The off-season is certainly not the slow season, because another week has given news that has an impact on PAC-12 inherited schools and in other universities in the region.
Here are four developments that you may have missed.
1. Discord of the playoffs of university football as an CC, Big 12 DIG in
Nitty Gratingy: During the negotiations on the future version of the CFP, the ACC and the Big 12 create alternatives to a proposed format which gives the domination of the event to the Big Ten and the dry.
Why is it important: The CFP is locked in the 12 team model for the coming season, but has a blank slate from the fall of 2026. Power Four commissioners promote expansion to 16 but do not agree on the number of automatic qualifications (AQ) of each conference.
The Big Ten and Dry want the AQS to be allocated using the so-called 4-4-2-2-1-3 model, with four guaranteed offers for the Big Ten and Dry, two for the ACC and the Big 12, one for the best team of the five group (including the CAP-12 rebuilt) and three for the participants in size, with specific criteria for Notre-Dame.
This format would ensure a minimum of eight places in Big Ten and dry, with the possibility of at least two others (via the road in broad).
The ACC commissioner, Jim Phillips, and Commissioner Big 12 Brett Yormmark, undoubtedly stimulated by their voters, resist.
“I remain firm on equity in the system and access,” said Phillips to journalists this week during the ACC spring meetings in Amelia Island, Florida.
According to Yahoo, another proposal presents the 4-4-3-3-1-1 model, by which the big ten and the dry have four aq and the ACS and Big 12 would have three, with one to the group of five and an at-worm (for Notre Dame).
Their prospects for success are thin. The Big Ten and SEC have the power to define the format according to the CFP governance model for 2026 and beyond. But resistance plays well politically with their voters and could lead to a compromise.
The CFP is the most important event in the most important sport in university athletics. The future format will have an impact on each team of each conference for the coming years, just like all sport is entering the hearing phase.
University football is likely to have a bifurcated structure in the 2030s, with higher and lower levels. Any format that creates more access for ACC and Big 12 in future seasons could provide their members with a path to salvation during the next decade.
2. skeptical saban as to the Trump commission on college athletics
Nitty Gratingy: Former Alabama coach Nick Saban said this week on “ The Paul Finebaum Show ” on ESPN that he did not know “many things on the commission” and is “not sure that we really need a commission”.
Why is it important: First and foremost, he gives good laugh to everyone. Here is one of the so -called leaders of the planned commission of President Trump saying that he does not think the commission is necessary.
The contradiction perfectly sums up the state of university sports.
In addition, he suggests that the commission, although well published, remains in the formative stages. We do not know the members, the mission or the level of Trump’s engagement.
But we know the extent of its authority: the Commission cannot provide university sports with antitrust protection or codify the rules of the NCAA. For these essential elements, aid to the congress is necessary.
And it is there that the Commission could prove beneficial: if it pushes the legislators to lend a structure to the void rules and the transfer portal and protects the NCAA from prosecution.
3. PAC-12 financial data reveal
Nitty Gratingy: Friday, the conference revealed its federal tax file for the financial year 2023-24. The 10 discouraged schools received only $ 30.1 million (approximately) in distributions while the state of Washington and Oregon state have collected $ 46.6 million, including $ 10 million (each) in the pot of species acquired in the regulation negotiated conference control.
Why is it important: The data provides a context on the challenge of schools in their new houses.
While USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington collected $ 30.1 million in conference distributions, their new Big Ten peers received around $ 63.2 million.
While Arizona, ASU, Colorado and Utah collected $ 30.1 million, Big 12 schools received between $ 37.8 million and $ 42.1 million
While Stanford and Cal have collected $ 30.1 million, ACC schools received between $ 43.1 million and $ 46.4 million.
(Distributions for ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten taken from a USA Today report.)
The disparity of income affects the allocation of the resources necessary for the success of football and increases the pressure on the budgets of the sports department which were already under stress.
Fortunately for the old PAC -12 schools, the lower income is not always in correlation with the total victories total – Oregon and Arizona State have proven that with their championship races in the Big Ten and Big 12, respectively.
But the sorry state of the financial affairs that tormented the PAC-12 in the last years of its existence adds an intimidating layer of complications to obtain a constant success in the new conferences.
4. Santiago supports Brigham Young
Nitty Gratingy: The three -month search for cougars for the replacement of sports director Tom Holmoe ended Tuesday with the appointment of his longtime assistant, Brian Santiago.
Why is it important: The decision aroused criticism of certain voters, because Santiago was described as a “polarizing” figure within athletics byu. In an industry based on relations, this component deserves to be monitored over time, because Santiago represents cougars on Big 12 and national stages.
But it is also a secondary consideration.
His performance over time will be judged on two fronts: hiring and keeping successful head coaches for male football and basketball programs – both are in good shape for the moment – and positioning the cougars for the next iteration of university sports, whether in a few years or in the middle of the next decade.
Byu’s institutional wealth and deep pocket donors offer inherent advantages in the Nile era (whether the school wishes to admit it or not). It will not change if / when the era of income sharing will start this summer. Cougars should compete with Big 12 titles and post-season offers on a frequent basis.
Put another way: Santiago takes care of at an ideal moment. Considerable efforts and many strategic errors will take to derail the Byu machine.
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