JimSox said:

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All the complaints here have valid points. But the alternative is oblivion. All athletes who can will transfer if we are not in a P5 (P4) conference. If this moves the B1G to make an offer, great. We'd have a West Coast pod of six. If not, take any decent offer from the ACC. SAVE CAL SPORTS!!

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I am 100% on board with a deal with the ACC (including Notre Dame) and ESPN (plus Apple?) and most of our other sports going to the Big West.

I do hope we can play most games at 3:30 instead of 7:30.

calumnus said:

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JimSox said:

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All the complaints here have valid points. But the alternative is oblivion. All athletes who can will transfer if we are not in a P5 (P4) conference. If this moves the B1G to make an offer, great. We'd have a West Coast pod of six. If not, take any decent offer from the ACC. SAVE CAL SPORTS!!

---

I am 100% on board with a deal with the ACC (including Notre Dame) and ESPN (plus Apple?) and most of our other sports going to the Big West.

I do hope we can play most games at 3:30 instead of 7:30.

---

Didnt the ACC come to a deal with CW lately to be able to broadcast more games? I wonder how more teams factors into that deal.

Econ141 said:

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GivemTheAxe said:

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Econ141 said:

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Don't worry everyone, Carol and Jim are not "just waiting on the sidelines." In fact they have a regents meeting scheduled for tomorrow morning where they will announce a 6 month plan led by a third party consulting service to find us a home.

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Six month is too long. If Cal football doesn't have a home before the end of the season. Cal won't have a team at the end of the season as soon as the Portal opens.
All players will rush to the exit
If the Chancellor and AD don't realize this, they are more clueless than portrayed on this Board

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That was sarcasm - that was the time we took to investigate the swimming scandal. Everything so slow. We will fire Jim Knowlton after his contract expires due to his role in the scandal.

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It took 8 months.
But who's counting.

golden sloth said:

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calumnus said:

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JimSox said:

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All the complaints here have valid points. But the alternative is oblivion. All athletes who can will transfer if we are not in a P5 (P4) conference. If this moves the B1G to make an offer, great. We'd have a West Coast pod of six. If not, take any decent offer from the ACC. SAVE CAL SPORTS!!

---

I am 100% on board with a deal with the ACC (including Notre Dame) and ESPN (plus Apple?) and most of our other sports going to the Big West.

I do hope we can play most games at 3:30 instead of 7:30.

---

Didnt the ACC come to a deal with CW lately to be able to broadcast more games? I wonder how more teams factors into that deal.

---

The ACC made no such deal.

ESPN re-sold the rights to the CW themselves.

Frankly that deal still miffs me. Rumors all along were that the Pac was looking to do streaming + a traditional broadcaster. Rumors were that the CW was a candidate to be that traditional broadcaster.

Then ESPN suddenly sold rights to some games to the CW, and then the Pac presents a streaming only offer (with the option for that streamer to re-sell rights at their discretion).

Lets see everything that ESPN/Fox have done to kill the Pac:

1) Fox played an active part in getting USC/UCLA to the B1G
2) Fox refused to bid at all on the Pac content
3) ESPN low balled the Pac (likely to try to keep the ACC happier / not the lowest paid conference)
4) Fox + ESPN put a bounty on P5 programs to the Big12
5) ESPN sold content at a lower price to the CW to take them off the board as a potential buyer
6) Fox coming in at the 11th hour to take Oregon / Washington just when it looks like everyone is going to sign on with the Pac12 GoR and with Apples deal, which apparently was a lot more attractive than originally reported.

What am I missing here? Something about preying on Colorado to get the dominoes started on the outright collapse? Its getting harder and harder to see this as anything but an orchestrated plan to kill the Pac12 by a couple of networks that were butt hurt that the Pac12 dared try starting their own network without their help, and then shut them out of any opportunity to buy it. I'm sure that blocking out Apple as a competitor was a nice bonus too. The longer it takes for streaming to take over the better it is for Fox / ESPN.

