The Pac-12 as we know it is dead. A suitable TV deal is not coming any time soon, and the league is running out of time.

The first defection will be Colorado. The second will be Arizona. Both head to the Big 12. Sometime around these defections, the Big 12 brass decides it would like to get to 16 and stop. As the Big 10 tells Oregon and Washington to wait (at best), those two skip Arizona State and Utah in line for a Big 12 invite.

The four defections leave the Pac-12 with six members: Cal, Stanford, Utah, Arizona State, Washington State, and Oregon State. The league decides to get back to 10. The four chosen schools are SDSU, Colorado State, SMU, and Rice.

As the Big 12 is done expanding and UConn remains in the Big East, Gonzaga seeks an invitation from the Big East. Although it has been reported in the past that some league administrators are hesitant on the Zags (Matt Brown), the league decides to add Gonzaga to get to 12 and help further increase value in the league's new TV deal.

The AAC then takes a shot at the MW. The former courts Air Force and this time is successful in poaching the Falcons. The AAC calls Army, and the latter agrees to join the league if the Army-Navy game is a non-league game played on its regular time and weekend. The league also extends an Olympic sports invite to VCU. The Rams accept.

The MW is now down to 9 schools. The league gets to 10 by adding UTEP.

C-USA responds to the defection by adding Tarleton State.

After the defection of Gonzaga, the WCC adds Grand Canyon and Seattle to get to 10.

Although the WAC loses three schools, the league decides to stay at 8.

Looking forward to a thread titled, “The Next Dominoes…. (MM/DD)”

Shizzle has been banned… ;-)

(05-25-2023 07:37 PM)shizzle787 Wrote:  The Pac-12 as we know it is dead. A suitable TV deal is not coming any time soon, and the league is running out of time.

The first defection will be Colorado. The second will be Arizona. Both head to the Big 12. Sometime around these defections, the Big 12 brass decides it would like to get to 16 and stop. As the Big 10 tells Oregon and Washington to wait (at best), those two skip Arizona State and Utah in line for a Big 12 invite.

The four defections leave the Pac-12 with six members: Cal, Stanford, Utah, Arizona State, Washington State, and Oregon State. The league decides to get back to 10. The four chosen schools are SDSU, Colorado State, SMU, and Rice.

As the Big 12 is done expanding and UConn remains in the Big East, Gonzaga seeks an invitation from the Big East. Although it has been reported in the past that some league administrators are hesitant on the Zags (Matt Brown), the league decides to add Gonzaga to get to 12 and help further increase value in the league's new TV deal.

The AAC then takes a shot at the MW. The former courts Air Force and this time is successful in poaching the Falcons. The AAC calls Army, and the latter agrees to join the league if the Army-Navy game is a non-league game played on its regular time and weekend. The league also extends an Olympic sports invite to VCU. The Rams accept.

The MW is now down to 9 schools. The league gets to 10 by adding UTEP.

C-USA responds to the defection by adding Tarleton State.

After the defection of Gonzaga, the WCC adds Grand Canyon and Seattle to get to 10.

Although the WAC loses three schools, the league decides to stay at 8.

Wouldn't it be funny if they surprise everyone, and WA, WSU, OR, and OSU, jump over the 4Cs, and go to the B12?

(05-25-2023 08:31 PM)Skyhawk Wrote:  Wouldn't it be funny if they surprise everyone, and WA, WSU, OR, and OSU, jump over the 4Cs, and go to the B12?

Haha. Good one, I’d advocated for all eight of them leaving with a 5-6 year GoR in the Big 12. That way, they’d have clear east west and wouldn’t have to associate much with the “lesser” institutions. After all, those Bay Area chicks have sort of hit the wall in the most important asspects.

Once again, PAC 12 schools will never ever leave for the Big 12 just like the Big 12 did not disband to join other conferences.

