The Pac-12 has gone quiet. After a wild week in which it failed to lure three schools away from the American Athletic Conference, then landed Utah State from the Mountain West but missed on UNLV, the conference is presumably re-assessing its expansion strategy.
Will it make another run at Memphis, South Florida and Tulane? Will it take aim at Texas State or consider Sacramento State? Could it pursue an unexpected course of action?
This much we know: The Pac-12 got the schools it needed — the schools it absolutely had to have — with the four initial additions from the Mountain West (Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State).
For media and competitive value in football and men’s basketball, that quartet, along with Utah State, has established a bar for the rebuilt conference that won’t materially change based on the identity of the eighth football school.
So what’s next?
Multiple sources have said every option is being explored with an emphasis on financial prudence.
(The Pac-12 declined to engage in a bidding war over UNLV with the Mountain West, for example, and it wouldn’t offer Memphis more than $2.5 million to assist with the Tigers’ $25 million exit fee from the American.)
Whether the next move comes in 24 hours or 24 days, the conference needs a win. And there’s only one school available that can offer a blowout victory.
From here, it’s clear: Go get Gonzaga.
Forget football for the moment.
Forget the need for an eighth full-time member to meet NCAA requirements.
Forget the missed opportunities and the lost narrative and the extended period of uncertainty.
Go get Gonzaga.
It’s tricky. The Zags would prefer membership in the Big 12, but the conference isn’t interested at this point. (The Big 12 doesn’t want Connecticut, either.)
In order to relinquish their dominant position in the West Coast Conference and move into the Pac-12, the Zags would charge a steep price. They would want football revenue even though they don’t play football.
Could the Pac-12’s two current members, Washington State and Oregon State, plus the five schools set to join in the summer of 2026 settle on a price that’s acceptable to their egos and budgets but also works for the Zags?
Again, it’s tricky.
There are three main sources of conference revenue. The largest, by far, is the media rights cash that comes from regular-season broadcasts of football and basketball games. The other streams are distributions from the College Football Playoff and the NCAA Tournament.
Because football typically accounts for 80 cents of every media rights dollar, the seven full-time Pac-12 schools might be wary of handing over a full revenue share to the Zags.
And maybe it’s not a full share. Maybe the Zags don’t receive any cash from CFP distributions but earn a full share of the NCAA Tournament cash and the media rights contract for regular-season broadcasts.
They would be worth it.
The strength of any conference is defined by its media value, and media rights value is based on brands. The SEC and Big Ten are the kingpins because they have …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
