with those two?
Econ141
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LunchTime said:

Econ141 said:

If PAC is dissolved

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/will-the-pac-12-break-up-where-each-team-would-go-if-league-disintegrates-over-media-rights-deal/

Hard to imagine the 6th largest media market being left out but hey, we have only ourselves to blame.


How does Cal and Furd do in their own market? Seriously, how much of the market do you get with those two?


I must admit that I have no idea how all this TV market nonsense works. That said, what does Rutgers give you of the NY market? What does Illinois, Maryland give you? I'd put our program up against those any day in terms of number fans, program history, and academic brand ... and that is saying something because I am very short Cal right now. All I'm saying is that there are a ton of crap schools in the B1G, Cal can take its rightful place amongst those.

From a reputation stand point, we should give up football before being mentioned in the same breath as Fresno st, UNLV, boise st or whatever other g5 conferences are out there that Carol and Knowlton think we are more suited for. That would damage our academic reputation.
WalterSobchak
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Econ141 said:

LunchTime said:

Econ141 said:

If PAC is dissolved

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/will-the-pac-12-break-up-where-each-team-would-go-if-league-disintegrates-over-media-rights-deal/

Hard to imagine the 6th largest media market being left out but hey, we have only ourselves to blame.


How does Cal and Furd do in their own market? Seriously, how much of the market do you get with those two?


I must admit that I have no idea how all this TV market nonsense works. That said, what does Rutgers give you of the NY market? What does Illinois, Maryland give you? I'd put our program up against those any day in terms of number fans, program history, and academic brand ... and that is saying something because I am very short Cal right now. All I'm saying is that there are a ton of crap schools in the B1G, Cal can take its rightful place amongst those.

From a reputation stand point, we should give up football before being mentioned in the same breath as Fresno st, UNLV, boise st or whatever other g5 conferences are out there that Carol and Knowlton think we are more suited for. That would damage our academic reputation.
It's the value of existing B1G teams in the new market + the value of the new teams in both markets (home and existing B1G). It doesn't really have much of anything to do with on field performance, except to the extent that it impacts the second prong. This is why Cal and Stanford are likely stronger candidates than Oregon and quite possibly Washington. It's all about money, and market size / engagement mean money. A larger market can still be more valuable with lower engagement, plus there's a consideration of crossover engagement based on B1G fans inside that market (outside is likely a wash) who couldn't care less now but would if their team or common opponents were playing the new market team(s).
Give to Cal Legends! https://calegends.com/donation/ Do it now. Text every Cal fan you know, give them the link, tell them how much you gave, and ask them to text every Cal fan they know and do the same.
dimitrig
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nwbear84 said:

CALiforniALUM said:

Econ141 said:

If PAC is dissolved

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/will-the-pac-12-break-up-where-each-team-would-go-if-league-disintegrates-over-media-rights-deal/

Hard to imagine the 6th largest media market being left out but hey, we have only ourselves to blame.

We place a lot of blame on the commissioner, the coach, the AD, and the chancellor for our problems, but when should we blame the fans?

If we had a rabid fanbase that demanded accountability none of this would even be a problem. The problem is that we don't have what it takes as a fanbase. Apathy has been part of Cal athletics since I graduated, and apparently with the exception for the few years I was on campus has also been the status quo since before my time back to the Pappy Waldorf's days.

I'm not holding my breath for anything to change with Cal Athletics. I've written too many letters to people who never respond. I don't give enough to warrant anything other than a cut and paste email response. I don't live close enough to Berkeley to spend on the product.

I think a streaming service will just point out what is obvious to the media companies is that we think we are worth more than we really are. You can't claim your wealthy alumni base as a valuable asset if nobody tunes in. Furd is even worse.


I think you have a point. I recall going to a game in 2009, I'm pretty sure, with several alum friends. We all graduated in the mid 80s. They all went to games as students, but I got the impression they didn't go to games much anymore. They lived in the Bay area and I lived out of state. I happened to mention something specific about a player or two before the game and they all looked at me funny and said "you don't follow Cal football do you?", like I was some sort of oddball. I suspect they reflect the majority of Cal alumni.

If I see someone wearing Cal gear here in SoCal I will sometimes (not always) shout a "Go Bears!" and usually will get a good response. However, that's if the person is wearing a Cal hat or sweatshirt and so sort of self-identifying as a sports fan.

When I was maybe 4-5 years out of college I took a job at a place that had a lot of grads from around the country (around the world, actually). People took pride in their school, especially during college football bowl season or March Madness. Of course the people from Texas, USC, and Michigan were vocal fans, but even alumni of schools like NC State, Purdue, Colorado, and Northwestern tended to show school pride.

I found out this one senior guy I was working with was a Cal grad. I had no idea, but he mentioned something about "when I was at Berkeley..." which is how I found out. BTW, "the guys at Berkeley" is a common phrase and is usually followed by something to be really proud of but not related to athletics as in "the guys at Berkeley came up with a way to..."

Anyway, so this guy was about 30 years older than me, but I thought we had some kinship having both gone to Berkeley so the next time I e-mailed him about something work-related I closed by stating that I had gone to Berkeley, too, and it was nice to meet a fellow Bear. I signed off with "Go Bears!"

What I received back was the rudest, most ugly response you can imagine. This guy said that he spent most of his time at Berkeley studying and never really got into athletics or sports or anything like that. I can't really remember what he said, but it was a big put down and just really upset me at the time because there weren't that many Berkeley alums working there and I thought we had something in common. I never mentioned it again and I was glad when he switched departments. Some alumni network, huh?

