I am not here to defend Chun...or even Smith....I think sometimes you have to look at a situation and say I need to step up, and not out. I know this will bug people, but in 1981 I sat in a cafeteria wondering why we were in the Pac 10 and not the WAC. One third of the football season was over by the time our students were on campus. UCLA, UW and USC would not come to our campus. Our cross state rivals had ten times the football recruiting budget we had, and also at the same time had the richest radio contract in the country.

We just had four head football coaches in four years. Walden wanted something more for WSU. Yeah he irritates people, but when the ship hit the iceberg he didn't pull a Jonathan Smith, a Kyle Smith or Pat Chun. He put his own interests second to that of a great university. Was he completely successful? No, but the constant turnover was put behind us, USC, UCLA, and Washington had to come to Pullman. It changed the trajectory of our football program.

I am not going to comment on the job Chun did in terms of accomplishments, but WSU and the people who support the program have to decide what we want in the athletic department. Chun seemed cold and aloof, didn't communicate or thank coaches enough. Covid hurt WSU more than probably any school in the country. We were the titanic and hit the iceberg, and from 2020 to this date we have been bailing water just to keep our heads above water. There probably has been more on the AD plate than we can imagine.

Chun was an outsider. He wasn't one of us. WSU thinks they have to be a Coug to help run the Cougs. Worked out well for Doba. Chun was highly respected. He had some good training at Ohio State. I believe he was hired to help give us that Ohio State "gloss" and do some of the things that made OSU successful.

The problem is the locals, the people who would say "that's not how we do it around here" . That is such small thinking. In the "real world" that isn't how it works. When a President of a company is blown out, guess what, so goes his entire management team. I saw that happen personally probably five times. Many good people were asked to leave. Why? Cause the new person wanted complete buy in.

That doesn't happen in Pullman. We want to be big time athletics but want that homey feel in the department. Stuff I heard people complain about literally blows my mind.

So to Socal, how do they remake themselves? How does the department move forward with the constraints of needing teh small town , always a coug vibe?

Guy is 1 step from basketball oblivion and does this:

The powers that be must have heard the bitching and complaining on the board about not getting phone calls. Got a phone call from Hannah at WSU tonight and she followed up with a text asking how things were going and asking if WSU could count on my support.

We will see what happens . He was the second best player behind Rice.

I will give it to Smith and staff they coukd really find talent . Was Darling their biggest reach?

Dishon Jackson, Efe, Guaye, Rodman, Bamba, Rice, Jaki, Number 20, ... then Bonton, Flowers, and Roberts could score . Just horrible teammates

I give him credit for taking the job ...

If they are going to be free agents every year, the departing school should get some sort of compensation. They need to get a handle on NIL. The NCAA needs to reach out to a New York marketing firm for price appraisals for what each kid is worth to the NIL.

How much NIL money should John Mateer get coming out of high school. How about the number 15 kid from high school, what is his true NIL value for name, image and likeness. They don't have any.

Per the article on cougfan, they announced on Instagram last night *after* Riley was officially named the coach, that they are staying and working on Rice to return to WSU. Yaki liked the post naming Riley, so fingers crossed that maybe several of these Cougs will stay home.

College Football Playoff revenue model treats ACC, Big 12 the same when they really aren’t​

Jon WilnerApril 3, 2024 at 11:51 am
It has been two weeks since the College Football Playoff formalized a new contract with ESPN and created a revenue model that declares, with no pretense or shame, that the Big Ten and SEC are better than everyone else.

No matter how many teams from each conference qualify for the playoff in a given year, no matter where they are seeded or how they perform, the Big Ten and SEC will receive hundreds of millions of dollars more annually than the Big 12 and ACC.

That, folks, is March madness.

The Big Two conferences are expected to collect 59% of the $1.3 billion available annually during the six-year agreement, which begins in the fall of 2026.

Meanwhile, the revenue model assigns second-class cash to the Big 12 and ACC, which are set to receive 32 percent of the total revenue each year.

(Other details of the playoff’s next chapter remain undetermined, including the number of participants, automatic bids, at-large spots and opening-round byes.)