(05-25-2023 08:38 PM)RUScarlets Wrote:  

(05-25-2023 08:31 PM)Skyhawk Wrote:  Wouldn't it be funny if they surprise everyone, and WA, WSU, OR, and OSU, jump over the 4Cs, and go to the B12?

Haha. Good one, I’d advocated for all eight of them leaving with a 5-6 year GoR in the Big 12. That way, they’d have clear east west and wouldn’t have to associate much with the “lesser” institutions. After all, those Bay Area chicks have sort of hit the wall in the most important asspects.

lol, and add SDSU and Fresno State if you want California coverage

Or, don't, if you want to avoid California's new and upcoming college sports-related laws...

Seems like every day, there's some new wrinkle.

I'll play...

(1) The PAC media deal comes in lower than the conference's members thought they would. Much lower in fact. As a result, the 4Cs go to the B12. Surprisingly, the B12 also invites Oregon State and Washington State; they accept.
(2) The B10 invites Oregon, Washington, California and Stanford. They accept.
(3) The B12 invites SDSU and Memphis at reduced shares for the time being. Both accept. The B12 stops at 20... for now.

(4) Fast forward a few years: The SEC invites UNC, Clemson, Florida State and Miami. They stop at 20 because...

(5) UVA announces that they are going to the B10 along with Duke. It seems as if the B10 can't get out of it's own way when they invite UConn (so they can win another Natty in basketball, finally). To top things off, they invite Kansas -also because of basketball- to get to 24 teams even. The B10 stops.
(6) The B12 responds by taking Pitt, Louisville, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech. The B12 picks GT to keep Central Florida in the fold and happy, as they want to maintain a presence in FL. In addition, they surprisingly take Colorado State, as the western bulk of the conference wants to avoid more travel across the country.
(7) The remaining ACC members are Syracuse, BC, NCSU and Wake Forest. Syracuse decides to re-join the BE and go indy in football. Boston College is not invited back... because the entirety of the Big East old-guard hates them.
(8) Notre Dame announces that they are going to the Big East for Olympic sports. The Big East stops at 12 teams. Notre Dame also rids themselves of any "scheduling arrangement" with another conference, much to the delight of their fans (although they do work out a deal with Syracuse to play at the Giant's stadium every other year).
(9) Wake Forest and NCSU hold their noses and join The American, albeit with a crap ton of cash from the departing members of the (former) ACC.
(10) The American -now at 15 teams after Memphis bolted for the B12- adds Boston College, Air Force and Army. They then decide to add JMU and ODU to get into the state of Virginia.
(11) The MWC responds to the defections of SDSU and Colorado State by adding UTEP, Texas State and NMSU. They stop at 13 teams with divisonless play in football.
(13) The Sunbelt invites LA Tech, Western Kentucky and MTSU. They stop at 14.
(13) The MAC and CUSA discuss a merger but the MAC decides to move to FCS. The rest of CUSA does as well with the exception of Liberty, who tries to go indy. They have a hard time putting a schedule together, relent and go to FCS as well.
(14) UMass goes back to FCS.

FBS football is now at 117 teams. FCS football is strengthened by the MAC (who stay whole in FCS) and the returning teams from CUSA. UMass starts winning football again.

(05-25-2023 09:40 PM)Ned Low Wrote:  I'll play...

(1) The PAC media deal comes in lower than the conference's members thought they would. Much lower in fact. As a result, the 4Cs go to the B12. Surprisingly, the B12 also invites Oregon State and Washington State; they accept.
(2) The B10 invites Oregon, Washington, California and Stanford. They accept.
(3) The B12 invites SDSU and Memphis at reduced shares for the time being. Both accept. The B12 stops at 20... for now.

(4) Fast forward a few years: The SEC invites UNC, Clemson, Florida State and Miami. They stop at 20 because...