And lets face it...Fox/ESPN don't care if they kill college football all together in the long term. They are trying to maximize short term profits while they are clinging on to their very existence. They are fading into oblivion anyways...live sporting events are the last thing around keeping the traditional carriage models alive and their days are numbered. Super conferences are *awful* for the long term health of college football...get rid of all but the top performing schools and you'll be left with the minor leagues of the NFL. How much money does the G league in NBA make? How about the minor leagues in baseball? Why would this be any different when you kill off everything that makes amateur collegiate sports unique / special?

MrGPAC said:

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golden sloth said:

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calumnus said:

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JimSox said:

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All the complaints here have valid points. But the alternative is oblivion. All athletes who can will transfer if we are not in a P5 (P4) conference. If this moves the B1G to make an offer, great. We'd have a West Coast pod of six. If not, take any decent offer from the ACC. SAVE CAL SPORTS!!

---

I am 100% on board with a deal with the ACC (including Notre Dame) and ESPN (plus Apple?) and most of our other sports going to the Big West.

I do hope we can play most games at 3:30 instead of 7:30.

---

Didnt the ACC come to a deal with CW lately to be able to broadcast more games? I wonder how more teams factors into that deal.

---

The ACC made no such deal.

ESPN re-sold the rights to the CW themselves.

Frankly that deal still miffs me. Rumors all along were that the Pac was looking to do streaming + a traditional broadcaster. Rumors were that the CW was a candidate to be that traditional broadcaster.

Then ESPN suddenly sold rights to some games to the CW, and then the Pac presents a streaming only offer (with the option for that streamer to re-sell rights at their discretion).

Lets see everything that ESPN/Fox have done to kill the Pac:

1) Fox played an active part in getting USC/UCLA to the B1G
2) Fox refused to bid at all on the Pac content
3) ESPN low balled the Pac (likely to try to keep the ACC happier / not the lowest paid conference)
4) Fox + ESPN put a bounty on P5 programs to the Big12
5) ESPN sold content at a lower price to the CW to take them off the board as a potential buyer
6) Fox coming in at the 11th hour to take Oregon / Washington just when it looks like everyone is going to sign on with the Pac12 GoR and with Apples deal, which apparently was a lot more attractive than originally reported.

What am I missing here? Something about preying on Colorado to get the dominoes started on the outright collapse? Its getting harder and harder to see this as anything but an orchestrated plan to kill the Pac12 by a couple of networks that were butt hurt that the Pac12 dared try starting their own network without their help, and then shut them out of any opportunity to buy it. I'm sure that blocking out Apple as a competitor was a nice bonus too. The longer it takes for streaming to take over the better it is for Fox / ESPN.

And lets face it...Fox/ESPN don't care if they kill college football all together in the long term. They are trying to maximize short term profits while they are clinging on to their very existence. They are fading into oblivion anyways...live sporting events are the last thing around keeping the traditional carriage models alive and their days are numbered. Super conferences are *awful* for the long term health of college football...get rid of all but the top performing schools and you'll be left with the minor leagues of the NFL. How much money does the G league in NBA make? How about the minor leagues in baseball? Why would this be any different when you kill off everything that makes amateur collegiate sports unique / special?

---

I'd like to add that the Pac-12 was an opponent of the expanded college football playoff. With the death of the Pac-12, one more opposition voice was silenced.

Who had the most to gain from an expanded playoff? The networks.

MrGPAC said:

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Lets see everything that ESPN/Fox have done to kill the Pac:

1) Fox played an active part in getting USC/UCLA to the B1G
2) Fox refused to bid at all on the Pac content
3) ESPN low balled the Pac (likely to try to keep the ACC happier / not the lowest paid conference)
4) Fox + ESPN put a bounty on P5 programs to the Big12
5) ESPN sold content at a lower price to the CW to take them off the board as a potential buyer
6) Fox coming in at the 11th hour to take Oregon / Washington just when it looks like everyone is going to sign on with the Pac12 GoR and with Apples deal, which apparently was a lot more attractive than originally reported.