In a sport that traditionally treats its power conferences as equals, the change in revenue distribution is unprecedented — the first visible evidence of The Great Split, with the Big Ten and SEC consolidating authority following the latest realignment wave.

But as the process plays out in surreal time, a second dynamic, far less tectonic in nature but equally fascinating, is unfolding: The CFP contract negotiations have cast the Big 12 and the ACC as necessary partners, the strangest of bedfellows.

Aside from the outsized role basketball plays in their cultures, the two leagues could not be more different. Yet they have been forced to grab the hind legs of the CFP cash cow and hold on, together, for dear life.

The ACC is based on the Eastern Seaboard with a slew of small private schools and some of the nation’s academic powerhouses. The Big 12 is loaded with massive universities and centered in the Southern Plains.

The commissioners are different, too. The ACC’s stately Jim Phillips has spent a lifetime in college sports while the Big 12’s hard-charging dealmaker, Brett Yormark, is a relative newcomer to the space.

The conferences are also dissimilar in the valuation levels of their football programs.

Were the SEC and Big Ten to hold an expansion draft, the top four picks would come from the ACC: North Carolina would be the first off the board — it’s the Caitlin Clark of realignment — followed by some combination of Virginia, Florida State and Clemson. Heck, Miami might even give the ACC a clean sweep of the top five selections.

In that regard, the revenue distribution within the CFP’s new contract doesn’t reflect the competitive stature of the two leagues.

The model is based, in part, on CFP participation over the past 10 years using schools in their new conferences, which makes sense.

What doesn’t make sense is the Big 12 ended up with an annual revenue share of approximately 15 percent of the ESPN deal while the ACC is collecting 17 percent.

The difference in percentage is slight; the difference in performance is substantial.

After all, the new ACC can claim seven playoff appearances to date, thanks to Clemson (six) and Florida State (one). But the new Big 12 has just two CFP appearances to its name, courtesy of Cincinnati and TCU.

Seven is a lot more than two, just as Clemson and Florida State (and North Carolina) are a lot more valuable than any program in the Big 12.

Yet the revenue shares are essentially equal.

Step back and examine the full CFP canvass, and the Big 12’s share looks even better relative to the other conferences.

Number of participants over the first decade of the playoff based on new conference configurations:

SEC: 17
Big Ten: 12
ACC: 7
Big 12: 2

(Notre Dame also has two.)

The revenue model wasn’t based entirely on the CFP participation. But that was a central component, and the Big 12 isn’t close to the ACC in that benchmark, much less within range of the SEC and Big Ten.

To that end, it appears Yormark negotiated deftly, securing a higher percentage than his conference deserved.

Granted, this could all change sooner than later.

According to multiple sources with knowledge of the CFP’s agreement with ESPN, there is a series of “openers” that allow for changes in the early years of the contract cycle.

One of those openers shifts the revenue shares if a particular conference outperforms its baseline participation figure.

Sponsored​

Another accounts for additional conference realignment — a distinct possibility given the lawsuits filed against the ACC by Clemson and Florida State and the silent salivating over North Carolina by the Big Ten and SEC.

If the most valuable football brands depart the ACC, a new playoff structure could arise.

And it’s not difficult to envision several schools seeking refuge in the Big 12, prompting the strangest of bedfellows to join together in unholy matrimony.

Jon Wilner: jwilner@bayareanewsgroup.com;

Washington State hires EWU’s David Riley as men’s basketball coach​

Greg Woods
April 2, 2024 at 6:13 pm Updated April 2, 2024 at 8:46 pm
By
The Spokesman-Review
PULLMAN — Washington State’s next head basketball coach won’t have to travel far to his new home.

WSU is hiring Eastern Washington men’s basketball coach David Riley, the school announced Tuesday, ending an eight-day coaching search in the wake of former coach Kyle Smith’s departure for Stanford last week.