(5) UVA announces that they are going to the B10 along with Duke. It seems as if the B10 can't get out of it's own way when they invite UConn (so they can win another Natty in basketball, finally). To top things off, they invite Kansas -also because of basketball- to get to 24 teams even. The B10 stops.
(6) The B12 responds by taking Pitt, Louisville, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech. The B12 picks GT to keep Central Florida in the fold and happy, as they want to maintain a presence in FL. In addition, they surprisingly take Colorado State, as the western bulk of the conference wants to avoid more travel across the country.
(7) The remaining ACC members are Syracuse, BC, NCSU and Wake Forest. Syracuse decides to re-join the BE and go indy in football. Boston College is not invited back... because the entirety of the Big East old-guard hates them.
(8) Notre Dame announces that they are going to the Big East for Olympic sports. The Big East stops at 12 teams.
(9) Wake Forest and NCSU hold their noses and join The American, albeit with a crap ton of cash from the departing members of the (former) ACC.
(10) The American -now at 15 teams after Memphis bolted for the B12- adds Texas State, Air Force and Army. They then decide to add JMU and ODU to get into the state of Virginia. Many push for App to get in as well but they don't... yet.
(11) The Sunbelt responds by adding La Tech. They stay at 14.
(12) The MWC responds to the defections of SDSU and Colorado State by adding UTEP and NMSU.
(13) The MAC and CUSA moves to FCS. Liberty tries to go indy at the FBS level but struggles to book a full schedule each year. As a result, they go to FCS as well.

I think Most of that is plausible, save 1 thing.

UConn is unlikely to the Big10.

Swap in Miami to the Big10, and then NC state to the SEC, and I think that could work very well.

ESPN and SEC agree to terms on a 9th conference game payment

Pac signs with Apple and CW, expands with SDSU and SMU

Big 13 adds uconn and memphis

MWC expands with UTEP

AAC expands with Georgia State Middle Tennessee

Sunbelt adds Missouri State

CUSA adds FCS Texas schools and perhaps UCA to get to 12

Nothing major happens with the P5 for 6 or 7 years

The boring answer

P12 adds SDSU, SMU(until that contract is a yr from being up.)
MWC adds UTEP
AAC adds Georgia St.
SBC adds MTSU
CUSA adds Tarleton, Austin Peay, EKU, SFA


More exciting answer

B12(16) adds Colorado, Arizona, Arizona St., Utah (1 domino fell and AZ followed, Utah and ASU decided they didn't love those like minded schools that much)
B1G(18) adds Oregon, Washington
PAC(12) adds SDSU, SMU, UTSA, Fresno, Boise, Colorado St., Utah St., Hawaii(Stanford, Cal offer to play in the B1G for free for 2 yrs lol)
AAC(12) adds AFA
MWC(12) adds NMSU, UTEP, SHSU, NDSU, SDSU, Sac St., UC Davis
CUSA(10) adds Austin Peay, Tarleton, SFA

XII adds Arizona, Arizona St, California, Colorado, Oregon, Stanford, Utah, and Washington for 20. Everyone knows there's a good chance 2-4 will be gone but it's exciting, nonetheless.

MWC adds Oregon St and Washington St.

End. For now.

(05-25-2023 10:06 PM)Skyhawk Wrote:  

(05-25-2023 09:40 PM)Ned Low Wrote:  I'll play...

(1) The PAC media deal comes in lower than the conference's members thought they would. Much lower in fact. As a result, the 4Cs go to the B12. Surprisingly, the B12 also invites Oregon State and Washington State; they accept.
(2) The B10 invites Oregon, Washington, California and Stanford. They accept.
(3) The B12 invites SDSU and Memphis at reduced shares for the time being. Both accept. The B12 stops at 20... for now.

(4) Fast forward a few years: The SEC invites UNC, Clemson, Florida State and Miami. They stop at 20 because...