---

On that last point: The Apple offer was $23 million per school per year guaranteed, with escalators for subscriptions that could have bumped it over $30 million. It does look like Fox used that information to cut Apple and the Pac off at the knees by convincing Big Ten presidents to offer a slightly better deal to UO and UW.

Arizona president Robert Robbins says UA and other Pac-9 schools were “expecting Friday morning to show up together and sign in blood our Grant of Rights over to the Pac-12 Conference.”

Then a president from either Washington or Oregon notified him about their move to Big 10. pic.twitter.com/UvsFoIFiWu

— Justin Spears (@JustinESports) August 7, 2023

SBJ Media: Rights Slowdown Hits Pac-12

By John Ourand
Sports Business Journal
August 7, 2023

TV Networks Made Small Pac-12 Bids Last Week

ESPN, Fox and CBS all put in last-minute bids for packages of Pac-12 games. But the bids all came in way lower than the conference wanted. How low? Commissioner George Kliavkoff only presented the conference's presidents with Apple TV's bid last week.

Fox's bid was for a package of just 13 football games, for which it said it would pay around $35-$40 million per year. Fox's bid, essentially, was for what it considered part of the conference's "B" package.

ESPN had offered a significant package to the conference more than a year ago -- one that the conference's university presidents rejected. ESPN ended up cutting a deal with the Big 12, and while it remained involved with the Pac-12, it only put in a small bid for Pac-12 rights within the past few weeks.

CBS also engaged with the Pac-12 over the past couple of weeks, but it only put forward a bid for a handful of basketball games -- around five in total. Sources had expected ESPN and Amazon to share the Pac-12's "A" package. But as it turned out, Amazon never submitted a bid. Neither did NBC.

The delay from last year, when ESPN, Fox and CBS were willing to do a deal, to last week, when all three put forth small bids, was devastating to the Pac-12. A changing media landscape -- with shrinking subscriber numbers and employee layoffs -- caused the networks to be much more disciplined in where to spend their money than they have in the past.

Similarly, Wall Street hit the streamers hard as shares fell once bankers started prioritizing profits over subscriber growth and caused deep-pocketed companies like Amazon and Apple to also become more disciplined in how much they spend on sports rights.

There's also been a lot of speculation over Fox's role in convincing Oregon and Washington to reject the proposed Apple deal and move over to the Big Ten. Fox was instrumental in orchestrating UCLA and USC's move from the Pac-12, and there's been a lot of speculation that it was the driving force behind this move, too.

Fox was involved, of course. But my sources tell me that Fox was much more reactive with Oregon and Washington. Once the schools saw the Apple bid, they reached out to the Big Ten about switching conferences. That's when the Big Ten called Fox to see if its main network partner would help fund part of the move.

Fox holds the current Pac-12 rights through '24, which accounts for about 22 football games per year. Having Oregon and Washington move to the Big Ten would help the network fill at least some of the Pac-12 schedule that it will be losing after 2024.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/SB-Blogs/Newsletter-Media/2023/08/07.aspx

Now I know how black holed swallow stars..... How does the NCAA allow a conference to just dissolve? Hard to believe the West Coast is not important, didn't USC and UCLA get poached? Who the F@#$ is running the NCAA....

Trumpanzee said:

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Now I know how black holed swallow stars..... How does the NCAA allow a conference to just dissolve? Hard to believe the West Coast is not important, didn't USC and UCLA get poached? Who the F@#$ is running the NCAA....

---

College Football and college athletics in general do not have a strong governing body or strong leaders in general. Privately people are appalled by a lot of this movement and realignment. But the NCAA is failry toothless to stop any of this.

Unfortunately, the Pac-10/12 has always been handicapped by a lack of leadership and vision... Tom Hansen? All the charisma and foresight of a Ft. Wayne insurance salesman... Larry Scott? Arrogant and inneffective dilletante... George Kliavkoff? Hapless Las Vegas huckster and marketing wonk... throw in the elitist no nothing Presidents and university regents? The league fell further and further behind, and grew weaker and poorer each and every year.