“We are thrilled to have David Riley leading our men’s basketball program as we look to build on this season’s success,” WSU interim AD Anne McCoy said in a press release. “Throughout the process, Dave’s coaching acumen was evident as was his ability to create a winning culture. In just three seasons, he has emphasized player development through a fast-paced, high powered offense that allows his student-athletes to play free and confidently.”

Riley signed a six-year deal, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander.

Riley, 35, was born in Seattle and played at Division III Whitworth. In three seasons as head coach at EWU, Riley led the Eagles to an overall record of 62-38 (42-14 Big Sky) with two conference regular-season titles and two postseason appearances, his first season in The Basketball Classic and his second in the NIT.

The Big Sky Coach of the Year in 2023 and 2024, Riley’s EWU teams own two wins over WSU: in the first round of last season’s NIT and in the 2021-22 regular season, both in Pullman. He has shown he can beat and hang with power conference opponents, beating California in 2022 and taking a late lead on Washington a few months ago in Seattle.

The fourth-youngest Division I head coach last season, Riley doesn’t have much head coaching experience. He has spent his entire coaching career at EWU, where he worked as director of basketball operations in 2011-2014 before becoming an assistant coach from 2014 to 2021.

Riley’s Eagles teams have disappointed in March, however. As the Big Sky Tournament’s top seed each of the past two years, they dropped their first game in both of those tournaments.

“I am incredibly grateful to President Schulz, Interim Athletic Director Anne McCoy and the athletic department leadership team for allowing me the opportunity to lead the men’s basketball program,” Riley said in the release. “WSU is a dream job and embodies everything that college athletics is about.”

Riley is likely WSU’s second choice. On Monday, WSU offered the job to Montana State head coach Matt Logie, according to reports, but Logie turned down the offer to stay at MSU, which responded with an extension with a pay bump.

The Cougars also went away from associate head coach Jim Shaw, who interviewed for the position but was informed he was out of the running last week, multiple sources confirmed to The Spokesman-Review. Over the weekend, in a statement to The S-R, Shaw said he was deciding between following Smith to Stanford or accepting another offer.

Riley may have to work to reconstruct the Washington State roster. In the days after Smith’s departure, 10 Cougars have entered the transfer portal, including guard Myles Rice, senior wing Andrej Jakimovski, junior center Oscar Cluff and true freshman center Rueben Chinyelu, all of whom started last season. Six reserves have also hit the portal.

All 10 retain the option to return to WSU.

As of Tuesday, WSU still has two key pieces in junior wing Jaylen Wells and true freshman guard Isaiah Watts, both of whom played important roles last season. Watts came on strongly toward the end of the season, which ended in the Cougs’ first NCAA tournament berth in 16 years.

Last season, EWU guard LeJuan Watts won Big Sky Freshman of the Year honors, and junior wing Cedric Coward landed on the all-conference first team. Junior forward Ethan Price and junior wing Casey Jones earned second-team honors, and Jones also landed on the all-defensive team.

Last season, EWU played one of the country’s toughest nonconference schedules, coming in 18th nationally, according to KenPom. That’s one reason EWU ranked low nationally in some metrics, such as 262nd in defensive efficiency and No. 336 in 3-point defense, allowing a mark of 36.9%.

But EWU scored exceptionally well, coming in fourth nationally with an effective field-goal percentage of 57.2%. The Eagles also made 58.7% of their shots inside the arc, sixth nationally. Coward, who started his career at Division III Willamette, ranked 14th nationally in true shooting at 66.2%.

Riley’s father Ed is an anesthesiologist at Stanford. His uncle Mike Riley is the former head football coach at Oregon State and Nebraska.

Greg Woods Washington State beat writer for The Spokesman-Review

Halftime
Illinois 42. Cougs 28

is that I was in Vegas and put $550 on the Cougs to cover against Drake. They did. I'm happy to have experienced getting $1050 from the Book. GO COUGS!!!!

New UW athletic director Pat Chun responds to backlash from WSU president Schulz: ‘We’re all human’​

Percy AllenMarch 28, 2024 at 3:31 pm
By
Seattle Times staff reporter


Anybody but Washington.

