Vegas Bear;842710702 said:
It would have been nice to keep the Big 12 out of our footprint.
The total population of the P12 states adds up to ~69 million. Utah is 3 million of that. That's 1/23rd of the total population.
Not much to protect in Utah. Sure it's bad for the University of Utah if BYU goes B12, but the Pac 12 cannot really afford to add a school like BYU (even more so now that they have added Utah). The Big 12 has an entirely different TV contract, so the math works out so the new schools don't dilute the TV $$$ but actually add to the $$$ to current B12 members who won't pay out a even share.
The main issue right now facing the P12 is that the in-market interest level (ie CA, or even more so
Southern CA) is not enough to warrant Charter and DTV from carrying the P12 network at the current price. Adding schools outside the footprint that dilute the conference just to keep up might just dilute even more interest in the P12N.
The math is was very different for the B12 adding Rutgers and Maryland. They took it as almost a given that they would get their network carried in the DC and NYC markets. That means big $$ through expansion. Honest revisionist question for the P12N - would addition of CA schools i
ncrease the interest level in CA markets enough to force carriage on Charter and DTV?
And duh, UT and OU = instant profit. But that would have to wait until 2023 at the soonest, unless someone wants to challenge the grant of rights, or make a play to dissolve the B12. If the B12 invites a lot of small time schools that don't deliver, OU and UT might very well look to move in 2023 as the B12 schedule could absolutely become a sham. On the other hand, put UT and OU in different divisions, have them play the RRS every year in October, and get enough UT/OU Conference Championship games, and maybe the strategy of adding schools will work out - just for the purpose of serving as fodder to the two most popular programs in the conference.