With all of the conferences getting so big, and eliminating divisions, and the expansion of the playoffs, it would seem that the conference championship games are no longer advantageous. They could also result in teams having to play each other 3 times in the same season
Kp Ryan Day recognized that and the topic of moving the Ohio State / Michigan game to earlier so they don't end up playing in the last game of the season, the B1G Championship and maybe the 1st round of the playoffs.
Understand your feeling about your dog. Our 13 year old poodle has a cancer in her back leg that will eventually kill her. Can't imagine what life is going to be without her around.
More and more it seems like now that Wash and Oregon will be in the Big 10 soon. And it seems even more likely now that ASU and Utah will go to the B12. That leaves Stanford/CAL/Wash State and Oregon State. I could see WSU and OSU in the Mountain West but not CAL or Stanford. I wonder if they'll be forced to try independence for football and WCC for other sports?
Wow things are moving fast, In addition to Colorado and Arizona, Arizona State and Utah will play in the B12 in 2024. Pac 12 is now Stanford, CAL, Oregon State and Washington State. I wonder what those teams will do, Independence can work in football, but it's not really feasible in the rest of the sports.
another relic of days gone by....in truth, with regards to the B1G/PAC match-up it was pretty much done with the USC/UCLA deal. Back in the day, it was everything, literally. Up until the 1970's, B1G teams could only go to one bowl game - the Rose Bowl and Rose Bowl only - and could not go in back-to-back years. The great Michigan State Spartan team of 1966 - they of 10-10 tie of infamy with the Irish - was 9-0-1, B1G champs and ranked #2 in the country yet were precluded from going to not only the Rose Bowl but any bowl. During my childhood years I remember well sitting back in the frozen tundra of Columbus on New Years Day looking forward to the magnificent spectacle of seeing my heroes in all the splendor of Pasadena sun, mountains, parades, in the Rose Bowl taking on the evil Trojans (typically) of SC. To this young kid and millions of others it was better than Christmas.....I'm sure it will still play a role, but it ain't close to the same and that's just another reminder of how sad I am about the state of the game today.
Yep... all this is just pushing me out the door more and more. Keith Jackson is rolling in his grave...
Terry, does Stanford have enough fan interest to survive as an independent? They have a massive amount of money in endowments but not sure if they can tap into that to fund their athletic programs as most endowments restrict where the money can be spent.
Stanford and/or Cal theoretically gives the B10 exposure in the NoCal TV market, BUT Bobda's post above makes me (and B10??) leery of the value to the B10 vs. the potential payout. We'll soon see.
Stanford has so many minor sports and most of them are excellent, if Stanford goes independent in football they have to join a conference so those teams have a home. It is just too much to be an independent in minor sports. I wonder if Stanford would be welcome in WCC? Does the WCC conference have enough sports to accomodate all the sports that Stanford supports. I wonder if they might just drop football or drop it back to Div II like the Ivies.
Sid, I was a little surprised that the presidents of the universities did not push harder to include Stanford and Cal. The B 10 also involves an academic alliance that pools resources for funded scientific research. The money involved dwarfs the money involved in athletics. Research Cal and Stanford are premier universities in scientific research and their inclusion in the BTAA would have certainly added to the value of the alliance.
Excellent Point, Bobda. I was thinking only of the financial aspect. Academically they're an excellent fit.