Now, I don't want one jackass to define all Cal alumni, but I have to say that this attitude is a lot closer to how most Berkeley alumni feel about sports based on my experience in a technical field and as a student. There is a sort of snobbery that Stanford alumni also have as well as most Ivy League and similar schools like Caltech/MIT/Johns Hopkins, etc which don't participate in big time college sports which is that the students are either too busy doing great things to bother with sports or else they find that sort of a "normie" thing to be interested in and would rather play paintball or engage in cosplay or something rather than drink beer and tailgate at a football game.

By the way, I have to say that one of my best friends in high school hated sports. Hated it to watch them. Hated to play them. He and his circle of friends would go up into the mountains to a cabin with no TV on Super Bowl weekend to play roleplaying games without fail. After undergrad at Mudd he went to USC for grad school for two degrees and while there he actually went to a football game, because he wanted to spend time with his dad. I almost choked on my lunch when I heard that. I think that it was the height of the Pete Carroll era probably helped. So I think that there is some truth that having a winning team does matter, but unless Cal returns to its glory years I don't think that's something to count on.

GivemTheAxe
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dimitrig said:

nwbear84 said:

CALiforniALUM said:

Econ141 said:

If PAC is dissolved

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/will-the-pac-12-break-up-where-each-team-would-go-if-league-disintegrates-over-media-rights-deal/

Hard to imagine the 6th largest media market being left out but hey, we have only ourselves to blame.

We place a lot of blame on the commissioner, the coach, the AD, and the chancellor for our problems, but when should we blame the fans?

If we had a rabid fanbase that demanded accountability none of this would even be a problem. The problem is that we don't have what it takes as a fanbase. Apathy has been part of Cal athletics since I graduated, and apparently with the exception for the few years I was on campus has also been the status quo since before my time back to the Pappy Waldorf's days.

I'm not holding my breath for anything to change with Cal Athletics. I've written too many letters to people who never respond. I don't give enough to warrant anything other than a cut and paste email response. I don't live close enough to Berkeley to spend on the product.

I think a streaming service will just point out what is obvious to the media companies is that we think we are worth more than we really are. You can't claim your wealthy alumni base as a valuable asset if nobody tunes in. Furd is even worse.


I think you have a point. I recall going to a game in 2009, I'm pretty sure, with several alum friends. We all graduated in the mid 80s. They all went to games as students, but I got the impression they didn't go to games much anymore. They lived in the Bay area and I lived out of state. I happened to mention something specific about a player or two before the game and they all looked at me funny and said "you don't follow Cal football do you?", like I was some sort of oddball. I suspect they reflect the majority of Cal alumni.

If I see someone wearing Cal gear here in SoCal I will sometimes (not always) shout a "Go Bears!" and usually will get a good response. However, that's if the person is wearing a Cal hat or sweatshirt and so sort of self-identifying as a sports fan.

When I was maybe 4-5 years out of college I took a job at a place that had a lot of grads from around the country (around the world, actually). People took pride in their school, especially during college football bowl season or March Madness. Of course the people from Texas, USC, and Michigan were vocal fans, but even alumni of schools like NC State, Purdue, Colorado, and Northwestern tended to show school pride.

I found out this one senior guy I was working with was a Cal grad. I had no idea, but he mentioned something about "when I was at Berkeley..." which is how I found out. BTW, "the guys at Berkeley" is a common phrase and is usually followed by something to be really proud of but not related to athletics as in "the guys at Berkeley came up with a way to..."

Anyway, so this guy was about 30 years older than me, but I thought we had some kinship having both gone to Berkeley so the next time I e-mailed him about something work-related I closed by stating that I had gone to Berkeley, too, and it was nice to meet a fellow Bear. I signed off with "Go Bears!"

What I received back was the rudest, most ugly response you can imagine. This guy said that he spent most of his time at Berkeley studying and never really got into athletics or sports or anything like that. I can't really remember what he said, but it was a big put down and just really upset me at the time because there weren't that many Berkeley alums working there and I thought we had something in common. I never mentioned it again and I was glad when he switched departments. Some alumni network, huh?

Now, I don't want one jackass to define all Cal alumni, but I have to say that this attitude is a lot closer to how most Berkeley alumni feel about sports based on my experience in a technical field and as a student. There is a sort of snobbery that Stanford alumni also have as well as most Ivy League and similar schools like Caltech/MIT/Johns Hopkins, etc which don't participate in big time college sports which is that the students are either too busy doing great things to bother with sports or else they find that sort of a "normie" thing to be interested in and would rather play paintball or engage in cosplay or something rather than drink beer and tailgate at a football game.

By the way, I have to say that one of my best friends in high school hated sports. Hated it to watch them. Hated to play them. He and his circle of friends would go up into the mountains to a cabin with no TV on Super Bowl weekend to play roleplaying games without fail. After undergrad at Mudd he went to USC for grad school for two degrees and while there he actually went to a football game, because he wanted to spend time with his dad. I almost choked on my lunch when I heard that. I think that it was the height of the Pete Carroll era probably helped. So I think that there is some truth that having a winning team does matter, but unless Cal returns to its glory years I don't think that's something to count on.




Sorry to hear of your experience.

I usually have a different experience. But if I hear that someone went to "Berkeley" I begin by asking when they graduated. Were they undergraduates there and or grad students. What areas/majors did they study. What activities they participated in. Eventually I get to did they attend any sporting activities.

I normally will not give a "Go Bears" shout out or sign off unless I know they attended Cap athletic games or unless they wear "Cal" identifying paraphernalia

Even during the heights of Tedford's success there were many Berkeley students who did not attend Cal athletic events.

I remember one year I was walking past Doe Library after a jam packed Big Game (a victory). Tons of people wearing blue and gold on campus

I was stopped by a student who was exiting the library. He saw I was wearing my Cal gear.
He asked what was going on. Why were so many people wearing blue and gold. He thought there might be something going on at the Greek Theater

There are lots of students at Cal who are proud of their Berkeley education. But could not care less about Cal athletics.