Sad that this happened to the once great Pac-10 Conference. But honestly I'm not surprised.

105 years of tradition lost into the black hole.....

Econ141 said:

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oski003 said:

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Econ141 said:

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BearHunter said:

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ACC exploring expansion for Cal/Stanford. Intrigued to see how this would be structured. No way can those 2 schools receive a full share. But how will Cal:Stanford afford the increased travel costs otherwise? https://t.co/vj1VDk83jv

— Mike Lewis 1🕊️15🕊️41 (@Mikeysurf) August 7, 2023

The travel situation is definitely not ideal.

---

None of this makes sense. If Carol hasn't reached out to the B1G because of travel concerns, this is a non-starter.

No way she would sign up for this. And the ACC is dysfunctional right now. I reiterate - the B1G is the only viable option. Carol needs to figure it out or let's close down shop. No one here is going to watch Cal play in the MWC and we are the only fans left.

---

"If Carol hasn't reached out to the B1G because of travel concerns...".

All of your conclusions are based on an unproven statement in the second sentence, which you and Calalumnus have stated and implied over and over again the past week or so. Therefore, it certainly can make sense. Also, even if your premise is true, we may be able to go ACC for football and basketball only and, despite SactownDog being butthurt over Fresno State not offering wine doctorates (they apparently offer whine doctorates), may go to the Big West for other sports.

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Lol at wine doctorates!

To be clear I have not stated that she hasn't or has - I am just very anxious to know one way or the other. I would be totally surprised if she hadn't in the one year since UCLA made the decision to move. I would be completely bewildered if she hasn't since the events of last Friday. Sadly, if the answer was no, I think our program is dead - there is no way the program is going to have a turnaround that will warrant them being part of the 30-40 schools that make up the final mega conference. Any other option is just delaying death.

So as asinine as it sounds, I now hope she hasn't reached out and will do so immediately. Putting aside Cal/Stanford ... Not having a college football team on the national stage in the Bay Area sucks. I don't buy the no one cares about football here. There just needs to be a good team or two that the whole bay area can rally around. Better marketing and money can solve both. That is why I'm surprised the B1G/media won't just scoop us up on the cheap and force us to deliver...here 35 million per year for the next 5 seasons. Have a winning .500 conference record or you are out.

---

With the Raiders gone and the A's on their way out, there will be a bit more room in the Bay Area/NorCal sports diet for a successful college team (football or hoops). Someone just has to step up.

WSU:
https://from.ucomm.wsu.edu/president/2023/addressing-recent-Pac-12-developments/email.html

Cal:
<crickets>

Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne has published a paper demonstrating that the travel distance from Stanford and Cal to the ACC isn’t that bad. pic.twitter.com/AgBmUqM22l

— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) August 8, 2023

Arrogant and wastefull. Scott moved the Pac12 HQ from cheap Walnut Creek to downtown SF. Cost the conference like $5M a year. Total waste. And don't forget it was under his watch that we didn't let hte cable companies know they were overpaying.

OskiDeLaHoya said:

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Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne has published a paper demonstrating that the travel distance from Stanford and Cal to the ACC isn’t that bad. pic.twitter.com/AgBmUqM22l

— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) August 8, 2023

---

Ok, this is pretty good lol

The Airplane Conference ... it's even in our history...

In the late 1950s, the Pacific Coast Conference disbanded because of a number of feuds and scandals among its members. Five of them (Cal, Stanford, UCLA, USC and Washington) decided for a bit they'd rather form a new conference with schools from the other side of the country -- Army, Navy, Notre Dame, Penn State, Syracuse -- than with Idaho, Oregon, Oregon State and Washington State.

But it turned out the world wasn't yet ready for what was being called the Airplane Conference. The five members joined back up with three of the other four major Western schools (sorry, Idaho) and soldiered on in what would eventually become the Pac-8....

HoopDreams said:

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The Airplane Conference ... it's even in our history...

