There's a market for a G5 conference expansion and merger

[CougPatrol]

One of the biggest things we can help jump start in the wake of all of this is the establishment of a stronger G5 coalition. The super conference era is here to stay, and if there is a silver lining, there are only going to be so many seats available at the big-boy table. What needs to happen now is a vision of how 2nd tier can best survive.

The NCAA is greedy and media driven, but woven into their greed is the understanding that somewhere downstream, they need a viable mid-major layer of programs. That's what makes the NCAA basketball tournament so appealing, and while not as large in scope, it will be possible to have a highly competitive mid-major alliance in college football.

The financial gap between the P5 is always going to be increasingly massive, but by adding some protective roster building safeguards that will allow the mid-major programs to at least hang onto recruits for 2 years or limit the amount transferring that can occur by implementing a 1-year wait before being eligible at your new school, a more competitive foundation can be established.

The one freaking thing George K, the P12, B!G, B12, the NCAA and the media channels like Fox and ESPN can do is help facilitate a solid G5 foundation. There are solid programs in the MWC, AAC, conferences. The ACC burnout is going to leave teams like WSU and OSU looking for homes.

WSU
OSU
Stanford
Cal
SDSU
Boise St
Utah St
Fresno
UNLV
Hawaii
Air Force
Colorado St
San Jose St

Memphis
SMU
Army
Navy
UTEP
Temple
Rice
East Carolina
Tulane
Tulsa
South Florida
UTSA

There are also some FCS programs who should be contacted and enticed to consider stepping up. North Dakota St, North Dakota, South State, Montana.

All of this sucks, but we need some capable, forward thinking business people to dial in a mid-major coalition. Maybe the entire G5 needs to move to Apple TV with the biggest games sold to linear partners? I'm not smart enough to outline a plan, but I know that 45 power conference schools aren't enough to capture the spirit of college football. The market will tire of that very quickly.

 

[95coug]

One of the biggest things we can help jump start in the wake of all of this is the establishment of a stronger G5 coalition. The super conference era is here to stay, and if there is a silver lining, there are only going to be so many seats available at the big-boy table. What needs to happen now is a vision of how 2nd tier can best survive.

The NCAA is greedy and media driven, but woven into their greed is the understanding that somewhere downstream, they need a viable mid-major layer of programs. That's what makes the NCAA basketball tournament so appealing, and while not as large in scope, it will be possible to have a highly competitive mid-major alliance in college football.

The financial gap between the P5 is always going to be increasingly massive, but by adding some protective roster building safeguards that will allow the mid-major programs to at least hang onto recruits for 2 years or limit the amount transferring that can occur by implementing a 1-year wait before being eligible at your new school, a more competitive foundation can be established.

The one freaking thing George K, the P12, B!G, B12, the NCAA and the media channels like Fox and ESPN can do is help facilitate a solid G5 foundation. There are solid programs in the MWC, AAC, conferences. The ACC burnout is going to leave teams like WSU and OSU looking for homes.

WSU
OSU
Stanford
Cal
SDSU
Boise St
Utah St
Fresno
UNLV
Hawaii
Air Force
Colorado St
San Jose St

Memphis
SMU
Army
Navy
UTEP
Temple
Rice
East Carolina
Tulane
Tulsa
South Florida
UTSA

There are also some FCS programs who should be contacted and enticed to consider stepping up. North Dakota St, North Dakota, South State, Montana.

All of this sucks, but we need some capable, forward thinking business people to dial in a mid-major coalition. Maybe the entire G5 needs to move to Apple TV with the biggest games sold to linear partners? I'm not smart enough to outline a plan, but I know that 45 power conference schools aren't enough to capture the spirit of college football. The market will tire of that very quickly.

The flaw in your plan is that you’re assuming it matters if you have a solid, competitive program. It doesn’t - at least not directly. What matters is viewers. Viewers follow specific teams. Casual viewers follow matchups.

“Forward thinking business people” are who created the superconferences, based on viewers. In the current model you can’t sustain a competitive conference made up of teams that nobody watches. There’s no market for a game between SDSU and Tulane - even if theyre both undefeated.