So I try to connect with them as fellow Berkeley grads.

HearstMining
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dimitrig said:

nwbear84 said:

CALiforniALUM said:

Econ141 said:

If PAC is dissolved

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/will-the-pac-12-break-up-where-each-team-would-go-if-league-disintegrates-over-media-rights-deal/

Hard to imagine the 6th largest media market being left out but hey, we have only ourselves to blame.

We place a lot of blame on the commissioner, the coach, the AD, and the chancellor for our problems, but when should we blame the fans?

If we had a rabid fanbase that demanded accountability none of this would even be a problem. The problem is that we don't have what it takes as a fanbase. Apathy has been part of Cal athletics since I graduated, and apparently with the exception for the few years I was on campus has also been the status quo since before my time back to the Pappy Waldorf's days.

I'm not holding my breath for anything to change with Cal Athletics. I've written too many letters to people who never respond. I don't give enough to warrant anything other than a cut and paste email response. I don't live close enough to Berkeley to spend on the product.

I think a streaming service will just point out what is obvious to the media companies is that we think we are worth more than we really are. You can't claim your wealthy alumni base as a valuable asset if nobody tunes in. Furd is even worse.


I think you have a point. I recall going to a game in 2009, I'm pretty sure, with several alum friends. We all graduated in the mid 80s. They all went to games as students, but I got the impression they didn't go to games much anymore. They lived in the Bay area and I lived out of state. I happened to mention something specific about a player or two before the game and they all looked at me funny and said "you don't follow Cal football do you?", like I was some sort of oddball. I suspect they reflect the majority of Cal alumni.

If I see someone wearing Cal gear here in SoCal I will sometimes (not always) shout a "Go Bears!" and usually will get a good response. However, that's if the person is wearing a Cal hat or sweatshirt and so sort of self-identifying as a sports fan.

.
.
.
I have an engineering degree from Cal and I hear what you're saying. My thoughts on what's behind it:
  • Most (meaning a higher percentage than the overall population) very technical people don't place a high value on cultivating personal relationships. They're just not wired that way. The guy you emailed should have seen what you were trying to do and even if he had no use for Cal sports, could have answered in a friendly manner, but it probably never occurred to him.
  • Cal is a big, impersonal, bureaucratic place that doesn't (or at least didn't when I was there in the 1970s) foster cooperation and teamwork as core values/practices in technical areas. If you're smart, you hook up with a study group for a class, but that's all. I never worked on a long duration group project of any kind. Consequently, many grads feel that, "Well, I made it on my own, why should I help out somebody else just because they went to the same school?"
  • As an institution, Cal does a lousy job of cultivating alumni loyalty. When I finished an MBA at Michigan, I received alumni mailings almost immediately and it's continued for 40 + years even though I stopped donations to them years ago. I never heard a peep from Cal until the early 90s when I guess they revved up their alumni outreach due to decreased appropriations from the state of California.

I live east of Sacramento and when I'm bicycling, often wear my Cal cycling jersey and when somebody hollers "Go Bears!", I always respond. It doesn't happen often, but I always get a kick out of it.
BearoutEast67
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I've experienced positive reactions from Cal Alum here in Jacksonville FL on vacations in the Caribbean, Mexico and elsewhere, and up the East Coast. Maybe its triggered locally because I have a Cal Football helmet sticker on my car or when I wear a Cal hat or t-shirt at a store or restaurant on game days, or seeing them with a bumper sticker or Cal gear on. From old hippies to business types to academics - just the reminiscing about the campus and food, coming around to football or basketball game stories, or one's younger family members who have attended, with that "When's the last time you've been to campus?" Oddly, the level of interaction is not paired to a level of winning, but seems to be about meeting someone in another corner of the world with our rare shared Berkeley experiences.
And I always give a "Go Bears!"
Donate to Cal's NIL at https://calegends.com/donation/
joe amos yaks
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Dodd and logic don't get along. He's soiled and conflicted.
"Those who say don't know, and those who know don't say." - LT
calumnus
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Again "If the Pac-10 is dissolved" is a fallacious premise.

The Pac-10 is a stronger brand than the MWC and in the WORST case will survive by gobbling up the best MWC teams.

Most likely we retain the major flagship universities of the Western States. If we can maintain the auto bid to the CFP, we will be in good shape.
dimitrig
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GivemTheAxe said:

dimitrig said:

nwbear84 said:

CALiforniALUM said:

Econ141 said:

If PAC is dissolved

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/will-the-pac-12-break-up-where-each-team-would-go-if-league-disintegrates-over-media-rights-deal/

Hard to imagine the 6th largest media market being left out but hey, we have only ourselves to blame.

We place a lot of blame on the commissioner, the coach, the AD, and the chancellor for our problems, but when should we blame the fans?

If we had a rabid fanbase that demanded accountability none of this would even be a problem. The problem is that we don't have what it takes as a fanbase. Apathy has been part of Cal athletics since I graduated, and apparently with the exception for the few years I was on campus has also been the status quo since before my time back to the Pappy Waldorf's days.

I'm not holding my breath for anything to change with Cal Athletics. I've written too many letters to people who never respond. I don't give enough to warrant anything other than a cut and paste email response. I don't live close enough to Berkeley to spend on the product.

I think a streaming service will just point out what is obvious to the media companies is that we think we are worth more than we really are. You can't claim your wealthy alumni base as a valuable asset if nobody tunes in. Furd is even worse.


I think you have a point. I recall going to a game in 2009, I'm pretty sure, with several alum friends. We all graduated in the mid 80s. They all went to games as students, but I got the impression they didn't go to games much anymore. They lived in the Bay area and I lived out of state. I happened to mention something specific about a player or two before the game and they all looked at me funny and said "you don't follow Cal football do you?", like I was some sort of oddball. I suspect they reflect the majority of Cal alumni.