In the late 1950s, the Pacific Coast Conference disbanded because of a number of feuds and scandals among its members. Five of them (Cal, Stanford, UCLA, USC and Washington) decided for a bit they'd rather form a new conference with schools from the other side of the country -- Army, Navy, Notre Dame, Penn State, Syracuse -- than with Idaho, Oregon, Oregon State and Washington State.

But it turned out the world wasn't yet ready for what was being called the Airplane Conference. The five members joined back up with three of the other four major Western schools (sorry, Idaho) and soldiered on in what would eventually become the Pac-8....

---

Nice history!

bluehenbear said:

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WSU:
https://from.ucomm.wsu.edu/president/2023/addressing-recent-Pac-12-developments/email.html

Cal:
<crickets>

---

Good letter from the WSU President that gives out about as much information as he can. He gives the reader confidence that he isn't just sitting on his a$$. Would be nice to receive a similar letter from Carol Christ, giving us reason for hope.

OskiDeLaHoya said:

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Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne has published a paper demonstrating that the travel distance from Stanford and Cal to the ACC isn’t that bad. pic.twitter.com/AgBmUqM22l

— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) August 8, 2023

---

Haha, that's gold!

Big C said:

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philly1121 said:

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Big C said:

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Can you imagine, before all this bs started, if someone had told you that Cal and Stanfurd would be joining the Atlantic Coast Conference? You'd have laughed and asked them if they had ever looked at a map or knew even the first thing about geography.

We live in a crazy world now.

---

Wait a minute, now we're all ok with East Coast travel and winters? Nah, its no big deal anymore, right? Flights are cheap and it doesn't start snowing in MA or PA till January anyway. lol

---

Up until, what, 15 mos. ago, we were talking about limiting night home games. You know, for the "fan experience". Now, if the B1G wanted to have a "Midnight Madness" game, East Coast time, we would schedule every one of our games for 9 PM, in exchange for an invite. And we'd be smiling and thanking them.

---

You would be. This is why I argued that the debacle was an opportunity to forge a way that put cal's interests first. Oh well

bluehenbear said:

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WSU:
https://from.ucomm.wsu.edu/president/2023/addressing-recent-Pac-12-developments/email.html

Cal:
<crickets>

---

It is a great statement from a college leader.

Golden One said:

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bluehenbear said:

---

WSU:
https://from.ucomm.wsu.edu/president/2023/addressing-recent-Pac-12-developments/email.html

Cal:
<crickets>

---

Good letter from the WSU President that gives out about as much information as he can. He gives the reader confidence that he isn't just sitting on his a$$. Would be nice to receive a similar letter from Carol Christ, giving us reason for hope.

---

It's actually not that different than the one Cal released; someone on this board shared a longer Cal letter than the public release.

The biggest difference is the WSU letter harshly criticizes / blames Oregon and Washington. And that certainly added more passion and emotion to the letter making the reader believe the admins were as hurt and invested in the process as the fans.

I don't know if that's because Christ and Knowlton are simply the type of people who don't believe in making emotional statements or if it's because they thought they still had a shot at the B1G and didn't want to ruffle any feathers.

just normal for Cal to not say anything. such incompetence. Cal probably just assumes those associated with Cal don't care or will just go along with whatever is the end result. no sports, oh well, better for the academics. then the branding use of Cal Berkeley will be finalized and no one will use CAL (who?).

Ok , will have to find that letter. i read the public one. did not know there was a more extensive letter.

LodeBear said:

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Ok , will have to find that letter. i read the public one. did not know there was a more extensive letter.

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Office of the Chancellor
Dear campus community,

As you may be aware, two more of our Pac-12 peer institutions, Oregon and Washington, have decided to leave the conference one year from now, and there are reports that additional universities may be considering similar steps.

These changes are just the latest developments in the ongoing realignment of the conferences around which intercollegiate athletics are organized; changes that raise serious questions and challenges for Cal Athletics.