That’s the popular sentiment among Washington State fans regarding Pat Chun, the former Cougars athletic director who left for the same position with cross-state rival Washington.

In front of a crowded room at the Don James Center overlooking Husky Stadium, Chun and UW president Ana Mari Cauce spent a significant portion of Thursday’s introductory news conference addressing inflammatory comments from WSU president Kirk Schulz.

During an interview with Cougfan.com that posted Wednesday, Schulz expressed shock and disappointment when Chun told him the news.

“I was just, you’re kidding me,” Schulz said. “If Pat had said it was the University of Iowa, it was Ohio State or Minnesota or pick whatever I would have said, ‘Hey, we want you here but I understand.’

“Given all the stuff that’s happened with the University of Washington over the last year I was like, there’s no way a person is going to move as a senior athletics administrator from WSU to the University of Washington. … Still a little shocked by it to be honest. … I’m upset about the timing of Pat leaving,”

Schulz — and at one time Chun — believed Cauce delivered the final punch that ultimately doomed the Pac-12 when she declined a media-rights deal from Apple that might have kept 10 of the conference schools together last August.

Instead, Washington quickly pivoted and partnered with Oregon to move to the Big Ten, which set off a chain reaction of defections that left WSU and Oregon State alone in the Pac-12 and suing the bolting members for control of the conference’s finances.

Schulz said he’s “pissed off and pretty upset” at Chun because he thought he had a partner to help WSU navigate through uncertain times.

“His timing was crappy,” Schulz said. “There’s never a great time, but there are times that are worse than others. … I felt we were side by side, hand in hand going through some really challenging times. … You feel you’ve got that person there. We’ve got a good solid year worth of tough work ahead of us and now you don’t. It’s profound, the disappointment.”

All of this is news to Chun who said: “I’ve gotten us off social media. So purposely, I’m oblivious to a lot of the things.”

Still, sitting in front of a purple-clad audience of family members, UW faculty, coaches, donors, the marching band and cheerleaders, Chun addressed his mostly successful six-year stint at WSU and any feelings of betrayal among the Cougars over his leaving at least four times during a 22-minute news conference.

“It was an extraordinary experience for six years,” Chun said about his WSU tenure. “President Schulz has been fantastic. He’s a friend. He’s a mentor. You could not ask during that period for a better boss, partner or friend.

“To all the Cougs, it’s just gratefulness and it’s gratitude.”

When asked a second time about Schulz, Chun said: “I did not see those comments. But we’re all human. I’ll also take what our final conversations were. Kirk is a class act. He’s been nothing but great to me and my family. I know the conversations we had personally. He knows how I feel about him. I know how he feels about me.”

Admittedly, Cauce was unaware that Schulz said WSU’s relationship with UW is damaged.

“I’m a glass-half-full type of person,” Schulz said. “I tend to be really positive, and I’ve worked to keep a working relationship going with the University of Washington. You can’t reside in the same state, deal with the legislature and all those things and not have a working relationship.

“I will say Ana Mari tried to call yesterday before the announcement came out, but I was on an airplane. … She did want to reach out personally, … but clearly the relationship is not the same as it was in July of last year where I thought we had a tight working relationship. It’s cordial, but it’s definitely damaged. To be honest, [the relationship] probably won’t, as long as I am president and she is president, ever be quite the same.”

When Schulz’s comments were relayed to Cauce, she said: “We have been good colleagues for many years. A really strong WSU is good for the UW, there is no question. It is important to have two really strong R1s [top-tier research institutions] in this state. And we have gone out of our way when the director of NSF [National Science Foundation] was here to make sure to invite Kirk.

“I will continue to do everything I can to continue to make WSU strong academically as well. I have lots of good relationships there. I can understand. I assume that he made the comments this morning. We will do some repair work and we will continue to work together for the best of the entire state.”

In football, the Huskies and Cougars will continue their Apple Cup rivalry for at least another five years, including next season’s game at Lumen Field followed by the series alternating between campus sites until the 2028 season.