If I see someone wearing Cal gear here in SoCal I will sometimes (not always) shout a "Go Bears!" and usually will get a good response. However, that's if the person is wearing a Cal hat or sweatshirt and so sort of self-identifying as a sports fan.

When I was maybe 4-5 years out of college I took a job at a place that had a lot of grads from around the country (around the world, actually). People took pride in their school, especially during college football bowl season or March Madness. Of course the people from Texas, USC, and Michigan were vocal fans, but even alumni of schools like NC State, Purdue, Colorado, and Northwestern tended to show school pride.

I found out this one senior guy I was working with was a Cal grad. I had no idea, but he mentioned something about "when I was at Berkeley..." which is how I found out. BTW, "the guys at Berkeley" is a common phrase and is usually followed by something to be really proud of but not related to athletics as in "the guys at Berkeley came up with a way to..."

Anyway, so this guy was about 30 years older than me, but I thought we had some kinship having both gone to Berkeley so the next time I e-mailed him about something work-related I closed by stating that I had gone to Berkeley, too, and it was nice to meet a fellow Bear. I signed off with "Go Bears!"

What I received back was the rudest, most ugly response you can imagine. This guy said that he spent most of his time at Berkeley studying and never really got into athletics or sports or anything like that. I can't really remember what he said, but it was a big put down and just really upset me at the time because there weren't that many Berkeley alums working there and I thought we had something in common. I never mentioned it again and I was glad when he switched departments. Some alumni network, huh?

Now, I don't want one jackass to define all Cal alumni, but I have to say that this attitude is a lot closer to how most Berkeley alumni feel about sports based on my experience in a technical field and as a student. There is a sort of snobbery that Stanford alumni also have as well as most Ivy League and similar schools like Caltech/MIT/Johns Hopkins, etc which don't participate in big time college sports which is that the students are either too busy doing great things to bother with sports or else they find that sort of a "normie" thing to be interested in and would rather play paintball or engage in cosplay or something rather than drink beer and tailgate at a football game.

By the way, I have to say that one of my best friends in high school hated sports. Hated it to watch them. Hated to play them. He and his circle of friends would go up into the mountains to a cabin with no TV on Super Bowl weekend to play roleplaying games without fail. After undergrad at Mudd he went to USC for grad school for two degrees and while there he actually went to a football game, because he wanted to spend time with his dad. I almost choked on my lunch when I heard that. I think that it was the height of the Pete Carroll era probably helped. So I think that there is some truth that having a winning team does matter, but unless Cal returns to its glory years I don't think that's something to count on.




Sorry to hear of your experience.

I usually have a different experience. But if I hear that someone went to "Berkeley" I begin by asking when they graduated. Were they undergraduates there and or grad students. What areas/majors did they study. What activities they participated in. Eventually I get to did they attend any sporting activities.

I normally will not give a "Go Bears" shout out or sign off unless I know they attended Cap athletic games or unless they wear "Cal" identifying paraphernalia

Even during the heights of Tedford's success there were many Berkeley students who did not attend Cal athletic events.

I remember one year I was walking past Doe Library after a jam packed Big Game (a victory). Tons of people wearing blue and gold on campus

I was stopped by a student who was exiting the library. He saw I was wearing my Cal gear.
He asked what was going on. Why were so many people wearing blue and gold. He thought there might be something going on at the Greek Theater

There are lots of students at Cal who are proud of their Berkeley education. But could not care less about Cal athletics.

So I try to connect with them as fellow Berkeley grads.



Understood.

I think that unlike some other schools there are two things working against us:

1. Our student body prides itself on being counterculture. Lots of students choose Berkeley for that reason. In that way we self-select against students that like big-time organized college athletics.

2. Our student body and administration can be actively hostile towards athletics. I have noticed that even though alums of schools like Michigan and Texas may not care about sports it is usually just apathy. At Berkeley there is an actual undercurrent of hostility, possibly because of #1 above.

I work with a Korean guy who got his PhD at Michigan. He could care less about sports, but he still wears a lanyard that says "Go Blue" on it and if Michigan is in a bowl he probably won't watch the game but he pays enough attention to know if they won or lost it. I think he's more engaged in athletics than many Berkeley alums are because it's just the culture of the school. I work with a lot of Texas alumni who could care less about sports, but they don't HATE them. They just shrug and say "It wouldn't be Texas without football and BBQ."

Anyway... my $0.02.















HearstMining
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dimitrig said:

GivemTheAxe said:

dimitrig said:

nwbear84 said:

CALiforniALUM said:

Econ141 said:

If PAC is dissolved

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/will-the-pac-12-break-up-where-each-team-would-go-if-league-disintegrates-over-media-rights-deal/

Hard to imagine the 6th largest media market being left out but hey, we have only ourselves to blame.

We place a lot of blame on the commissioner, the coach, the AD, and the chancellor for our problems, but when should we blame the fans?

If we had a rabid fanbase that demanded accountability none of this would even be a problem. The problem is that we don't have what it takes as a fanbase. Apathy has been part of Cal athletics since I graduated, and apparently with the exception for the few years I was on campus has also been the status quo since before my time back to the Pappy Waldorf's days.

I'm not holding my breath for anything to change with Cal Athletics. I've written too many letters to people who never respond. I don't give enough to warrant anything other than a cut and paste email response. I don't live close enough to Berkeley to spend on the product.

I think a streaming service will just point out what is obvious to the media companies is that we think we are worth more than we really are. You can't claim your wealthy alumni base as a valuable asset if nobody tunes in. Furd is even worse.


I think you have a point. I recall going to a game in 2009, I'm pretty sure, with several alum friends. We all graduated in the mid 80s. They all went to games as students, but I got the impression they didn't go to games much anymore. They lived in the Bay area and I lived out of state. I happened to mention something specific about a player or two before the game and they all looked at me funny and said "you don't follow Cal football do you?", like I was some sort of oddball. I suspect they reflect the majority of Cal alumni.