We are not watching and waiting from the sidelines. Together, we are evaluating a variety of options that will ensure our student athletes can continue to thrive, and that our intercollegiate athletics program can continue to excel in a manner consistent with our institutional values and budgetary realities.

We recognize and deeply value the singular role Cal Athletics plays in terms of the participatory and educational opportunities it provides to our students, and the way in which it supports the strength, spirit and cohesion of our university's extended community of students, staff, faculty and alumni.

As we review the options before us, these are the attributes we are committed to protect and preserve.

At this point, as complicated conversations and negotiations continue, there is little else we can say without jeopardizing our interests. We are grateful for the continued support of the campus community and the extended Cal family, and will remain committed to sharing as much information as we can in the days ahead.

Fiat Lux and Go Bears!

Carol T. Christ
Chancellor

Jim Knowlton
Director, Intercollegiate Athletics


This message was sent to all UC Berkeley staff, students, and faculty.

BearMDJD said:

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LodeBear said:

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Ok , will have to find that letter. i read the public one. did not know there was a more extensive letter.

---

Office of the Chancellor
Dear campus community,

As you may be aware, two more of our Pac-12 peer institutions, Oregon and Washington, have decided to leave the conference one year from now, and there are reports that additional universities may be considering similar steps.

These changes are just the latest developments in the ongoing realignment of the conferences around which intercollegiate athletics are organized; changes that raise serious questions and challenges for Cal Athletics.

We are not watching and waiting from the sidelines. Together, we are evaluating a variety of options that will ensure our student athletes can continue to thrive, and that our intercollegiate athletics program can continue to excel in a manner consistent with our institutional values and budgetary realities.

We recognize and deeply value the singular role Cal Athletics plays in terms of the participatory and educational opportunities it provides to our students, and the way in which it supports the strength, spirit and cohesion of our university's extended community of students, staff, faculty and alumni.

As we review the options before us, these are the attributes we are committed to protect and preserve.

At this point, as complicated conversations and negotiations continue, there is little else we can say without jeopardizing our interests. We are grateful for the continued support of the campus community and the extended Cal family, and will remain committed to sharing as much information as we can in the days ahead.

Fiat Lux and Go Bears!

Carol T. Christ
Chancellor

Jim Knowlton
Director, Intercollegiate Athletics


This message was sent to all UC Berkeley staff, students, and faculty.

---

Sounds pretty much the same as the public facing one. We are the lone "paragon of virtue" among a sea of sharks. Not surprising considering we are the only school to give up College Gameday because we felt bad for VT after their mass shooting.

DoubtfulBear said:

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BearMDJD said:

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LodeBear said:

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Ok , will have to find that letter. i read the public one. did not know there was a more extensive letter.

---

Office of the Chancellor
Dear campus community,

As you may be aware, two more of our Pac-12 peer institutions, Oregon and Washington, have decided to leave the conference one year from now, and there are reports that additional universities may be considering similar steps.

These changes are just the latest developments in the ongoing realignment of the conferences around which intercollegiate athletics are organized; changes that raise serious questions and challenges for Cal Athletics.

We are not watching and waiting from the sidelines. Together, we are evaluating a variety of options that will ensure our student athletes can continue to thrive, and that our intercollegiate athletics program can continue to excel in a manner consistent with our institutional values and budgetary realities.

We recognize and deeply value the singular role Cal Athletics plays in terms of the participatory and educational opportunities it provides to our students, and the way in which it supports the strength, spirit and cohesion of our university's extended community of students, staff, faculty and alumni.

As we review the options before us, these are the attributes we are committed to protect and preserve.

At this point, as complicated conversations and negotiations continue, there is little else we can say without jeopardizing our interests. We are grateful for the continued support of the campus community and the extended Cal family, and will remain committed to sharing as much information as we can in the days ahead.

Fiat Lux and Go Bears!

Carol T. Christ
Chancellor

Jim Knowlton
Director, Intercollegiate Athletics


This message was sent to all UC Berkeley staff, students, and faculty.