 

[CougPatrol]

The flaw in your plan is that you’re assuming it matters if you have a solid, competitive program. It doesn’t - at least not directly. What matters is viewers. Viewers follow specific teams. Casual viewers follow matchups.

“Forward thinking business people” are who created the superconferences, based on viewers. In the current model you can’t sustain a competitive conference made up of teams that nobody watches. There’s no market for a game between SDSU and Tulane - even if theyre both undefeated.

I don't think there's a flaw in my plan. Collegiate athletics aren't as important on the West coast. How many programs are getting a seat at the big kid table? 8 of them? UW, Oregon, USC, UCLA, Utah, BYU, ASU, Arizona. Stanford and Cal could be massive if they chose to downgrade their academic standards, but they don't care and I respect that.

I'm as disappointed as any Coug out there, but all we can do now is try to join or establish the best conference we can. If that means that we have to accept playing in a regional G5 league and watching games vs. Wyoming in front of 15K fans, so be it. Honestly, that feels a lot more "real" than playing against programs who pay high school recruits $15M for NIL. I'm older now, and I don't feel shame in a schedule that features Boise State, Oregon State, Air Force, Colorado St, SDSU, Fresno, UNLV, Idaho, Montana, Eastern WA, Army, Navy, Memphis, SMU, and whoever gets tossed from the ACC.

 

[95coug]

I don't think there's a flaw in my plan. Collegiate athletics aren't as important on the West coast. How many programs are getting a seat at the big kid table? 8 of them? UW, Oregon, USC, UCLA, Utah, BYU, ASU, Arizona. Stanford and Cal could be massive if they chose to downgrade their academic standards, but they don't care and I respect that.

I'm as disappointed as any Coug out there, but all we can do now is try to join or establish the best conference we can. If that means that we have to accept playing in a regional G5 league and watching games vs. Wyoming in front of 15K fans, so be it. Honestly, that feels a lot more "real" than playing against programs who pay high school recruits $15M for NIL. I'm older now, and I don't feel shame in a schedule that features Boise State, Oregon State, Air Force, Colorado St, SDSU, Fresno, UNLV, Idaho, Montana, Eastern WA, Army, Navy, Memphis, SMU, and whoever gets tossed from the ACC.

For general sentiment, I agree…except that I don’t want to play Boise state. I quietly hope that in some future round of realignment they go back to Big Sky and disappear into oblivion.

In reality, NIL has destroyed most of my emotional connection to football. Seems likely I’ll go back to watching NFL on sundays, when I have less going on, and stop CFB entirely.

 

[CougSinceBirth]

One of the biggest things we can help jump start in the wake of all of this is the establishment of a stronger G5 coalition. The super conference era is here to stay, and if there is a silver lining, there are only going to be so many seats available at the big-boy table. What needs to happen now is a vision of how 2nd tier can best survive.

The NCAA is greedy and media driven, but woven into their greed is the understanding that somewhere downstream, they need a viable mid-major layer of programs. That's what makes the NCAA basketball tournament so appealing, and while not as large in scope, it will be possible to have a highly competitive mid-major alliance in college football.

The financial gap between the P5 is always going to be increasingly massive, but by adding some protective roster building safeguards that will allow the mid-major programs to at least hang onto recruits for 2 years or limit the amount transferring that can occur by implementing a 1-year wait before being eligible at your new school, a more competitive foundation can be established.

The one freaking thing George K, the P12, B!G, B12, the NCAA and the media channels like Fox and ESPN can do is help facilitate a solid G5 foundation. There are solid programs in the MWC, AAC, conferences. The ACC burnout is going to leave teams like WSU and OSU looking for homes.

WSU
OSU
Stanford
Cal
SDSU
Boise St
Utah St
Fresno
UNLV
Hawaii
Air Force
Colorado St
San Jose St

Memphis
SMU
Army
Navy
UTEP
Temple
Rice
East Carolina
Tulane
Tulsa
South Florida
UTSA

There are also some FCS programs who should be contacted and enticed to consider stepping up. North Dakota St, North Dakota, South State, Montana.