If I see someone wearing Cal gear here in SoCal I will sometimes (not always) shout a "Go Bears!" and usually will get a good response. However, that's if the person is wearing a Cal hat or sweatshirt and so sort of self-identifying as a sports fan.

When I was maybe 4-5 years out of college I took a job at a place that had a lot of grads from around the country (around the world, actually). People took pride in their school, especially during college football bowl season or March Madness. Of course the people from Texas, USC, and Michigan were vocal fans, but even alumni of schools like NC State, Purdue, Colorado, and Northwestern tended to show school pride.

I found out this one senior guy I was working with was a Cal grad. I had no idea, but he mentioned something about "when I was at Berkeley..." which is how I found out. BTW, "the guys at Berkeley" is a common phrase and is usually followed by something to be really proud of but not related to athletics as in "the guys at Berkeley came up with a way to..."

Anyway, so this guy was about 30 years older than me, but I thought we had some kinship having both gone to Berkeley so the next time I e-mailed him about something work-related I closed by stating that I had gone to Berkeley, too, and it was nice to meet a fellow Bear. I signed off with "Go Bears!"

What I received back was the rudest, most ugly response you can imagine. This guy said that he spent most of his time at Berkeley studying and never really got into athletics or sports or anything like that. I can't really remember what he said, but it was a big put down and just really upset me at the time because there weren't that many Berkeley alums working there and I thought we had something in common. I never mentioned it again and I was glad when he switched departments. Some alumni network, huh?

Now, I don't want one jackass to define all Cal alumni, but I have to say that this attitude is a lot closer to how most Berkeley alumni feel about sports based on my experience in a technical field and as a student. There is a sort of snobbery that Stanford alumni also have as well as most Ivy League and similar schools like Caltech/MIT/Johns Hopkins, etc which don't participate in big time college sports which is that the students are either too busy doing great things to bother with sports or else they find that sort of a "normie" thing to be interested in and would rather play paintball or engage in cosplay or something rather than drink beer and tailgate at a football game.

By the way, I have to say that one of my best friends in high school hated sports. Hated it to watch them. Hated to play them. He and his circle of friends would go up into the mountains to a cabin with no TV on Super Bowl weekend to play roleplaying games without fail. After undergrad at Mudd he went to USC for grad school for two degrees and while there he actually went to a football game, because he wanted to spend time with his dad. I almost choked on my lunch when I heard that. I think that it was the height of the Pete Carroll era probably helped. So I think that there is some truth that having a winning team does matter, but unless Cal returns to its glory years I don't think that's something to count on.




Sorry to hear of your experience.

I usually have a different experience. But if I hear that someone went to "Berkeley" I begin by asking when they graduated. Were they undergraduates there and or grad students. What areas/majors did they study. What activities they participated in. Eventually I get to did they attend any sporting activities.

I normally will not give a "Go Bears" shout out or sign off unless I know they attended Cap athletic games or unless they wear "Cal" identifying paraphernalia

Even during the heights of Tedford's success there were many Berkeley students who did not attend Cal athletic events.

I remember one year I was walking past Doe Library after a jam packed Big Game (a victory). Tons of people wearing blue and gold on campus

I was stopped by a student who was exiting the library. He saw I was wearing my Cal gear.
He asked what was going on. Why were so many people wearing blue and gold. He thought there might be something going on at the Greek Theater

There are lots of students at Cal who are proud of their Berkeley education. But could not care less about Cal athletics.

So I try to connect with them as fellow Berkeley grads.



Understood.

I think that unlike some other schools there are two things working against us:

1. Our student body prides itself on being counterculture. Lost of students choose Berkeley for that reason. In that way we self-select against students that like big-time organized college athletics.

2. Our student body and administration can be actively hostile towards athletics. I have noticed that even though alums of schools like Michigan and Texas may not care about sports it is usually just apathy. At Berkeley there is an actual undercurrent of hostility, possibly because of #1 above.

I work with a Korean guy who got his PhD at Michigan. He could care less about sports, but he still wears a lanyard that says "Go Blue" on it and if Michigan is in a bowl he probably won't watch the game but he pays enough attention to know if they won or lost it. I think he's more engaged in athletics than many Berkeley alums are because it's just the culture of the school. I work with a lot of Texas alumni who could care less about sports, but they don't HATE them. They just shrug and say "It wouldn't be Texas without football and BBQ."

Anyway... my $0.02.

I was at Michigan only from '78-'80, and I think your conclusions are correct. There were students who loved revenue sports and those who ignored them with a shrug but everyone (including faculty) acknowledged it was part of the culture. I remember one prof mentioning with a wry smile that he regularly resold his football tickets through his barber. I think there were several reasons behind this tolerance:
  • As you say, UM football was/is an overwhelming part of the culture there. There was nothing to be gained by actively opposing it.
  • Michigan and in particular, Detroit was (and largely still is) in the economic dumps and UM was trying to attract out-of-state student $$, and if football was a lure, that was OK by the faculty and administration.
  • UM had THREE large indoor athletic facilities for students - each comparable to RSF (which was still several years in the future). I was told that much of the revenue from football/basketball was used to build/renovate these facilities. So, as a student, even if you didn't care for revenue sports, you still could benefit from them.

I worked for a couple of years before UM, so had a more businesslike attitude (probably like your Korean colleague) than I had as an undergrad at Cal, but I will say that a Football Saturday in Ann Arbor was something to see.
ColoradoBear
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HearstMining said:

dimitrig said:

GivemTheAxe said:

dimitrig said:

nwbear84 said:

CALiforniALUM said:

Econ141 said:

If PAC is dissolved

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/will-the-pac-12-break-up-where-each-team-would-go-if-league-disintegrates-over-media-rights-deal/

Hard to imagine the 6th largest media market being left out but hey, we have only ourselves to blame.