“I have a genuine appreciation for Pat,” WSU coach Jake Dickert told reporters Thursday in Pullman. “I wouldn’t be standing in front of you guys with a life-changing opportunity if he didn’t believe in me. Those are the facts. I believe in facts, not emotions.

“But at the end of the day, we want people here that want to be here and that’s from the janitor to all the way up to the top of the administration.”

While the Cougars scramble to fill their AD and men’s basketball coach vacancies, Chun is settling into a new home that he never envisioned until recently.

“It was the furthest thing from my mind eight days ago,” he said.

Percy Allen: pallen@seattletimes.com; Seattle Times staff reporter Percy Allen covers the Washington Huskies and Seattle Storm.

The difference between WSU 2022 and WSU 2023 was Miles Rice. He was the difference between being the bottom of the conference and the top of the conference.

Smith had a great talent for spotting bigs. Efe, Jackson, and others use to post up and meanwhile the guards Smith got like Bonton, Roberts, and Flowers would dribble dribble dribble then jack up a shot. Smith finally hot on chemistry. Rice was gone the moment Smith left. Then our second best player exhausted his eligibility.

So what Logie turned us down, or Shaw wasn't retained. The next two years are going to be a nightmare.

Even when we had Smith, our attendance sucked. So really, we suck a little worse than we have in 2020 to 2023. The bus already went over the cliff, the next coach is a sacrificial lamb. No more, no less.

...down here in YakiVegas about our Athletics train wreck. At least he had a Coug jacket on. He had a little knowledge on recent events. A little. Most I run into don't follow the Cougs for shit.

Curious if there is much for grassroots interaction or communication out there. Alumni Chapter meetings? As an aside, I see that we have 19 employees in Alumni Relations now (not to be sexist, but 18 women and one young guy). WAY more than we had when I was in Pullman - it was more like 10 under Pavish, although he always bitched about needing more staff. The Exec Director is a decent gal, but not strong. A far, far cry from Keith Lincoln and Tim Pavish. We have 3 staff with the titles of
Alumni Engagement". Anybody been engaged lately? The Chapter pages look old and in desrepair. The Yakima/Kittitas Chapter? Chapter Prez does frequent Facebook posts (good for her ), but that's about it. I'm a Life member and have seen nor heard nothing for the AA for at least 5 years if not more.

Anyway, other than this board (and Brand X and Y), I don't think anyone out the is paying attention, let alone screaming and yelling en masse. Meanwhile, Nero (Schulz) fiddles, and Anne and others bring grapes.

Edit - See ya Loogie, we barely knew ya....

Have you looked at downtown Pullman lately? It isn't only WSU that is struggling on all fronts. You know you are struggling when a plasma center is a main downtown tenant, and it is among many boarded up shop fronts. How come Pullman has struggled for decades, despite having cash cow employers and a captive audience next door? You can write it off as caused by Pullman's isolation and surrounding poverty, but neither Starkville nor Oxford, Mississippi suffer the same problem. They too are isolated communities, and in the poorest, least educated state in the union, but they are islands of prosperity, in a sea of poverty. These cities work with their universities, and are business friendly. They make it inviting for people to travel to games and events, because they recognize that people must travel. They make the it as inviting as they can, not only for fans, but for potential students. Instead of the landlord/tenant model of real estate, they have adopted and promoted the condo model. They have upscale/trendy downtowns, with no defunct plasma centers in sight. They are making it work.

The hope of big fish donors coming to the rescue and things trickling down from there, is not going to happen. WSU/Pullman need to seriously look at the successful isolated university communities, and chart a new symbiotic course. Both WSU and Pullman are slowly dying. Bearing in mind that the lotto donor concept will never happen, meaningful change starts by turning Pullman from a clearly negative draw for both fans and potential students, to a positive, and slowly building from there. The city needs an adjustment change, and the university needs to accept that new "on campus" bells and whistles for students/athletes, doesn't overcome the net negative effects of surrounding urban blight.

It is time for new leadership. Schultz has had 8 years, it has only gotten worse, not only academically, but the in terms of the surrounding community. He has no answers and is just playing the fiddle.