All of this sucks, but we need some capable, forward thinking business people to dial in a mid-major coalition. Maybe the entire G5 needs to move to Apple TV with the biggest games sold to linear partners? I'm not smart enough to outline a plan, but I know that 45 power conference schools aren't enough to capture the spirit of college football. The market will tire of that very quickly.

If you think I'm gonna watch this league, you're wrong. A lot of Coug fans are going to feel similar.

 

[CougPatrol]

In reality, NIL has destroyed most of my emotional connection to football. Seems likely I’ll go back to watching NFL on sundays, when I have less going on, and stop CFB entirely.

I'm 100% in agreement with you. I'll be sad this weekend, but then I'll be over it. I posted in another thread that I read where, in a few years, blue blood college football programs with have $100M NIL rosters. LOL. Even if we do get invited to the B12 or another big conference, how in the world do we compete with that? Hell, look at Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State already. Soon they'll be even bigger and more mature. They'll plug all of their roster holes with elite transfer talent.

Screw it. I wish the G5 and upper crust FCS programs would form their own alliance, stream their games on Apple TV, and refuse to play body bag games against the elites. Fck all of them.

 

[CougPatrol]

If you think I'm gonna watch this league, you're wrong. A lot of Coug fans are going to feel similar.

I understand that. We're going to be a lot smaller in scale now. That's OK. We wouldn't have been able to beat $100M NIL rosters anyway. Cinderella is dead in college football.

 

[95coug]

I understand that. We're going to be a lot smaller in scale now. That's OK. We wouldn't have been able to beat $100M NIL rosters anyway. Cinderella is dead in college football.

And killing Cinderella was part of the idea. The blue bloods want to make sure that they stay dominant, and they win the titles. They think it’s prestigious. I think it’s boring.

 

[Cougini5591]

If you think I'm gonna watch this league, you're wrong. A lot of Coug fans are going to feel similar.

Not watching the "league" is one thing...

Giving up on the Cougs is preposterous.

F*ck anyone who quits on the Love of the Cougs because of conference (or lack there of)

 

[Meister_Rebel]

Could Mountain West and Pac-12 merge into a single, 16-team conference?

Sources say preliminary talks have started on a merger between San Diego State's current conference and the Pac-12, which is in tatters following the departure of 8 schools

www.sandiegouniontribune.com

 

[95coug]

Could Mountain West and Pac-12 merge into a single, 16-team conference?

Sources say preliminary talks have started on a merger between San Diego State's current conference and the Pac-12, which is in tatters following the departure of 8 schools

www.sandiegouniontribune.com

Or, some combination of WSU, OSU, Stanford, and Cal plays out the rest of the Pac-12’s life and lets it die so they can carve up the assets. Then they’re free and clear and can do whatever they want. Joining the Mt west will be legally simplified.
They lose the place at the P5 table, but that’s going to happen anyway, might as well be on our terms in a way we can profit from. And, supposedly the G5 conferences will still get a playoff berth, so there’s still a pathway.
Seems the best path for Wsu And maybe OSU. Gives us enough cash to pay our debts and at least move to a smaller revenue stream with a clear ledger.

 

[kougkurt]

Or, some combination of WSU, OSU, Stanford, and Cal plays out the rest of the Pac-12’s life and lets it die so they can carve up the assets. Then they’re free and clear and can do whatever they want. Joining the Mt west will be legally simplified.
They lose the place at the P5 table, but that’s going to happen anyway, might as well be on our terms in a way we can profit from. And, supposedly the G5 conferences will still get a playoff berth, so there’s still a pathway.
Seems the best path for Wsu And maybe OSU. Gives us enough cash to pay our debts and at least move to a smaller revenue stream with a clear ledger.

