Pac-12 Notes – Oregon State Week

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Pac-12 Notes – Oregon State Week

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November 3rd

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Legal filings: “Pac-2” trying to keep 2023-24 conference revenues for themselves?

From the San Jose Mercury News … With Washington as the conduit, the 10 outgoing members of the Pac-12 on Thursday filed a motion opposing the push by Washington State and Oregon State to secure a preliminary injunction that would grant the two remaining schools control of the conference.

WSU and OSU believe the 10 outbound schools have relinquished their seats on the governing board by accepting offers from other leagues, thereby leaving the Cougars and Beavers as the only voting members and in control of the assets.

The departing schools are fighting to retain their seats. In the latest filing in Whitman County (Washington) Superior Court, they argued that WSU and OSU intend to use revenue generated by the Pac-12 in the current sports year to fund their plans for the future:

“If they seize sole control of the Board, they will have control of that revenue earned by all 12 member schools. They have said publicly that they are looking to add schools from conferences that would require the Pac-12 to pay them tens of millions in exit fees.

“Allowing them to do that with current-year revenues, which the Conference members long-ago agreed would be distributed evenly to all 12 institutions, is not the status quo.

“Whatever OSU and WSU decide to do with money earned after August 1, 2024, it is fundamentally inequitable to allow them to take current year revenues and — in the words of the Conference — ‘confiscate such revenues and assets in contravention of all members’ rights to and interest in them.’”

The motion states that the Pac-12 expects “more than $100 million in revenue in each of the two years after the ten schools depart” — meaning the 2025 and 2026 fiscal years.

It does not provide a breakdown of the revenue streams, but the Rose Bowl contract, College Football Playoff distributions and NCAA Tournament units are believed to be worth tens of millions of dollars per year.

Washington’s motion of opposition is the latest move in the ongoing legal battle that began in September. A hearing on the preliminary injunction is scheduled for Nov. 14. Additionally, the two sides have also entered mediation.

The motion asks that the preliminary injunction be denied, “or, if it is granted, the order should be stayed to maintain the status quo while UW takes these issues to the Washington Supreme Court.

“At a minimum, any preliminary injunction should build in protections for UW and the other schools so that Plaintiffs’ effort to disrupt the status quo cannot be used to deprive 10 other schools of their rights during their remaining term as Conference members.”

The motion argues that the 10 departing schools have not violated the section of the bylaws that define the process of withdrawing from the conference.

… Continue reading story here …

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November 2nd

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Nebraska eyeing 7-0 start to 2024 season

… You heard it here first … Check out Nebraska’s start to the 2024 season, below. Despite the new powers joining the Big Ten, Nebraska somehow gets to open the 2024 season with UTEP; Colorado; Northern Iowa and Illinois (all at home); at Purdue; Rutgers; at Indiana … Sorry, Buff fans, but we are going to get an entire off-season of listening to Cornhusker fans predicting a 7-0 start in Year Two under Matt Rhule … 

From CBS Sports … The Big Ten released its full 2024 conference schedule, giving a clear-eyed view of next year’s slate with the additions of Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA. The 18-member conference will be the biggest in the Football Bowl Subdivision, and the new scheduling model attempts to balance geography, history and competitive balance — a challenge for a league that stretches from Piscataway, New Jersey, to Los Angeles, California.

Maryland hosts Michigan State in the first Big Ten game of the year in Week 2, but several follow soon after. UCLA becomes the first newcomer to play a Big Ten game as the Bruins host Indiana on Sept. 14. One week later, USC travels to play two-time reigning Big Ten champion Michigan in a marquee matchup. Washington also hosts Northwestern the same week.

The schedule makers opted to ease the pressure on the West Coast schools in the early schedule. USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon only play two combined Big Ten games outside of Pacific Time Zone during the month of September. However, one is a Huskies road trip to Rutgers, three time zones away.

With the expansion, the Big Ten opted to get rid of a divisional format after more than a decade. The Big Ten Championship Game will now feature the top two teams in the conference standings after tiebreakers. Seventeen of the 18 member institutions have at least one protected rivalry in the new “Flex Protect XVIII model,” which was released at the beginning of October. Penn State is the only team that will have a fully rotating schedule.

While the weekends are largely set for games, the Big Ten and its television partners could adjust other games to Friday nights. As of release, Nebraska-Iowa on Black Friday is the only scheduled Friday game on the calendar. Washington, Rutgers and Northwestern are the only schools remaining with openings on their schedule.

