If, by any chance, Cal were to be invited to the BIG, do you think season ticket and student ticket sales would increase? I think they would because joining the BIG would generate a lot of excitement. I view the BIG as much more appealing than the PAC 12.

HateRed said:

---

If, by any chance, Cal were to be invited to the BIG, do you think season ticket and student ticket sales would increase? I think they would because joining the BIG would generate a lot of excitement. I view the BIG as much more appealing than the PAC 12.

---

Having USC and UCLA on the schedule versus not, that would boost attendance in of itself.

Students:
Short-term - No change if Cal's record doesn't improve. 20% increase if they have a winning record
Long-term - 20% increase if Cal has a winning record

Non-students:
Short-term - Reasonable bump (say 25%) in attendance
Long-term - Maybe 50% increase in attendance if Cal has a winning record. Maybe 10% bump if Cal has record comparable to current.

Used to have season tickets (varied from 2-8 seats for maybe 15 years with a few years off). Gave them up for good at the beginning of Camp Wilcox. Even with the marginal head coach, I would get tickets again to see all these "new" teams. Can't say I would do the same for hoops with the current coach.

Have to see how this schedule plays out, but home games against SC, TOSU, Michigan, Whisky (they travel well), Iowa (they travel well) and Nebraska (they travel well), and maybe Penn State, sell out or come close to it.

Each home came would become a Big 10 team home game. Look at the last Ohio State game at CAL.

Ohio State does that with almost any away game, even against Michigan.

mdcspe69 said:

---

Each home came would become a Big 10 team home game. Look at the last Ohio State game at CAL.

---

Gawd, I'd love to have a re-do on that one, with us having a better team and thus having a little more hype among the fanbase. Cool that they brought a lot of fans (not to mention their band), but I'd like it to be 45,000 of ours and 15,000 of theirs.

wifeisafurd said:

---

Have to see how this schedule plays out, but home games against SC, TOSU, Michigan, Whisky (they travel well), Iowa (they travel well) and Nebraska (they travel well), and maybe Penn State, sell out or come close to it.

---

But if Cal and Stanford both join the B1G, it will dilute the effect of traveling fans. If Wisconsin fans come to a Stanford game in, say 2027, I doubt they'll come to Cal in 2028. Unless they live near Chicago or Minneapolis, it won't be a nonstop flight.

HearstMining said:

---

wifeisafurd said:

---

Have to see how this schedule plays out, but home games against SC, TOSU, Michigan, Whisky (they travel well), Iowa (they travel well) and Nebraska (they travel well), and maybe Penn State, sell out or come close to it.

---

But if Cal and Stanford both join the B1G, it will dilute the effect of traveling fans. If Wisconsin fans come to a Stanford game in, say 2027, I doubt they'll come to Cal in 2028. Unless they live near Chicago or Minneapolis, it won't be a nonstop flight.

---

With a 20 team conference and 9 conference games how often would teams actually travel that far though?

If 6 west coast teams all play each other every year, that leaves 4 games to rotate between 14 teams. So every 3-4 years of Cal and Furd were both in, or 6-7 if only one joins. 6 west coast teams would also be pretty awkward in a 20 team league, but 5 west coast teams out of 20, or 6 out of 24 would mean easier scheduling. With 24 teams it would be bay area trips every 5 or 10 years depending on if both Cal and Furd are invited or just one. Or there could be some additional unbalanced scheduling where power teams like Michigan and Ohio State play in LA more often to get TV ratings and markets like the Bay Area get lesser drawing teams like Purdue or Illinois more frequently.

ColoradoBear said:

---

HearstMining said:

---

wifeisafurd said:

---

Have to see how this schedule plays out, but home games against SC, TOSU, Michigan, Whisky (they travel well), Iowa (they travel well) and Nebraska (they travel well), and maybe Penn State, sell out or come close to it.

---

But if Cal and Stanford both join the B1G, it will dilute the effect of traveling fans. If Wisconsin fans come to a Stanford game in, say 2027, I doubt they'll come to Cal in 2028. Unless they live near Chicago or Minneapolis, it won't be a nonstop flight.

---

With a 20 team conference and 9 conference games how often would teams actually travel that far though?

If 6 west coast teams all play each other every year, that leaves 4 games to rotate between 14 teams. So every 3-4 years of Cal and Furd were both in, or 6-7 if only one joins. 6 west coast teams would also be pretty awkward in a 20 team league, but 5 west coast teams out of 20, or 6 out of 24 would mean easier scheduling. With 24 teams it would be bay area trips every 5 or 10 years depending on if both Cal and Furd are invited or just one. Or there could be some additional unbalanced scheduling where power teams like Michigan and Ohio State play in LA more often to get TV ratings and markets like the Bay Area get lesser drawing teams like Purdue or Illinois more frequently.