Yeah, this seems to make the most sense

 

[longtimecoug]

Or, some combination of WSU, OSU, Stanford, and Cal plays out the rest of the Pac-12’s life and lets it die so they can carve up the assets. Then they’re free and clear and can do whatever they want. Joining the Mt west will be legally simplified.
They lose the place at the P5 table, but that’s going to happen anyway, might as well be on our terms in a way we can profit from. And, supposedly the G5 conferences will still get a playoff berth, so there’s still a pathway.
Seems the best path for Wsu And maybe OSU. Gives us enough cash to pay our debts and at least move to a smaller revenue stream with a clear ledger.

They will join us

 

[95coug]

They will join us

That seems likely, but if Canzano’s financial description is right, I do t think it’s the best scenario for WSU specifically.

 

[CougSinceBirth]

Not watching the "league" is one thing...

Giving up on the Cougs is preposterous.

F*ck anyone who quits on the Love of the Cougs because of conference (or lack there of)

Part of the prerequisites considering WSU was to have a P5/PAC experience. If that's gone, I'm not tuning in to watch WSU v. NM or Air Force, etc.

That's the reality.

 

[Coug90]

Not watching the "league" is one thing...

Giving up on the Cougs is preposterous.

F*ck anyone who quits on the Love of the Cougs because of conference (or lack there of)

Well said. Not sure how this is some sort of flex if you are a Coug and this is your mindset right now you are a soft AF snowflake. Be pissed. At the NCAA, TV networks, UW. Whatever. I’m gonna huff and puff in my corner and not support my school? F all the way off with that BS.

 

[mikalalas]

Part of the prerequisites considering WSU was to have a P5/PAC experience. If that's gone, I'm not tuning in to watch WSU v. NM or Air Force, etc.

That's the reality.

How bout Stanford, Cal, WSU, Ore St VS SDSU, SMU, Tulane, Memphis, USF, UNLV, Fresno St, CSU, BSU, Utah State, Gonzaga, THE BEST DAMN MIDMAJOR'S IN THE WORLD, as part of a PAC X, 12,14,16,18 HYBRID P5/GROUP OF 5 conference.

 

[mikalalas]

How bout Stanford, Cal, WSU, Ore St VS SDSU, SMU, Tulane, Memphis, USF, UNLV, Fresno St, CSU, BSU, Utah State, Gonzaga, THE BEST DAMN MIDMAJOR'S IN THE WORLD, as part of a PAC X, 12,14,16,18 HYBRID P5/GROUP OF 5 conference.

Such a conference would have 2 Possible CFP spots, 1,2 more NY6 at large tie ins to Cotton, Fiesta, and would keep Rosebowl between PAC X and BIG, and would have Alamo, Holiday, Vegas bowls.

 

[CougPatrol]

Part of the prerequisites considering WSU was to have a P5/PAC experience. If that's gone, I'm not tuning in to watch WSU v. NM or Air Force, etc.

That's the reality.

You have every right to feel the way you do, but I don't understand that mentality. We've been punching above our belts for decades. If we land in a 16 team PacWest conference, we'll have (by my standards) 3 really fun home games each season to look forward to. Boise State, Oregon State, San Diego State, possibly Apple Cup, Stanford (maybe), Cal (maybe), SMU, Air Force. There will be a league championship to play for with a playoff bid on the line. On the flip side, we'll have road games in places like Hawaii, San Diego, Las Vegas, Wyoming, Colorado.

Maybe it's because I'm older, I don't know, but that's good enough for me. It's still D1 football and it's still WSU.

 

[CougSinceBirth]

You have every right to feel the way you do, but I don't understand that mentality. We've been punching above our belts for decades. If we land in a 16 team PacWest conference, we'll have (by my standards) 3 really fun home games each season to look forward to. Boise State, Oregon State, San Diego State, possibly Apple Cup, Stanford (maybe), Cal (maybe), SMU, Air Force. There will be a league championship to play for with a playoff bid on the line. On the flip side, we'll have road games in places like Hawaii, San Diego, Las Vegas, Wyoming, Colorado.

Maybe it's because I'm older, I don't know, but that's good enough for me. It's still D1 football and it's still WSU.