Nebraska

• Aug. 31: UTEP
• Sept. 7: Colorado
• Sept. 14: Northern Iowa
• Sept. 21: Illinois
• Sept. 28: at Purdue
• Oct. 5: Rutgers
• Oct. 19: at Indiana
• Oct. 26: at Ohio State
• Nov. 2: UCLA
• Nov. 16: at USC
• Nov. 23: Wisconsin
• Nov. 29: at Iowa

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November 1st

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No pods; only four “protected” rivalries in the new Big 12

From CBS Sports … The Big 12 prepares to enter a new reality in 2024. On Wednesday, the conference released its scheduling matrix for the next four years (2024-2027) featuring opponent lists for each team. The new schedule ensures each of the 16 teams in the continuing conference will play one other at home and on the road at least once over the four-year period.

Unlike other conferences, the Big 12 only plans to maintain four permanent rivalries: Baylor-TCU, Arizona-Arizona State, BYU-Utah and Kansas-Kansas State. The schedule also prioritizes geography with a conference that stretches across three time zones with matchups built to try to minimize travel disruption. The Big 12 will maintain a nine-game conference schedule.

“As we look towards the future of this conference, we are thrilled to introduce the first football scheduling matrix for the new-look Big 12,” Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said in a statement. “I’m grateful to our membership for their support throughout the scheduling process. In this model, competitive balance and student-athlete wellness was prioritized. Rivalries will be protected and new matchups will be introduced — the excitement and parity this Conference is known for will continue for years to come.”

The league has gone through a major facelift over the last two years. UCF, Houston, Cincinnati and BYU entered the league over the summer and ended the full round-robin schedule, which existed for more than a decade. Now, Texas and Oklahoma depart, but Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State prepare to enter in 2024 after a mass departure from the Pac-12.

When the league shrunk to 10 teams, the Big 12 became the first power conference to return to a non-divisional setup. Despite growing to 16, the conference will still operate without divisions, and the top two teams in the conference will face off in the Big 12 Championship Game.

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October 31st 

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Six Pac-12 teams in first Playoff standings, but none in the Top Four

From ESPN … Ohio State took the No. 1 spot in the first College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday night, while two-time defending national champion Georgia is right behind at No. 2.

Michigan, under NCAA investigation amid sign stealing allegations, is No. 3, while Florida State is No. 4 and Washington is No. 5. Oregon is the top-ranked one-loss team in the rankings at No. 6, while Texas is one spot ahead of Alabama thanks to the strength of its head-to-head win over the Tide in September.

“We looked at it, the big win over Notre Dame, and the win over Penn State, and they have difference makers on offense,” CFP chair Boo Corrigan said, referring to the Buckeyes on ESPN’s rankings release show. “We looked at it, Ohio State deserved to be number one.”

With five undefeated Power 5 teams headed into the first rankings, the biggest question was how the committee would choose to separate them. Clearly, strength of schedule played a big role.

“As a group, the 13 of us in the room, we felt this was the order for the top four slots,” Corrigan said.

… Continue reading story here …

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October 30th

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CU players allege items were stolen from locker room at the UCLA game

From The Athletic … Police have launched an investigation after some Colorado football players and coaches alleged money and jewelry were stolen out of the locker room during Saturday’s loss to UCLA at the Rose Bowl, according to Pasadena Police Department public information officer Lisa Derderian.

Multiple players, including safety Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig, said they had jewelry stolen out of the locker room on a video released by Well Off Media, a YouTube channel run by Deion Sanders Jr. that chronicles the Colorado program daily.

“You’re gonna play football and know your s— safe,” Silmon-Craig said in the video. “That joint messed up.”

The Pasadena Police Department said a report was filed after the alleged thefts. A Colorado spokesperson didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

Darius Sanders, who is unrelated to Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders and his two sons who play for the team, runs another YouTube channel that chronicles the program and said in a video posted Monday that he had “multiple thousands of dollars” taken from his bag in the locker room.

One player said his jewelry was stolen from inside a jewelry box in the locker room.

“That’s awful for anybody,” UCLA coach Chip Kelly told reporters Monday, following the team’s 28-16 win over the Buffaloes. “You would think that when you go anywhere that your valuables are safe.”

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October 29th

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Oregon State and Utah both drop five spots in latest AP poll; UCLA up three spots

From ESPN … The Oklahoma Sooners dropped four spots to No. 10, the top five teams held their places and Kansas and Kansas State both entered The Associated Press college football poll on Sunday.

Georgia is No. 1 for the 20th straight week, receiving 48 of 63 first-place votes, distancing itself from No. 2 Michigan after the Bulldogs walloped Florida on Saturday.