I just read where 900 players have entered the BB portal (as of Sat AM). I only see 3 of the 7 Cougs who are indicating they are portalling. Add Jabe Mullins per Brand Y. So 900 is probably going to climb a bunch.

Kinda wondering just where all these players are going. Obviously some have spots picked out and/or agreed to. Wonder how many HS recruits might lose their spots (if you can even do that at this point?) if a transfer or two come along. Makes the job Smith AND SHAW did this last year even more amazing.

Second. OK, the basketball specific NIL fundraising apparently made $350,000 plus. So now what? Who's out their talking to the kids? No idea of the logistics, although WSU does have an NIL-designated staffer. Just feel like WSU has totally f-ed up. Should have made the offer to Shaw, for cosmetic reasons if nothing else. Should have offered Shaw for 5 years, and had it in hand to announce immediately when Smith bailed. Every player that we want to keep, even if in the portal should have at least have a preliminary NIL commitment if they stay. Yeah we can't offer $100,000 to any of them, but I would think if a kid is happy and sitting in his living room and we say hey, you stay and you will get $10,000 or $20.000 or whatever immediately, it might keep them sitting there for another year. If Wells and Watts light on fire next year, they can always jump with two years left. Even Jaki says he could stay.

Edit - Jaki, Mullins and Chinyelu have entered the portal.

Edit again - Housinou declared. The list is intriguing - Louisville has 10! in the portal. Stanford has 4.

I'm Fed up, tired of them. WSU is constantly getting V Lane Rawlins, Schultz's, bad AD'S, botched, bad coaching hires(Football, Bball)at Bad times, except for Floyd, Moos, Price, Leach, Bennet, Smith.

In other words the Board of Regents, WSU Presidents, AD'S have been COUGING IT(SNATCHING DEFEAT FROM THE JAWS OF VICTORY, ETC, in hiring bad Presidents like V Lane Rawlins, and bad AD'S, and bad football, bball coaches.

The latest debacle of not making the safe hire of Shaw, not hiring Henderson, maybe losing Logie, maybe getting stuck with Riley or Worse, and thus have entire team leave, only have 3 wins the next year after a Bennet, Smith year, etc, is just the latest example.

Time to fire them, and change the culture.

What I would do, is find a college like a Iowa St, KSU, Texas Tech, Minnesota, that is a WSU type, that is generally semi consistently successful, and hire the President that like Floyd, that has consistently made good AD hiring decisions that were successful.


Then as that President I would hire a consistently successful AD from Iowa St, Texas Tech, KSU, Minnesota, WSU types.

Then as a AD I would hire consistently successful football, bball coaches(Snyder, Smith, Bennet(Not a Virginia Bennet) etc types) from Iowa St, Texas Tech, KSU, San Diego, MWC, AAC, South Dakota St, North Dakota St, etc, types, that know how to recruit to WSU types successfully, know how to manage a roster of a WSU type successfully, deals with NIL, Transfer Portal semi consistently successfully, is at least a pretty decent, ok, good, coach X's, O's wise, Develops talent well, etc.

It starts at the top, the Board of Regents hiring the right President, and then the right President hiring the right AD, and then the Right AD hiring the Right coaches.


WSU isn't a Alabama, Ohio St, etc, that can hire whoever the hell they want at all levels, and still win 9,10 games in football, and 20 wins in basketball.


WSU has to have the Right President, AD, Coaches, as V Lane Rawlins, Floyd, Moos, Paul Wulf, Price, Leach, proved, in order for WSU to be semi consistently successful.


Of course, for now WSU both Stuck with, borderline wants, doesn't want the Board of Regents, Schultz to rebuild the PAC X. stabilization, etc, to make the transition, etc. But if not for that, and after that, Fire Schultz and the Board of Regents.

What a year of Royal **** ups at every level. This basketball coach search is just a cherry on top of bad optics. Scared about what may happen with the director hire. This is a master class of bad publicity.