I'm probably one of the younger posters on this board (maybe the youngest?), and that's not appointment TV for me to sit down on a Saturday to watch with some gusto or get me back to Pullman to watch a game live (for reference: a plane ticket would be ~$700 from where I live [CT time zone] for the Wisconsin or OSU weekend).

 

[CougPatrol]

I'm probably one of the younger posters on this board (maybe the youngest?), and that's not appointment TV for me to sit down on a Saturday to watch with some gusto or get me back to Pullman to watch a game live (for reference: a plane ticket would be ~$700 from where I live [CT time zone] for the Wisconsin or OSU weekend).

Attendance will be impacted without question. The name of the game now is viewership. Will you still watch the Cougs? Pay for Apple TV or another streaming source? I will, and I bet a lot of Coug fans will too. In fact, I thing that’s one of the things that will emerge from this. WSU will have strong streaming and viewership numbers compared to our new conference members.

 

[CougSinceBirth]

Attendance will be impacted without question. The name of the game now is viewership. Will you still watch the Cougs? Pay for Apple TV or another streaming source? I will, and I bet a lot of Coug fans will too. In fact, I thing that’s one of the things that will emerge from this. WSU will have strong streaming and viewership numbers compared to our new conference members.

I already have Apple TV (and other streaming sources), but just because it will be available to watch doesn't mean I would.

The UX on Apple TV is simple and should make for a good experience to those who would be new.

 

[Meister_Rebel]

You have every right to feel the way you do, but I don't understand that mentality. We've been punching above our belts for decades. If we land in a 16 team PacWest conference, we'll have (by my standards) 3 really fun home games each season to look forward to. Boise State, Oregon State, San Diego State, possibly Apple Cup, Stanford (maybe), Cal (maybe), SMU, Air Force. There will be a league championship to play for with a playoff bid on the line. On the flip side, we'll have road games in places like Hawaii, San Diego, Las Vegas, Wyoming, Colorado.

Maybe it's because I'm older, I don't know, but that's good enough for me. It's still D1 football and it's still WSU.

You have the right attitude. I can't wait for my Rebels to travel to Pullman. I can already see my trip planned out. Fly from CO to Spokane. Spend a night at the Davenport, dinner with some friends at Anthony's, and spend a few hours at the Peacock Lounge (inside the Davenport). Get up early the next morning drive to Pullman and get there early enough before Ferdinand's closes. Eat a couple of bowls of delicious ice cream (if I'm travelling that far I'm getting multiple scoops). Walk around campus then check in at the Residence Inn on campus then head over to the game. Simple pleasures in life not to be wasted.

 

[wazzucougs96]

If you think I'm gonna watch this league, you're wrong. A lot of Coug fans are going to feel similar.

then you don't actually care about the Cougs

 

[wazzucougs96]

You have the right attitude. I can't wait for my Rebels to travel to Pullman. I can already see my trip planned out. Fly from CO to Spokane. Spend a night at the Davenport, dinner with some friends at Anthony's, and spend a few hours at the Peacock Lounge (inside the Davenport). Get up early the next morning drive to Pullman and get there early enough before Ferdinand's closes. Eat a couple of bowls of delicious ice cream (if I'm travelling that far I'm getting multiple scoops). Walk around campus then check in at the Residence Inn on campus then head over to the game. Simple pleasures in life not to be wasted.

You can do much better than Anthony's.

 

[Observer11]

You can do much better than Anthony's.

Clinkerdaggers if the river view is important.

 

[CougSinceBirth]

then you don't actually care about the Cougs

Cool.

I'm not going to apologize for not wanting to watch a thrown together conference due to sh*t admin and other universities.

 

[Meister_Rebel]

You can do much better than Anthony's.

Clinkerdaggers if the river view is important.

Those are the only two restaurants I've been to in downtown Spokane. Would love to learn of others nearby. And yes the river was always the attraction if you stay downtown for me.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

Cool.

I'm not going to apologize for not wanting to watch a thrown together conference due to sh*t admin and other universities.