We place a lot of blame on the commissioner, the coach, the AD, and the chancellor for our problems, but when should we blame the fans?

If we had a rabid fanbase that demanded accountability none of this would even be a problem. The problem is that we don't have what it takes as a fanbase. Apathy has been part of Cal athletics since I graduated, and apparently with the exception for the few years I was on campus has also been the status quo since before my time back to the Pappy Waldorf's days.

I'm not holding my breath for anything to change with Cal Athletics. I've written too many letters to people who never respond. I don't give enough to warrant anything other than a cut and paste email response. I don't live close enough to Berkeley to spend on the product.

I think a streaming service will just point out what is obvious to the media companies is that we think we are worth more than we really are. You can't claim your wealthy alumni base as a valuable asset if nobody tunes in. Furd is even worse.


I think you have a point. I recall going to a game in 2009, I'm pretty sure, with several alum friends. We all graduated in the mid 80s. They all went to games as students, but I got the impression they didn't go to games much anymore. They lived in the Bay area and I lived out of state. I happened to mention something specific about a player or two before the game and they all looked at me funny and said "you don't follow Cal football do you?", like I was some sort of oddball. I suspect they reflect the majority of Cal alumni.

If I see someone wearing Cal gear here in SoCal I will sometimes (not always) shout a "Go Bears!" and usually will get a good response. However, that's if the person is wearing a Cal hat or sweatshirt and so sort of self-identifying as a sports fan.

When I was maybe 4-5 years out of college I took a job at a place that had a lot of grads from around the country (around the world, actually). People took pride in their school, especially during college football bowl season or March Madness. Of course the people from Texas, USC, and Michigan were vocal fans, but even alumni of schools like NC State, Purdue, Colorado, and Northwestern tended to show school pride.

I found out this one senior guy I was working with was a Cal grad. I had no idea, but he mentioned something about "when I was at Berkeley..." which is how I found out. BTW, "the guys at Berkeley" is a common phrase and is usually followed by something to be really proud of but not related to athletics as in "the guys at Berkeley came up with a way to..."

Anyway, so this guy was about 30 years older than me, but I thought we had some kinship having both gone to Berkeley so the next time I e-mailed him about something work-related I closed by stating that I had gone to Berkeley, too, and it was nice to meet a fellow Bear. I signed off with "Go Bears!"

What I received back was the rudest, most ugly response you can imagine. This guy said that he spent most of his time at Berkeley studying and never really got into athletics or sports or anything like that. I can't really remember what he said, but it was a big put down and just really upset me at the time because there weren't that many Berkeley alums working there and I thought we had something in common. I never mentioned it again and I was glad when he switched departments. Some alumni network, huh?

Now, I don't want one jackass to define all Cal alumni, but I have to say that this attitude is a lot closer to how most Berkeley alumni feel about sports based on my experience in a technical field and as a student. There is a sort of snobbery that Stanford alumni also have as well as most Ivy League and similar schools like Caltech/MIT/Johns Hopkins, etc which don't participate in big time college sports which is that the students are either too busy doing great things to bother with sports or else they find that sort of a "normie" thing to be interested in and would rather play paintball or engage in cosplay or something rather than drink beer and tailgate at a football game.

By the way, I have to say that one of my best friends in high school hated sports. Hated it to watch them. Hated to play them. He and his circle of friends would go up into the mountains to a cabin with no TV on Super Bowl weekend to play roleplaying games without fail. After undergrad at Mudd he went to USC for grad school for two degrees and while there he actually went to a football game, because he wanted to spend time with his dad. I almost choked on my lunch when I heard that. I think that it was the height of the Pete Carroll era probably helped. So I think that there is some truth that having a winning team does matter, but unless Cal returns to its glory years I don't think that's something to count on.




Sorry to hear of your experience.

I usually have a different experience. But if I hear that someone went to "Berkeley" I begin by asking when they graduated. Were they undergraduates there and or grad students. What areas/majors did they study. What activities they participated in. Eventually I get to did they attend any sporting activities.

I normally will not give a "Go Bears" shout out or sign off unless I know they attended Cap athletic games or unless they wear "Cal" identifying paraphernalia

Even during the heights of Tedford's success there were many Berkeley students who did not attend Cal athletic events.

I remember one year I was walking past Doe Library after a jam packed Big Game (a victory). Tons of people wearing blue and gold on campus

I was stopped by a student who was exiting the library. He saw I was wearing my Cal gear.
He asked what was going on. Why were so many people wearing blue and gold. He thought there might be something going on at the Greek Theater

There are lots of students at Cal who are proud of their Berkeley education. But could not care less about Cal athletics.

So I try to connect with them as fellow Berkeley grads.



Understood.

I think that unlike some other schools there are two things working against us:

1. Our student body prides itself on being counterculture. Lost of students choose Berkeley for that reason. In that way we self-select against students that like big-time organized college athletics.

2. Our student body and administration can be actively hostile towards athletics. I have noticed that even though alums of schools like Michigan and Texas may not care about sports it is usually just apathy. At Berkeley there is an actual undercurrent of hostility, possibly because of #1 above.

I work with a Korean guy who got his PhD at Michigan. He could care less about sports, but he still wears a lanyard that says "Go Blue" on it and if Michigan is in a bowl he probably won't watch the game but he pays enough attention to know if they won or lost it. I think he's more engaged in athletics than many Berkeley alums are because it's just the culture of the school. I work with a lot of Texas alumni who could care less about sports, but they don't HATE them. They just shrug and say "It wouldn't be Texas without football and BBQ."

Anyway... my $0.02.