Tallying cash available to Washington State, Oregon State for rebuilding Pac-12​

Jon WilnerMarch 30, 2024 at 2:40 pm
The process required eight months, a lawsuit, a negotiated settlement, clarity from the College Football Playoff, readings and re-readings of the Rose Bowl contract, an entire basketball season and multiple rounds of the NCAA Tournament. But finally, we have clarity on the cash.

It’s time to calculate the pot ‘o gold waiting for Washington State and Oregon State.

Once the other 10 schools depart the Pac-12 this summer, the Cougars and Beavers will have sole access to the conference’s assets and revenue.

They have time to plot a course of action, but not an unlimited amount.

the latest from jon wilner​

NCAA rules provide a two-year grace period for conferences gutted by realignment. Once the summer of 2026 arrives, the Pac-12 must have at least eight schools. Otherwise, WSU and OSU must join another conference.

Based on four key revenue streams, the Cougars and Beavers seemingly have enough cash to create strategic flexibility, maintain athletic operations at a reasonable level and attempt to lure other schools into a rebuilt conference.

How much cash?

With the Pac-12 eliminated from the men’s NCAA tournament, we can tally the revenue and assets available during the 2025 and 2026 fiscal years — the crucial 24-month period in which WSU and OSU will be alone in open water.

The revenue due to the conference prior to that period (i.e., this spring) must be shared with the outbound schools, which officially depart at the close of business on Aug. 1, according to the negotiated settlement.

The four primary revenue buckets for the Cougars and Beavers are:

— Conference distributions withheld from the outgoing schools

— College Football Playoff payments

— The Rose Bowl contract

— NCAA Tournament unit distributions

Let’s take them one at a time.

Conference distributions withheld​

Earlier this week, WSU and OSU finalized the negotiated settlement with the 10 outbound universities. Section 2 addresses conference revenue generated in the 2023-24 competition year.

Each of the departing schools will have $5 million withheld in the following timetable:

“The $5,000,000 per Departing Member amount will be withheld on the following schedule: one million dollars ($1,000,000) from each Departing Member’s first Fiscal Year 2024 Distribution; two million dollars ($2,000,000) from each Departing Member’s April Fiscal Year 2024 Distribution; and two million dollars ($2,000,000) from each Departing Member’s June Fiscal Year 2024 Distribution.”

Additionally, each outbound school is responsible for a $1.5 million “supplement contribution” to the conference.

The amount can be withheld from the 2024 distributions this spring or repaid to the conference by Dec. 31. If that deadline isn’t met, then (per the settlement): “The Conference shall be entitled to a binding and enforceable order from the Special Master.”

The math: $6.5 million withheld from 10 schools is $65 million for WSU and OSU.

College Football Playoff payments​

Because of the NCAA’s grace period, the Cougars and Beavers are eligible for their full share of the CFP revenue per the terms of the contract signed a decade ago, when the four-team event was created.

That 12-year contract runs through the 2024 and 2025 seasons. While WSU and OSU will be treated as at-large teams with regard to their access to the playoff, they remain full-share Power Five members — just like the 10 outbound schools.

A full share is roughly $6 million per year.

The math: $6 million for each school for two years is $24 million.

Rose Bowl revenue​

In addition to the CFP payments, the Cougars and Beavers have sole access to the terms of the Rose Bowl’s agreement with the Pac-12, its longtime partner. That deal remains in place for the next two seasons, to coincide with the CFP’s contract cycle.

And it’s a whopper: The Pac-12 receives approximately $50 million annually as part of the agreement with the Granddaddy.

The math: $50 million for two years is $100 million.

NCAA Tournament revenue​

This is the most complicated piece of the cash calculation, with the amount of revenue based on tournament success over a rolling timeframe.

In simplest terms, the process works as follows:

Each game played is worth one unit. Each unit carries a six-figure dollar value paid to the team’s conference over six years, beginning the following spring.

So the money due to the Pac-12 this spring from the NCAA Tournament is based on the units accumulated by all the member schools from 2018-23. And it will be shared by all the schools, since the payment period falls within the 2024 fiscal year.