The Wolverines, who were off Saturday after a week of being in the news for an NCAA investigation, received nine first-place votes. No. 3 Ohio State and No. 4 Florida State each received three first-place votes.

Washington remained at No. 5, one spot ahead of Pac-12 rival Oregon. The Ducks moved up two spots to No. 6 after a dominant win at Utah, which dropped five spots to No. 18.

Texas stayed put at No. 7 while Alabama moved up to No. 8 and Penn State to ninth.

The Sooners lost for the first time this season and to Kansas for the first time since 1997, then tumbled in the rankings behind Big 12 rival Texas, which Oklahoma beat in a thriller three weeks ago.

Kansas reentered the rankings at No. 22 after one of the biggest victories in program history and Kansas State moved back in at No. 25 ahead of a big matchup at Texas next Saturday.

The Sunflower State rivals have a long history of bad football.

Kansas State turned one of the most hapless programs in the country around in the 1990s under Hall of Fame coach Bill Snyder, and the Wildcats have stayed competitive to varying degrees ever since, winning three Big 12 titles — including last season.

Historically, Kansas has had a few more runs of success, though the Jayhawks’ last conference championship came in the Big Eight in 1968. From 2010-20, Kansas was the standard for Power Five ineptitude, winning a total of 21 games.

Kansas’ 5-0 start to last season put the Jayhawks and Wildcats in the AP Top 25 together for two weeks, the first time since 2007 that had happened.

Other than that, there were 17 AP polls between 1995 and ’96 that featured both Kansas and Kansas State. And that’s it.

With both teams sitting at 6-2 heading into the final month of the season, the Jayhawks and Wildcats have a solid chance to finish the season ranked for just the second time in the 87-year history of the AP poll.

In 1995, Kansas State was No. 7 and Kansas was ninth in the final Top 25 (Nebraska finished No. 1; Colorado finished No. 5 … so four teams from the Big Eight finished in the Top Ten in the final season of the Big Eight).

Others receiving votes … Others receiving votes: Oklahoma State 77, North Carolina 54, Liberty 47, Fresno State 16, Miami 11, Arizona 6, Toledo 3, Rutgers 2

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October 27th

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Best/worst case scenarios for Pac-2/Pac-10

From the San Jose Mercury News … Now that the collapse is official, they all want the Beavers and Cougars to succeed.

But they also want the divorce to be fair to both sides, and one aspect, in particular, was raised recently by a Hotline source: The outgoing schools don’t believe OSU and WSU should be allowed to keep all the assets and then shutter the conference.

How might that happen?

The grant-of-rights term ends on Aug. 1, 2024, so let’s use that date as our benchmark.

The scenario the ‘Pac-10’ want to avoid is the following:

— Either through the lawsuit or mediation, OSU and WSU are allowed to keep all Pac-12 assets, which include more than $60 million in NCAA Tournament units and potentially two years of massive Rose Bowl and College Football Playoff revenue.

— On Aug. 1, 2024, the 10 schools announce they are officially leaving the conference.

— On Aug. 2, 2024, tens of millions of dollars in assets are transferred from the conference coffers to the OSU and WSU bank accounts.

— On Aug. 3, 2024, the Beavers and Cougars announce they are joining the Mountain West.

The outbound schools believe that outcome would be grossly inappropriate. There are assuredly other sticking points in the negotiations, but we believe that scenario is No. 1 on the list.

Also important: The distribution plan for College Football Playoff revenue is not guaranteed. The CFP is waiting for the outcome of the Pac-12 legal dispute before making any possible adjustments to its format and financial models.

What scenario might satisfy both sides?

The ‘Pac-10’ cannot force the ‘Pac-2’ to rebuild the conference or settle on any single scenario. Perhaps an equal division of whatever CFP revenue is available — again, that piece is unknown — for the 2024-25 seasons? We are merely guessing.

The entire situation is unfortunate and features stress on both sides. The ‘Pac-2’ need resolution sooner than later so they can make plans for next season. Meanwhile, the ‘Pac-10’ are loath to divulge internal documents in discovery because of potentially sensitive communications with their new conferences.

How does it end?

It’s difficult to imagine the ‘Pac-10’ allowing a judge based in Whitman County, Wash., which includes Pullman, deciding the fate of the conference.

If mediation doesn’t work, several outbound schools could respond by seeking temporary restraining orders in their home states.

And if that’s the next step, a big mess becomes much, much bigger.

… Continue reading story here …

This post, about the Oregon State game, from the 2023 Season, is filed under Article.
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