Well, at least we can put the Gonzaga to the Big East debate to bed.
Gonzaga to the PAC (1)2
- Thread starter CL82
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Well, at least we can put the Gonzaga to the Big East debate to bed.
They turned down Mountain West invite in the past so what changed now? I'm surprised they didn't hold out until 2030/2031 when the next round of conference realignment is expected to happen. This seems like a solution to a non-existent problem.
They had a lot going for them in the WCC - imbalanced revenue share, automatic advance to conf semifinals, 16 game conf schedule to allow for national schedule, strong recruiting, tremendous post season success, etc.
They had a lot going for them in the WCC - imbalanced revenue share, automatic advance to conf semifinals, 16 game conf schedule to allow for national schedule, strong recruiting, tremendous post season success, etc.
Full conference payout share even though they don't have football, basically another form of imbalanced revenue share
Is that confirmed? There were early reports of expected revenue share to be about $15M per school. Memphis was skeptical about the report but told Pac12 they will come if they're guaranteed $15M. PAC12 wouldn't guarantee it (because I think we all know that number isn't realistic) so Memphis rejected offer.
The Big. East looks to be a likely target to be raided if a power 5 conference wants to add a school that doesn’t need to have football but does have a major basketball program.. If that does happen UConn and Nova would lead the list of schools to be poached.
Nobody knows what a full share will be worth yet as the PAC12 doesn't have a new media contract.
Gonzaga’s Move to the Pac-12 Is a Financial and On-the-Court Upgrade
The move clearly positions the Pac-12 as a “best of the rest” conference in basketball, at least on the West Coast.
Every article I’ve ever read from the “experts” on this realignment stuff has Uconn, Nova and St Johns as the targets.
It's something to worry about but the difference here is that Gonzaga's TV deal was, at least in terms of actual games on national linear TV, was poor compared to what Big East conference members deal with. All of our games were on some combination of Fox Sports, CBS Sports, CBS or ESPN. Their games against big programs and some conference members made it on ESPN/ESPN2/CBS, but many of their other games were on local TV and something called Root sports. I can't imagine that they were satisfied financially with the situation that they found themselves in with the WCC even as the flagship member with all of the aforementioned benefits given to them, so I'm not surprised that they thought that the new Pac-12 with former Pac-12/MWC members would be a better deal even without having specific numbers in hand.
Correct. They have no media deal in place - the $15M/team was just a reported estimate. But I was questioning your full share statement. Was it reported that they are getting a full share?Nobody knows what a full share will be worth yet as the PAC12 doesn't have a new media contract.
Gonzaga’s Move to the Pac-12 Is a Financial and On-the-Court Upgrade
The move clearly positions the Pac-12 as a “best of the rest” conference in basketball, at least on the West Coast.www.si.com
Their thought process might have been with Randy Bennett and Mark Few getting older they need to do something to level up now.
On a side note, if I were a coach/fan in the WCC I would be ecstatic about this news. I couldn't image how disheartening it would be competing in a one bid league (in most years) where you have no realistic shot to compete for a conference championship. Gonzaga did not match the athletic profiles of the WCC schools.
The flip side to this is that the WCC just became the MAAC -- one good program (St. Mary's) and a number of schools that rotate through good seasons. The reason for the imbalanced revenue share was that Gonzaga was that important to the WCC's well being.
If St. Mary's goes as well, the WCC becomes a Northeast Conference type league.
Yes, but at least now there is a reasonable competitive balance. It’s like having Jay Wright Villanova compete in the MAAC. It doesn’t make sense. It’s not fun for anyone - fans, players, coaches, etc.
The people that are hurt with conference realignment are fans. Cuse fans cry when the BE tourn is going on, USC/UCLA has little interest in watching morning Fball against RU, Maryland's BB arena is empty now that they are in the BIG10. But having said that , Gonzaga's move is not that bad. They keep the same geographic area that they had before, but play overall better teams (compared to the WCC) , and they make a better share than they could have with anyone else.
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Good move for the Zags. They play better competition, will earn more $$$ and don’t have to fly across the country for better conference games.
This is all well and good but Portland, Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount et al will now toil in total obscurity as their media rights value just flatlined.
Oh, and I'm going to throw this here because it's not worth starting a thread over, or bumping an old one.
I suspect they were not interested in joining the big east. The pac-2 is a much better geographic choice for them
No football conference is raiding a basketball only school. None.
In this crazy world that makes up todays college world of sports nothing is off the table.
Nothing is ever permanent.
If the PAC 12 were to get picked apart again, I would think Gonzaga is back on the table.
That being said, this current realignment makes sense for Gonzaga right now.
To say that Gonzaga’s next hire after Few is monumental is a huge understatement.
If the PAC 12 were to get picked apart again, I would think Gonzaga is back on the table.
That being said, this current realignment makes sense for Gonzaga right now.
To say that Gonzaga’s next hire after Few is monumental is a huge understatement.
I could see them wanting to put a bullet in the BE. Take away a couple of top programs and you may make 6 or 8 top level bb onlys worse. The league has been pretty resilient, but who knows.
I bet Molson thought his success at Zag was not possible to sustain so he took the first train out of town. Few took over and got better and better - one of the great coaching and program steering jobs.
I watched a little bit of Wisconsin USC on CBS last Saturday. I don’t know what it was I but the whole atmosphere in LA came across flat, like the fans didn’t really care about the game or the opponent. I feel like even when USC was mediocre and playing teams like Arizona State or Stanford on PAC-12 after dark the place would have some juice. Now the atmosphere at these games between West coast schools and midwestern schools feel so artificial and forced.
I also saw that reported, but $15 million seems high - way beyond the value any media platforms would derive from that lackluster group of schools.
I can't see it being picked apart. The Mountain West didn't want to absorb those two schools, and the Pac-2 didn't want any more MWC schools beyond what they took (other than Air Force to get to eight). Both leagues are kind of stuck because they all know that no one else wants them and they can't draw an eighth member, and their member schools realize they have no better options than to sit where they are. The Pac-2 and the MWC should probably merge, but the more influential schools in the Pac-2 don't want the dead weight at the bottom of the MWC.
It's still a good move for Gonzaga, which didn't really give much up to do this, remains in a geographical fit, takes on more visible conference partners, and even if a full share of the Pac-2 isn't much -- and it won't be -- it's still better than what they made in the WCC.
The current rev share for the Mountain West is ~$5M per school. The revised PAC12 is the Mountain West + Oregon State and Washing State - doesn't seem likely they are 3X their media revenue with that group.
I think they will be fine. The WCC is now a collection of similar schools. I think its wildly unrealistic for St. Mary's to have continued success once Randy Bennett retires. The guy has turned down the Cal job on three separate occasions. How many coaches out there that are willing to do that?
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