Sponsored​

But the cash headed to the Pac-12 in the spring of 2025, based on units accumulated in the 2019-24 tournaments, is available only to WSU and OSU. The outbound members won’t take their units with them to their new leagues.

How much? The Pac-12 accumulated the following units:

2019: 7
2020: 0 (no tournament played/no units allocated)
2021: 19
2022: 7
2023: 7
2024: 10

That’s 50 units to be paid next spring, when each unit will carry a value of $350,000 (approximately).

In the spring of 2026, the Pac-12 will be paid for 43 units at $360,000 per unit (approximately).

(WSU and OSU will compete as affiliate members of the West Coast Conference for the next two seasons. The revenue from any NCAA units earned would go solely to the permanent WCC schools, according to the contract.)

The math: 50 units at $350,000 each in the spring of 2025 is $17.5 million, and 43 units at $360,000 each in the spring of 2026 is $15.5 million — for a two-year total of $33 million.

If the Pac-12 exists beyond the summer of 2026, the conference would continue to collect the NCAA units earned to this point through the end of the six-year payout cycle.

But that amount — approximately $30 million — would be distributed from the spring of 2027 through the spring of 2030.

In other words, it would not be available to WSU and OSU during the two-year NCAA grace period, as they stay afloat and work to rebuild the conference.

That said, the ‘Pac-2’ schools have a substantial amount of cash available from their four primary revenue streams.

Conference withholdings: $65 million
CFP payouts: $24 million (approx.)
Rose Bowl: $100 million (approx.)
NCAA units: $33 million

The grand total during the critical 24-month window: roughly $222 million.

It guarantees them nothing, except a fighting chance.

Jon Wilner: jwilner@bayareanewsgroup.com

Here is a video that explains why the best thing that the PAC can, should do, is grab the best G5's from the MWC, AAC, and the left overs from the ACC, after the ACC falls apart.

Take the top 6 to 9 from MWC(Top 9 dissolves MWC)

Add Memphis, Tulane, USF

Add Boston College, Syracuse, NC St, Wake Forest, Cal, SMU, from the ACC, as left overs from the ACC, to the PAC

FSU, Miami, North Carolina probably goto SEC.

Clemson, Virginia, Duke probably goto Big 10

Louisville, Pitt, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech probably goto Big 12.

Stanford, Smith probably don't goto Big 10, SEC, Big 12, PAC(Because of BSU, etc), and are STRANDED, either go independent, or goto either IVY League, WCC, AAC, etc(Smith shouldn't have gone to Stanford)


So if that happened.


West Division would be

WSU

OSU

CAL

SDSU

FRESNO ST

Maybe SMU


Central Division would be

BSU

Airforce

UNLV

Utah St

Memphis or Tulane

Maybe SMU


East Division would be

Syracuse

Boston College

NC ST

Wake Forest

USF

Memphis or Tulane

The PAC would have 16/18.

A good quote from the video

"Someone needs to sit down with Schultz and let him know that while it's admirable that he wants to rebuild the PAC into a PREMIER WEST COAST LEAGUE, that that's not REAL WORLD, and that the best thing to do is to rebuild the best PAC possible with the best G5's, ACC leftovers"

Almost exact quote paraphrased.


Here is the video. The first 25% to 33% of it is about the PAC, etc


Login to view embedded media

Sorta off topic, but hey, nothing more to talk about on the WSU front as we twiddle our thumbs and Schulz breathes in that Tri-Cities air. That is such a travesty.

So NC State makes the final 4 in Men's and Women's basketball. Wow. And on the heels of their 9-4 FB season, although they did lose in the Pop Tarts Bowl, which did pay out $6million. These bowl payouts are all over the board, but the Western US bowls, aside from the Holiday and of course Rose, lag way behind.

Anyway, I am sure NC State will be all ears about the chance to join the Pac-whatever when the ACC implodes. Yeah right.


And SMU BB hires Andy Enfield from USC? Enfield, while struggling, apparently didn't get fired. What's up with that?

And edit - correct me if my dates are wrong, but UW hired Danny Sprinkle on March 25th, Utah State hired a new coach on March 30?