---

Sounds pretty much the same as the public facing one. We are the lone "paragon of virtue" among a sea of sharks. Not surprising considering we are the only school to give up College Gameday because we felt bad for VT after their mass shooting.

---

It is fundamentally different.

The WSU letter clearly demonstrates a comitment to learning (and understanding) the changing enviroment in which college athletics and media are entering. He laid out why as chancellor he was interested in the Apple deal even if less money while his partner to the West was stuck in "old thinking".

Meanwhile this ("We are not watching and waiting from the sidelines. Together, we are evaluating a variety of options that will ensure our student athletes can continue to thrive, and that our intercollegiate athletics program can continue to excel in a manner consistent with our institutional values and budgetary realities.") again surfaces the tension between Cal ("institutional values") and the sullied worth of ICA.

Now I have been one of the loudest voices about that tension and the need to chart a new way because of it. But putting it front and center in your "all is well and we are on it" letter feels a misstep.

Oh - and the other thing the WSU letter does which cal does not is give a call to action. Three things COugar fans and supporters can do.

Let's not lionize this guy. Schulz was on the conference media deal exec committee - he is as much to blame and probably more than most chancellors/presidents, in terms of not reading the room of his fellow school leaders who bailed, of not sounding the alarms of Kliavkoff not being able to land anything substantial, or for probably playing a role in turning down early offers from the linear networks that were better than what was offered late.

socaltownie said:

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DoubtfulBear said:

---

BearMDJD said:

---

LodeBear said:

---

Ok , will have to find that letter. i read the public one. did not know there was a more extensive letter.

---

Office of the Chancellor
Dear campus community,

As you may be aware, two more of our Pac-12 peer institutions, Oregon and Washington, have decided to leave the conference one year from now, and there are reports that additional universities may be considering similar steps.

These changes are just the latest developments in the ongoing realignment of the conferences around which intercollegiate athletics are organized; changes that raise serious questions and challenges for Cal Athletics.

We are not watching and waiting from the sidelines. Together, we are evaluating a variety of options that will ensure our student athletes can continue to thrive, and that our intercollegiate athletics program can continue to excel in a manner consistent with our institutional values and budgetary realities.

We recognize and deeply value the singular role Cal Athletics plays in terms of the participatory and educational opportunities it provides to our students, and the way in which it supports the strength, spirit and cohesion of our university's extended community of students, staff, faculty and alumni.

As we review the options before us, these are the attributes we are committed to protect and preserve.

At this point, as complicated conversations and negotiations continue, there is little else we can say without jeopardizing our interests. We are grateful for the continued support of the campus community and the extended Cal family, and will remain committed to sharing as much information as we can in the days ahead.

Fiat Lux and Go Bears!

Carol T. Christ
Chancellor

Jim Knowlton
Director, Intercollegiate Athletics


This message was sent to all UC Berkeley staff, students, and faculty.

---

Sounds pretty much the same as the public facing one. We are the lone "paragon of virtue" among a sea of sharks. Not surprising considering we are the only school to give up College Gameday because we felt bad for VT after their mass shooting.

---

It is fundamentally different.

The WSU letter clearly demonstrates a comitment to learning (and understanding) the changing enviroment in which college athletics and media are entering. He laid out why as chancellor he was interested in the Apple deal even if less money while his partner to the West was stuck in "old thinking".

Meanwhile this ("We are not watching and waiting from the sidelines. Together, we are evaluating a variety of options that will ensure our student athletes can continue to thrive, and that our intercollegiate athletics program can continue to excel in a manner consistent with our institutional values and budgetary realities.") again surfaces the tension between Cal ("institutional values") and the sullied worth of ICA.

Now I have been one of the loudest voices about that tension and the need to chart a new way because of it. But putting it front and center in your "all is well and we are on it" letter feels a misstep.

Oh - and the other thing the WSU letter does which cal does not is give a call to action. Three things COugar fans and supporters can do.