(5) UVA announces that they are going to the B10 along with Duke. It seems as if the B10 can't get out of it's own way when they invite UConn (so they can win another Natty in basketball, finally). To top things off, they invite Kansas -also because of basketball- to get to 24 teams even. The B10 stops.
(6) The B12 responds by taking Pitt, Louisville, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech. The B12 picks GT to keep Central Florida in the fold and happy, as they want to maintain a presence in FL. In addition, they surprisingly take Colorado State, as the western bulk of the conference wants to avoid more travel across the country.
(7) The remaining ACC members are Syracuse, BC, NCSU and Wake Forest. Syracuse decides to re-join the BE and go indy in football. Boston College is not invited back... because the entirety of the Big East old-guard hates them.
(8) Notre Dame announces that they are going to the Big East for Olympic sports. The Big East stops at 12 teams.
(9) Wake Forest and NCSU hold their noses and join The American, albeit with a crap ton of cash from the departing members of the (former) ACC.
(10) The American -now at 15 teams after Memphis bolted for the B12- adds Texas State, Air Force and Army. They then decide to add JMU and ODU to get into the state of Virginia. Many push for App to get in as well but they don't... yet.
(11) The Sunbelt responds by adding La Tech. They stay at 14.
(12) The MWC responds to the defections of SDSU and Colorado State by adding UTEP and NMSU.
(13) The MAC and CUSA moves to FCS. Liberty tries to go indy at the FBS level but struggles to book a full schedule each year. As a result, they go to FCS as well.

I think Most of that is plausible, save 1 thing.

UConn is unlikely to the Big10.

Swap in Miami to the Big10, and then NC state to the SEC, and I think that could work very well.

Thanks. This was off the top of my head. I am full of it on this post, just playing the game.

However, Miami will not be in the B10. I just don't ever see it. I don't think that the B10 presidents would want to associate with Miami's athletics for perceived reputational reasons.

I also think that the SEC is smarter when it comes to realignment. They would be smart enough to recognize the benefits of essentially controlling the state of Florida and while it's not a great cultural fit, Miami could be a big hit in the SEC. They would certainly add academically to the conference and they are located in a recruiting hotbed.

With regards to NCSU, I agree that they would be a good fit in the SEC... but the truth is that in this state (I live here) UNC controls about 45% of the fandom. NCSU has about 25%, followed by ECU at about 15% and App at probably about 5-10% (the rest are dispersed among various other teams); NCSU just does not carry enough of the state by themselves to warrant an add... unless they are paired with UNC.

In short, if a conference gets UNC they get most of what's "gettable" in NC and more importantly they would not diminish their return on investment.

In truth, I don't think that Duke even has the lion's share of fans in Durham County. What Duke does have is a large national following and a ton of "casual fans", hence the reason they would be a good add for the B10. While I think that they could work in the SEC, I see them being a better fit in the B10 for a myriad of reasons. Same goes for UVA.

Both Kansas and UConn have storied basketball programs and that's certainly an area that the B10 needs some help in at the moment. They both also have good reputations academically. That's why I threw them in there.

Lastly, I do think that the end goal of the P2 is to whittle the number of "FBS" programs down to as low as possible. What that number is I don't know but I don't see it going much below 100 or so teams. The MAC would be much better off in FCS and I don't think that Liberty would be able to put together a full FBS schedule together every year in the coming years as conferences focus more on in-conference play. That and the fact that they can literally outspend many G5 programs (and some P5 programs) could scare many teams off while also making it hard for them to land in a conference.

UMass just needs to go back to FCS. They were able to compete there and my hunch is that they will eventually do it.

Eventually, the Big 12 will be at 20 teams:

West
Arizona
Colorado
BYU
Arizona St
Utah or San Diego St (whoever Colo & Az prefer)

Midwest
Kansas
Cincy
Louisville
Iowa St
Kan St

Southwest
Texas Tech
Okla St
Houston
TCU
Baylor

East
UCF
West Va
Pitt
& 2 best Eastern available (Syracuse, BC, Ga Tech, Miami, Va Tech, UConn etc.)