I was at Michigan only from '78-'80, and I think your conclusions are correct. There were students who loved revenue sports and those who ignored them with a shrug but everyone (including faculty) acknowledged it was part of the culture. I remember one prof mentioning with a wry smile that he regularly resold his football tickets through his barber. I think there were several reasons behind this tolerance:
  • As you say, UM football was/is an overwhelming part of the culture there. There was nothing to be gained by actively opposing it.
  • Michigan and in particular, Detroit was (and largely still is) in the economic dumps and UM was trying to attract out-of-state student $$, and if football was a lure, that was OK by the faculty and administration.
  • UM had THREE large indoor athletic facilities for students - each comparable to RSF (which was still several years in the future). I was told that much of the revenue from football/basketball was used to build/renovate these facilities. So, as a student, even if you didn't care for revenue sports, you still could benefit from them.

I worked for a couple of years before UM, so had a more businesslike attitude (probably like your Korean colleague) than I had as an undergrad at Cal, but I will say that a Football Saturday in Ann Arbor was something to see.
Michigan is also now a money factory due to their out of state student population. $55k tuition each, and almost 50% of the student body. A public university can basically get by w/o any state subsidy for undergrads at 33% OOS students. Michigan probably has $200-300 million more to spend on undergraduate education each and every year... given year and only a slightly larger undergraduate population than Cal.
PtownBear1
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**** it, let's just form a conference with Furd. Call it the BANC-2 or Bay Area Nerds Conference. Play each other once a year in football as part of the regular season and a second time for the championship. In basketball, we could play twice during the regular season and a third time for the conference tourney.

Maybe even negotiate to have the football championship at the Rose Bowl (of course during some random time like a Wednesday night in May so it's economical) so we can finally see Cal win the Rose Bowl.
calumnus
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PtownBear1 said:

**** it, let's just form a conference with Furd. Call it the BANC-2 or Bay Area Nerds Conference. Play each other once a year in football as part of the regular season and a second time for the championship. In basketball, we could play twice during the regular season and a third time for the conference tourney.

Maybe even negotiate to have the football championship at the Rose Bowl (of course during some random time like a Wednesday night in May so it's economical) so we can finally see Cal win the Rose Bowl.


You joke, but there may be some merit to the idea. Essentially Cal and Stanford go independent and we schedule Stanford, USC, UCLA, Oregon, Washington, Notre Dame, Army and BYU every year. Maybe we get a deal with NBC to be the game after Notre Dame plays. Stream the rest on Apple.
southseasbear
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calumnus said:

PtownBear1 said:

**** it, let's just form a conference with Furd. Call it the BANC-2 or Bay Area Nerds Conference. Play each other once a year in football as part of the regular season and a second time for the championship. In basketball, we could play twice during the regular season and a third time for the conference tourney.

Maybe even negotiate to have the football championship at the Rose Bowl (of course during some random time like a Wednesday night in May so it's economical) so we can finally see Cal win the Rose Bowl.


You joke, but there may be some merit to the idea. Essentially Cal and Stanford go independent and we schedule Stanford, USC, UCLA, Oregon, Washington, Notre Dame, Army and BYU every year. Maybe we get a deal with NBC to be the game after Notre Dame plays. Stream the rest on Apple.
Notre Dame is not interested in us. Last year's game was an outlier. Maybe we would have a chance with the others. I would also like to see us regularly host HBCU teams. The game against Grambling was a near sellout (if not a sellout) and had one of the best half time shows I've ever seen.
Fire Knowlton!
Fire Fox!
Put Wilcox in a hot seat!
BearoutEast67
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Dodd's an entertainer, not a good journalist. He wouldn't know the truth if it snuck up behind him and bit him on the arse.
Donate to Cal's NIL at https://calegends.com/donation/
BillyBoyBlue
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Scott definitely played a role in this by limiting the distribution of the PAC-12 channel. I was at a conference near the Gaslamp district in San Diego. I wanted to watch the Cal-Oregon State game, but only 1 of the many sports bars in that area even carried the PAC-12 channel, and that bar was off the beaten track. Many of the bars were using Direct TV which was cut out of a PAC-12 contract. How can you retain viewership if fans can't watch the games ...

BBB
calumnus
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southseasbear said:

calumnus said:

PtownBear1 said:

**** it, let's just form a conference with Furd. Call it the BANC-2 or Bay Area Nerds Conference. Play each other once a year in football as part of the regular season and a second time for the championship. In basketball, we could play twice during the regular season and a third time for the conference tourney.

Maybe even negotiate to have the football championship at the Rose Bowl (of course during some random time like a Wednesday night in May so it's economical) so we can finally see Cal win the Rose Bowl.


You joke, but there may be some merit to the idea. Essentially Cal and Stanford go independent and we schedule Stanford, USC, UCLA, Oregon, Washington, Notre Dame, Army and BYU every year. Maybe we get a deal with NBC to be the game after Notre Dame plays. Stream the rest on Apple.
Notre Dame is not interested in us. Last year's game was an outlier. Maybe we would have a chance with the others. I would also like to see us regularly host HBCU teams. The game against Grambling was a near sellout (if not a sellout) and had one of the best half time shows I've ever seen.


As an independent, Notre Dame has trouble putting together an annual schedule and always has to play a few rando teams to make it work. You think NBC prefers Notre Dame vs Central Michigan or vs. Tennessee State, to Notre Dame vs California for national broadcasts? Having both Cal and Stanford as independents would be a godsend to Notre Dame for scheduling. Alumni would have an annual game in the Bay Area. Plus, Notre Dame likes to see itself as an academic school, so it would like that association too. NBC would like it too.
HearstMining
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So, a lot of people think that Oregon and UDub are likely B1G candidates at some point. I agree that UW fits - a large university in a major city with a strong economic base, a strong football heritage and large alumni following. Oregon, on the other hand has . . . an 84 year-old Phil Knight and the last ~20 years of pretty strong football heritage. Prior to that, their best known athlete was probably Steve Prefontaine.