---

No I mean this letter is the same as the press release that Christ and Knowlton sent on Friday. "We are aware and not on the slidelines" even though we've been on the sidelines for 13 months now

Cal/Furd are just in a different position than WSU/OSU. Much more likely to find another home in a power conference. Hence you will read less anger in their statements because they are trying not to tick anyone off.

If we weren't trying to piss anyone off then why did we push the Regents to block UCLA from leaving instead of finding a way to join with them?

socaltownie said:

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DoubtfulBear said:

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BearMDJD said:

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LodeBear said:

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Ok , will have to find that letter. i read the public one. did not know there was a more extensive letter.

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Office of the Chancellor
Dear campus community,

As you may be aware, two more of our Pac-12 peer institutions, Oregon and Washington, have decided to leave the conference one year from now, and there are reports that additional universities may be considering similar steps.

These changes are just the latest developments in the ongoing realignment of the conferences around which intercollegiate athletics are organized; changes that raise serious questions and challenges for Cal Athletics.

We are not watching and waiting from the sidelines. Together, we are evaluating a variety of options that will ensure our student athletes can continue to thrive, and that our intercollegiate athletics program can continue to excel in a manner consistent with our institutional values and budgetary realities.

We recognize and deeply value the singular role Cal Athletics plays in terms of the participatory and educational opportunities it provides to our students, and the way in which it supports the strength, spirit and cohesion of our university's extended community of students, staff, faculty and alumni.

As we review the options before us, these are the attributes we are committed to protect and preserve.

At this point, as complicated conversations and negotiations continue, there is little else we can say without jeopardizing our interests. We are grateful for the continued support of the campus community and the extended Cal family, and will remain committed to sharing as much information as we can in the days ahead.

Fiat Lux and Go Bears!

Carol T. Christ
Chancellor

Jim Knowlton
Director, Intercollegiate Athletics


This message was sent to all UC Berkeley staff, students, and faculty.

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Sounds pretty much the same as the public facing one. We are the lone "paragon of virtue" among a sea of sharks. Not surprising considering we are the only school to give up College Gameday because we felt bad for VT after their mass shooting.

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It is fundamentally different.

The WSU letter clearly demonstrates a comitment to learning (and understanding) the changing enviroment in which college athletics and media are entering. He laid out why as chancellor he was interested in the Apple deal even if less money while his partner to the West was stuck in "old thinking".

Meanwhile this ("We are not watching and waiting from the sidelines. Together, we are evaluating a variety of options that will ensure our student athletes can continue to thrive, and that our intercollegiate athletics program can continue to excel in a manner consistent with our institutional values and budgetary realities.") again surfaces the tension between Cal ("institutional values") and the sullied worth of ICA.

Now I have been one of the loudest voices about that tension and the need to chart a new way because of it. But putting it front and center in your "all is well and we are on it" letter feels a misstep.

Oh - and the other thing the WSU letter does which cal does not is give a call to action. Three things COugar fans and supporters can do.

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It's fundamentally different because the WSU letter spends more time casting blame and bemoaning things that could have been. But none of that is relevant to the only point that matters: now what?

As to that point, both are the same. They're negotiating with their counterparts and confidentiality prevents them from saying anything. The paragraphs after the one you quoted undermines your interpretation. They explicitly state the value of athletics to Cal.

The tone of WSU letter heavily suggests that they have fewer options because the anger is palpable whereas the Cal letter is more optimistic. Is it a fool's optimism? Time will tell.

The new airline Breeze has a lot of direct flights from SF. Although many of their flights are once a week or every 3 days... I suppose this option would require online coursework and extended hotel stays out East.

BearoutEast67 said:

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The new airline Breeze has a lot of direct flights from SF. Although many of their flights are once a week or every 3 days... I suppose this option would require online coursework and extended hotel stays out East.

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how soon we forget Zoom.

DoubtfulBear said:

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If we weren't trying to piss anyone off then why did we push the Regents to block UCLA from leaving instead of finding a way to join with them?

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Because that was when there was still a chance to keep the Pac together in some form? Now there isn't.