(05-25-2023 10:06 PM)Skyhawk Wrote:  

(05-25-2023 09:40 PM)Ned Low Wrote:  I'll play...

(1) The PAC media deal comes in lower than the conference's members thought they would. Much lower in fact. As a result, the 4Cs go to the B12. Surprisingly, the B12 also invites Oregon State and Washington State; they accept.
(2) The B10 invites Oregon, Washington, California and Stanford. They accept.
(3) The B12 invites SDSU and Memphis at reduced shares for the time being. Both accept. The B12 stops at 20... for now.

(4) Fast forward a few years: The SEC invites UNC, Clemson, Florida State and Miami. They stop at 20 because...

(5) UVA announces that they are going to the B10 along with Duke. It seems as if the B10 can't get out of it's own way when they invite UConn (so they can win another Natty in basketball, finally). To top things off, they invite Kansas -also because of basketball- to get to 24 teams even. The B10 stops.
(6) The B12 responds by taking Pitt, Louisville, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech. The B12 picks GT to keep Central Florida in the fold and happy, as they want to maintain a presence in FL. In addition, they surprisingly take Colorado State, as the western bulk of the conference wants to avoid more travel across the country.
(7) The remaining ACC members are Syracuse, BC, NCSU and Wake Forest. Syracuse decides to re-join the BE and go indy in football. Boston College is not invited back... because the entirety of the Big East old-guard hates them.
(8) Notre Dame announces that they are going to the Big East for Olympic sports. The Big East stops at 12 teams.
(9) Wake Forest and NCSU hold their noses and join The American, albeit with a crap ton of cash from the departing members of the (former) ACC.
(10) The American -now at 15 teams after Memphis bolted for the B12- adds Texas State, Air Force and Army. They then decide to add JMU and ODU to get into the state of Virginia. Many push for App to get in as well but they don't... yet.
(11) The Sunbelt responds by adding La Tech. They stay at 14.
(12) The MWC responds to the defections of SDSU and Colorado State by adding UTEP and NMSU.
(13) The MAC and CUSA moves to FCS. Liberty tries to go indy at the FBS level but struggles to book a full schedule each year. As a result, they go to FCS as well.

I think Most of that is plausible, save 1 thing.

UConn is unlikely to the Big10.

Swap in Miami to the Big10, and then NC state to the SEC, and I think that could work very well.

Add to that Liberty 1) struggling to set up a schedule (they proved able before by splashing enough money at the problem) and 2) dropping to FCS, since this would go against their goal to be the Evangelical Notre Dame.

To start, have Colorado, Arizona, and ASU join the Big XII. Does Utah join as a fourth or is it just the Big15? I'll hold with the latter for now.
The PAC responds by finally announcing SDSU, SMU, and a surprise entrant to get back to 10: Colorado State.
Now does this finally push AF and Army to join the AAC? I don't think so. The MWC does add UTEP.
AAC sits still at 13 when GaSt once again publicly states they want nothing to do with it.
Realignment pauses.

(05-25-2023 10:47 PM)Ned Low Wrote:  

(05-25-2023 10:06 PM)Skyhawk Wrote:  

(05-25-2023 09:40 PM)Ned Low Wrote:  I'll play...

(1) The PAC media deal comes in lower than the conference's members thought they would. Much lower in fact. As a result, the 4Cs go to the B12. Surprisingly, the B12 also invites Oregon State and Washington State; they accept.
(2) The B10 invites Oregon, Washington, California and Stanford. They accept.
(3) The B12 invites SDSU and Memphis at reduced shares for the time being. Both accept. The B12 stops at 20... for now.

(4) Fast forward a few years: The SEC invites UNC, Clemson, Florida State and Miami. They stop at 20 because...