You probably need to consider if you are a Coug fan or just a person who is only interested in watching other “big time” teams. I get the frustration, but realistically, if we are as special as you think we are, we will be winning 11 games and going to the Fiesta Bowl as an at large team, which is something we haven’t done before.

 

[CougSinceBirth]

You probably need to consider if you are a Coug fan or just a person who is only interested in watching other “big time” teams. I get the frustration, but realistically, if we are as special as you think we are, we will be winning 11 games and going to the Fiesta Bowl as an at large team, which is something we haven’t done before.

I stayed the whole game where WSU lost 69-0 to USC. I lived through 9-40, part of that timing coincided when I was at school there. If you consider playing the same teams for 100+ years on a yearly basis "big teams" then yeah, sure. I recognize that's not the reality anymore, but I'm not going to pretend to be excited either. G5 are going to get squeezed out of the CFP/big bowl games as things move forward. Those at-large bids will be a farce.

 

[longtimecoug]

Cool.

I'm not going to apologize for not wanting to watch a thrown together conference due to sh*t admin and other universities.

Just admit the truth, its about the team we are playing, not the cougs

 

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

Just admit the truth, its about the team we are playing, not the cougs

same team you fcking fcks. Geezus.

Its not about the teams we play, but the (pipe) dream of a NC being torn away and never on the table again. As I stated before, we don't even have the roses any more. Playing for a G5 championship is like pissing yourself in black pants - you feel nice and warm all over but no one notices.

But I digress - let everyone mourn the way they want to and keep you shitty comments to yourself about not being a Coug.

 

[longtimecoug]

same team you fcking fcks. Geezus.

Its not about the teams we play, but the (pipe) dream of a NC being torn away and never on the table again. As I stated before, we don't even have the roses any more. Playing for a G5 championship is like pissing yourself in black pants - you feel nice and warm all over but no one notices.

But I digress - let everyone mourn the way they want to and keep you shitty comments to yourself about not being a Coug.

Nobody said anything about not being a coug

 

[CougSinceBirth]

Just admit the truth, its about the team we are playing, not the cougs

Cougs are always number one.

 

[mikalalas]

I stayed the whole game where WSU lost 69-0 to USC. I lived through 9-40, part of that timing coincided when I was at school there. If you consider playing the same teams for 100+ years on a yearly basis "big teams" then yeah, sure. I recognize that's not the reality anymore, but I'm not going to pretend to be excited either. G5 are going to get squeezed out of the CFP/big bowl games as things move forward. Those at-large bids will be a farce.

Stanford, Cal, WSU, Ore St, SDSU, SMU, Memphis, Tulane, USF, Appalachian St, BSU, Fresno St, NDSU, Gonzaga, UNLV, Utah St, etc, if it happens, would not be a Farce, Joke, and would be a hybrid P5/BEST of borderline group of 5/P5 conference, and would have 1,2 CFP spots, 1,2 at large bids 2 Cotton, Fiesta, that would not be Farces, Jokes.

Every one of those teams has been BIG TIME in either football or bball, except UNLV and Rice.

And this conference IF it happened, would also be able to get good LEFTOVER teams from a ACC blow up.

And in this conference in both football, and BBall, WSU, could, would, should be BIG TIME in BOTH football, bball, since have good teams, good players, good coaches, good recruiting, and since wouldn't have to play USC, Oregon, UCLA, Utah, and maybe UW, Arizona in bball.

Only Stanford, SDSU, Gonzaga in Bball, BSU in football, UNLV in bball, Memphis in bball, so only 3,4,5,6 challenges to play, so WSU finish 1,2,3,4 in conference in, on semi regular to regular basis and goto playoffs, NY6 bowl games, Bowl games, NCAA at large bids, etc, on semi regular to regular basis.

But that's IF this conference is done, as I don't trust PAC leadership to be smart enough to do this conference.

 

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

Nobody said anything about not being a coug

You were piling on previous comments about CSB not being a "real" Coug.

And it wasn't directed just at you, but I should have stated that or quoted CSB instead.