---

Exactly. I see 24 teams in 4 x 6 team pods. Assume you play the 5 teams in your pod plus one from each of the other pods for an 8 game conference schedule. That means the other teams travel to the Bay Area once every 6 years, and to Berkeley only once every 12 years. It would still be a novelty and fans would travel in big numbers (especially those who already live on the West Coast). Big crowds in nationally televised games.

If you add a 9th conference game it is a Bay Area trip every 4.5 years on average and Berkeley every 9. If you play 10 conference games it is a Bay Area trip every 3.6 years on average and a trip to Berkeley every 7.2 years on average.

4 x 6 team pods for a 24 team conference is exactly why I think the B1G is waiting on the ACC to dissolve its GoR to add any more west coast teams. 4 more west coast teams, 4 more east coast teams, call it a day.

I actually hope that they do 5 games against your pod + 2 games against each of the other pods for an 11 game schedule, leaving 1 out of conference game. This could be extra motivation for a team like Notre Dame to join a conference, as they would have even more trouble scheduling other teams outside, and it would mean every 3 years you play everyone in your conference.

I'd actually like to see a more inclusive post season for conference bragging rights as well. This is where conference alliances would work great if we weren't in the middle of a contraction.

At the end of the season when the top top teams go off to the playoffs, let the rest of the teams battle likewise placed teams in the other conferences. Can do it when bowl games used to exist, and if we end up with an even number of conferences it would work really well. Last place B1G vs last place SEC, then move your way up until you run into teams in the playoffs. Could be a fun appetizer for the playoffs, and start a lot of **** talking between conferences about overall records leading up to the playoffs.

Conversations about our conference being deeper than yours, even if yours is more top heavy could start having some weight. If you really wanted to have fun with it you could base playoff seeding based on how the lower teams did. Give motivation for conferences to lift everyone up instead of pushing down teams to have body bag games.

You would think that the Bay Area would be more attractive to traveling BIG fans than would a trip to LA (no focal point to visit). That's why I think that eventually, the BIG will invite us and Furd. They pay attention to their fans and to common sense.

Rushinbear said:

---

You would think that the Bay Area would be more attractive to traveling BIG fans than would a trip to LA (no focal point to visit). That's why I think that eventually, the BIG will invite us and Furd. They pay attention to their fans and to common sense.

---

I think both are attractive and each fan base would be traveling infrequently enough for both to be draws.

MrGPAC said:

---

4 x 6 team pods for a 24 team conference is exactly why I think the B1G is waiting on the ACC to dissolve its GoR to add any more west coast teams. 4 more west coast teams, 4 more east coast teams, call it a day.

I actually hope that they do 5 games against your pod + 2 games against each of the other pods for an 11 game schedule, leaving 1 out of conference game. This could be extra motivation for a team like Notre Dame to join a conference, as they would have even more trouble scheduling other teams outside, and it would mean every 3 years you play everyone in your conference.

I'd actually like to see a more inclusive post season for conference bragging rights as well. This is where conference alliances would work great if we weren't in the middle of a contraction.

At the end of the season when the top top teams go off to the playoffs, let the rest of the teams battle likewise placed teams in the other conferences. Can do it when bowl games used to exist, and if we end up with an even number of conferences it would work really well. Last place B1G vs last place SEC, then move your way up until you run into teams in the playoffs. Could be a fun appetizer for the playoffs, and start a lot of **** talking between conferences about overall records leading up to the playoffs.

Conversations about our conference being deeper than yours, even if yours is more top heavy could start having some weight. If you really wanted to have fun with it you could base playoff seeding based on how the lower teams did. Give motivation for conferences to lift everyone up instead of pushing down teams to have body bag games.

---

I like that.

I think you hit on a key; the B1G needs the dissolving of the ACC GOR to expand east and south.

That is why I think Kliavkoff and the ACC commissioner have a huge incentive to agree to a merger. ESPN should support it to block Fox and hold onto West Coast/evening content.

Not sure how I would divide it up into divisions. ACC is currently 2 x 7 team divisions.

We need to add 4 teams. That lets the combined league have central time games (SMU, rice, Tulane, etc). It also 4 allows for pods of 7 teams. 6 games against your own pod, 1 game from each other pod and 3 nonconference games