(5) UVA announces that they are going to the B10 along with Duke. It seems as if the B10 can't get out of it's own way when they invite UConn (so they can win another Natty in basketball, finally). To top things off, they invite Kansas -also because of basketball- to get to 24 teams even. The B10 stops.
(6) The B12 responds by taking Pitt, Louisville, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech. The B12 picks GT to keep Central Florida in the fold and happy, as they want to maintain a presence in FL. In addition, they surprisingly take Colorado State, as the western bulk of the conference wants to avoid more travel across the country.
(7) The remaining ACC members are Syracuse, BC, NCSU and Wake Forest. Syracuse decides to re-join the BE and go indy in football. Boston College is not invited back... because the entirety of the Big East old-guard hates them.
(8) Notre Dame announces that they are going to the Big East for Olympic sports. The Big East stops at 12 teams.
(9) Wake Forest and NCSU hold their noses and join The American, albeit with a crap ton of cash from the departing members of the (former) ACC.
(10) The American -now at 15 teams after Memphis bolted for the B12- adds Texas State, Air Force and Army. They then decide to add JMU and ODU to get into the state of Virginia. Many push for App to get in as well but they don't... yet.
(11) The Sunbelt responds by adding La Tech. They stay at 14.
(12) The MWC responds to the defections of SDSU and Colorado State by adding UTEP and NMSU.
(13) The MAC and CUSA moves to FCS. Liberty tries to go indy at the FBS level but struggles to book a full schedule each year. As a result, they go to FCS as well.

I think Most of that is plausible, save 1 thing.

UConn is unlikely to the Big10.

Swap in Miami to the Big10, and then NC state to the SEC, and I think that could work very well.

Thanks. This was off the top of my head. I am full of it on this post, just playing the game.

However, Miami will not be in the B10. I just don't ever see it. I don't think that the B10 presidents would want to associate with Miami's athletics for perceived reputational reasons.

I also think that the SEC is smarter when it comes to realignment. They would be smart enough to recognize the benefits of essentially controlling the state of Florida and while it's not a great cultural fit, Miami could be a big hit in the SEC. They would certainly add academically to the conference and they are located in a recruiting hotbed.

With regards to NCSU, I agree that they would be a good fit in the SEC... but the truth is that in this state (I live here) UNC controls about 45% of the fandom. NCSU has about 25%, followed by ECU at about 15% and App at probably about 5-10% (the rest are dispersed among various other teams); NCSU just does not carry enough of the state by themselves to warrant an add... unless they are paired with UNC.

In short, if a conference gets UNC they get most of what's "gettable" in NC and more importantly they would not diminish their return on investment.

In truth, I don't think that Duke even has the lion's share of fans in Durham County. What Duke does have is a large national following and a ton of "casual fans", hence the reason they would be a good add for the B10. While I think that they could work in the SEC, I see them being a better fit in the B10 for a myriad of reasons. Same goes for UVA.

Both Kansas and UConn have storied basketball programs and that's certainly an area that the B10 needs some help in at the moment. They both also have good reputations academically. That's why I threw them in there.

Lastly, I do think that the end goal of the P2 is to whittle the number of "FBS" programs down to as low as possible. What that number is I don't know but I don't see it going much below 100 or so teams. The MAC would be much better off in FCS and I don't think that Liberty would be able to put together a full FBS schedule together every year in the coming years as conferences focus more on in-conference play. That and the fact that they can literally outspend many G5 programs (and some P5 programs) could scare many teams off while also making it hard for them to land in a conference.

UMass just needs to go back to FCS. They were able to compete there and my hunch is that they will eventually do it.

The reason I suggested Miami is that we've heard reporting that the Big10 is/was is discussion with FSU and Miami, because they want to be in Florida.

And of the 2, I think FSU is more likely to the SEC and Miami to the Big10. More about "fit", I think, than on the field prowess.

And looking closer at the rest, I think Kansas and NC could go to either conference, but I think NC probably leans more towards SEC, and Kansas more towards the Big10. But they could go either way.