What happens to UO when Knight is no longer around? Has he seeded the Nike executive team with enough UO alums that they will continue to pour $$ into the institution? UO's last three football HC hires have not been successful (coaches either fired or bailed after just a year or two). Eugene is 100 miles from Portland which is the only major population center (and much smaller than metro Seattle).

Can UO really be a long-term success as a member of the B1G?
ColoradoBear
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ColoradoBear said:

He also says the pro rata share for new teams in the Big 12 tv contract is $20 million per school. That is far to low to even get consideration from the 4 corner schools. So in a way he's right - if the p12 cannot crack $20 million per school, there is going to be a push to break up. But that seems very very low.

If Kliavkoff is pushing for (and promising members) $35-40 million per school, but only can get $20 million in the end, he's far worse than Scott. Dodd doesn't seem to actually have any info on the p12 situation, just a doomsday scenario.


For some reason I stumbled upon an earlier article from Dodd with more details of the big 12 tv contract.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/pac-12-should-be-concerned-about-visibility-not-value-compared-to-big-12-as-new-media-rights-deal-nears/

ESPN owns 63% of the TV package and Fox 37%. ESPN will contratually pay an EQUAL per school amount for new schools, which is 20 million. Fox does not have to pay, but if it doesn't, that 37% of the extra games would still be available to sell. So that's a starting point, but the end value would have to be negotiated.

Big 12 also has a 99 year agreement (well starting in 2012) that requires a exit fee of 2 years revenue to leave at any point before 2111. So about 80 million under the current contract. Not good for a west coast school looking for temporary stability before trying to jump to the Big Ten or SEC.

https://www.si.com/college/2023/02/03/big-12-sec-texas-longhorns-oklahoma-sooners-split-explainer
southseasbear
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calumnus said:

southseasbear said:

calumnus said:

PtownBear1 said:

**** it, let's just form a conference with Furd. Call it the BANC-2 or Bay Area Nerds Conference. Play each other once a year in football as part of the regular season and a second time for the championship. In basketball, we could play twice during the regular season and a third time for the conference tourney.

Maybe even negotiate to have the football championship at the Rose Bowl (of course during some random time like a Wednesday night in May so it's economical) so we can finally see Cal win the Rose Bowl.


You joke, but there may be some merit to the idea. Essentially Cal and Stanford go independent and we schedule Stanford, USC, UCLA, Oregon, Washington, Notre Dame, Army and BYU every year. Maybe we get a deal with NBC to be the game after Notre Dame plays. Stream the rest on Apple.
Notre Dame is not interested in us. Last year's game was an outlier. Maybe we would have a chance with the others. I would also like to see us regularly host HBCU teams. The game against Grambling was a near sellout (if not a sellout) and had one of the best half time shows I've ever seen.


As an independent, Notre Dame has trouble putting together an annual schedule and always has to play a few rando teams to make it work. You think NBC prefers Notre Dame vs Central Michigan or vs. Tennessee State, to Notre Dame vs California for national broadcasts? Having both Cal and Stanford as independents would be a godsend to Notre Dame for scheduling. Alumni would have an annual game in the Bay Area. Plus, Notre Dame likes to see itself as an academic school, so it would like that association too. NBC would like it too.
It is nice to believe that, but Cal has tried for decades to schedule Notre Dame. We eventually succeeded only because we agreed to a one shot deal to play there insead of the more typical home and home series.
Fire Knowlton!
Fire Fox!
Put Wilcox in a hot seat!
calumnus
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southseasbear said:

calumnus said:

southseasbear said:

calumnus said:

PtownBear1 said:

**** it, let's just form a conference with Furd. Call it the BANC-2 or Bay Area Nerds Conference. Play each other once a year in football as part of the regular season and a second time for the championship. In basketball, we could play twice during the regular season and a third time for the conference tourney.

Maybe even negotiate to have the football championship at the Rose Bowl (of course during some random time like a Wednesday night in May so it's economical) so we can finally see Cal win the Rose Bowl.


You joke, but there may be some merit to the idea. Essentially Cal and Stanford go independent and we schedule Stanford, USC, UCLA, Oregon, Washington, Notre Dame, Army and BYU every year. Maybe we get a deal with NBC to be the game after Notre Dame plays. Stream the rest on Apple.
Notre Dame is not interested in us. Last year's game was an outlier. Maybe we would have a chance with the others. I would also like to see us regularly host HBCU teams. The game against Grambling was a near sellout (if not a sellout) and had one of the best half time shows I've ever seen.


As an independent, Notre Dame has trouble putting together an annual schedule and always has to play a few rando teams to make it work. You think NBC prefers Notre Dame vs Central Michigan or vs. Tennessee State, to Notre Dame vs California for national broadcasts? Having both Cal and Stanford as independents would be a godsend to Notre Dame for scheduling. Alumni would have an annual game in the Bay Area. Plus, Notre Dame likes to see itself as an academic school, so it would like that association too. NBC would like it too.
It is nice to believe that, but Cal has tried for decades to schedule Notre Dame. We eventually succeeded only because we agreed to a one shot deal to play there insead of the more typical home and home series.


Ok, maybe I overstated it, but there is a difference being in the PAC-12 and as an independent.

Due to having a PAC-12 schedule, we had limited weekends available to play them and we were competing with everyone else who is in a conference and wants to play them in the first three weeks of the season (with USC/Stanford at the end of the season). They used to have a lot of trouble finding mid-season opponents and would play all the other independents.

That has been largely solved by their relationship with the ACC, who works their conference schedule around to accommodate them. However, it is still an advantage that being an independent would bring, especially if we teamed up with Stanford. We could fit into THEIR schedule.
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