NC State is a large school with strong academics (a "near-AAU" school). I haven't been able to find it recently, but I remember Delany talking about the possibility, if necessary, of taking all 4 schools, if that's what it took to get NC (VA, NC, NC State, Duke). I wonder if any of them are looking back and regretting saying no to that (both on the Big10 side and the ACC side).

And If we want to throw in another curve-ball, I think the Big10 could well add Colorado instead of California. I understand the draw of academics, but in this specific case, I think that just about everything else suggests that Colorado would be the better choice.

And we never know... When all is said and done, it would be funny to see other schools' faces if the Big10 added Buffalo. lol

But a lot of this is just flip a coin, based upon circumstances of the moment, and however the schools' leadership teams are "getting along" with others.

So who knows.

Regardless, nice breakdown : )

(05-25-2023 07:37 PM)shizzle787 Wrote:  The Pac-12 as we know it is dead. A suitable TV deal is not coming any time soon, and the league is running out of time.

The first defection will be Colorado. The second will be Arizona. Both head to the Big 12. Sometime around these defections, the Big 12 brass decides it would like to get to 16 and stop. As the Big 10 tells Oregon and Washington to wait (at best), those two skip Arizona State and Utah in line for a Big 12 invite.

The four defections leave the Pac-12 with six members: Cal, Stanford, Utah, Arizona State, Washington State, and Oregon State. The league decides to get back to 10. The four chosen schools are SDSU, Colorado State, SMU, and Rice.

As the Big 12 is done expanding and UConn remains in the Big East, Gonzaga seeks an invitation from the Big East. Although it has been reported in the past that some league administrators are hesitant on the Zags (Matt Brown), the league decides to add Gonzaga to get to 12 and help further increase value in the league's new TV deal.

The AAC then takes a shot at the MW. The former courts Air Force and this time is successful in poaching the Falcons. The AAC calls Army, and the latter agrees to join the league if the Army-Navy game is a non-league game played on its regular time and weekend. The league also extends an Olympic sports invite to VCU. The Rams accept.

The MW is now down to 9 schools. The league gets to 10 by adding UTEP.

C-USA responds to the defection by adding Tarleton State.

After the defection of Gonzaga, the WCC adds Grand Canyon and Seattle to get to 10.

Although the WAC loses three schools, the league decides to stay at 8.

TampaU to the ASUN!.... one could dream

(05-25-2023 07:37 PM)shizzle787 Wrote:  The Pac-12 as we know it is dead. A suitable TV deal is not coming any time soon, and the league is running out of time.

The first defection will be Colorado. The second will be Arizona. Both head to the Big 12. Sometime around these defections, the Big 12 brass decides it would like to get to 16 and stop. As the Big 10 tells Oregon and Washington to wait (at best), those two skip Arizona State and Utah in line for a Big 12 invite.

The four defections leave the Pac-12 with six members: Cal, Stanford, Utah, Arizona State, Washington State, and Oregon State. The league decides to get back to 10. The four chosen schools are SDSU, Colorado State, SMU, and Rice.

As the Big 12 is done expanding and UConn remains in the Big East, Gonzaga seeks an invitation from the Big East. Although it has been reported in the past that some league administrators are hesitant on the Zags (Matt Brown), the league decides to add Gonzaga to get to 12 and help further increase value in the league's new TV deal.

The AAC then takes a shot at the MW. The former courts Air Force and this time is successful in poaching the Falcons. The AAC calls Army, and the latter agrees to join the league if the Army-Navy game is a non-league game played on its regular time and weekend. The league also extends an Olympic sports invite to VCU. The Rams accept.

The MW is now down to 9 schools. The league gets to 10 by adding UTEP.

C-USA responds to the defection by adding Tarleton State.

After the defection of Gonzaga, the WCC adds Grand Canyon and Seattle to get to 10.

Although the WAC loses three schools, the league decides to stay at 8.

The C-USA would take Stephen F. Austin over Tarleton State. Tarleton State is still transitioning from D2.