 

[roses04]

In 4-5 years, as I brought up about a year ago when USC and UCLA left, said there would be 2 super conferences with about 40 teams total, and the rest would be 2nd tier, I figured WSU had about a 20% chance of making it and now WSU is on the outside looking in. Of those 40 teams there are about 10 that have a chance at a NC each year, the rest are there to fill out the schedule. If the teams at the bottom don't pull in the ratings, or win some games, the top teams will take money from them, like the bully stealing lunch money. When the networks start losing money in 5-10 years and realizes that no once cares about the "new" CFB anymore, other than those 10 teams, things will be restructured again. Right now college football is being run by handful of teams in 2 conferences, plus one or two more on the outside. The big 12 is trying, by they are already a 2nd tier conference, they just won't acknowledge that yet, they are maintaining the financial support, so they will stick around. Keep in mind one half of share in the Big 10 or SEC is worth more than a full share in the Big 12 or ACC. The ACC is in trouble because of their bad TV deal, if Clemson, FSU, and Miami go they are in trouble.

 

[95coug]

In 4-5 years, as I brought up about a year ago when USC and UCLA left, said there would be 2 super conferences with about 40 teams total, and the rest would be 2nd tier, I figured WSU had about a 20% chance of making it and now WSU is on the outside looking in. Of those 40 teams there are about 10 that have a chance at a NC each year, the rest are there to fill out the schedule. If the teams at the bottom don't pull in the ratings, or win some games, the top teams will take money from them, like the bully stealing lunch money. When the networks start losing money in 5-10 years and realizes that no once cares about the "new" CFB anymore, other than those 10 teams, things will be restructured again. Right now college football is being run by handful of teams in 2 conferences, plus one or two more on the outside. The big 12 is trying, by they are already a 2nd tier conference, they just won't acknowledge that yet, they are maintaining the financial support, so they will stick around. Keep in mind one half of share in the Big 10 or SEC is worth more than a full share in the Big 12 or ACC. The ACC is in trouble because of their bad TV deal, if Clemson, FSU, and Miami go they are in trouble.

Whether they find a way to break the GOR agreement or not, sooner or later FSU, Clemson, and Miami will find a way to buy their way out of it. When that happens, they'll jump to the SEC. That'll put the SEC at 19, they're going to need 1 more. I think at that point they poach another from the Big 12 - and it might be one of the recent additions. They'll look to see who provides the biggest splash - Houston is a nice market, so if the viewers follow them to the Big-12, they could be a target.

Not sure if it will coincide with the ACC teams coming over, but the other thing that I think is inevitable is that the Big 10 and SEC will shed some members and replace them with others. Anyone who's not pulling their weight is going to get tossed - they're not going to share the dollars with a team that doesn't bring them in. That could end up meaning a return to more regional conferences, but we'll see.

The wild card in this is the networks - how long can they keep pumping money into these contracts? The next cycles could look a lot more like the Apple proposal, which could easily be made to favor the bigger draw schools even more. I don't see the ESPN/FOx model being able to continue much beyond the current cycles.

 

[Flatlandcoug]

same team you fcking fcks. Geezus.

Its not about the teams we play, but the (pipe) dream of a NC being torn away and never on the table again. As I stated before, we don't even have the roses any more. Playing for a G5 championship is like pissing yourself in black pants - you feel nice and warm all over but no one notices.

But I digress - let everyone mourn the way they want to and keep you shitty comments to yourself about not being a Coug.

All BS aside, WSU has never been a serious contender for a national championship and with an expanded playoff, our chances of winning one went to zero. The closest we got was late in 2002 and after that gack against UW, we were no longer close. Frankly, even if we had beaten UW and Ohio State had not converted that fourth down....the college football powers would have jumped Iowa or Georgia over WSU. We never had a shot.

Anyone who thinks that WSU could make a run through a playoff is delusional. Mike Leach's best team in 2018 had something like a 5% chance of making the playoff before we got our asses thumped in the Apple Cup. That team would have gotten crushed by Alabama, Clemson or Ohio State. As much as I love the Cougs, I realized a long time ago that our best hope was a conference championship and another Rose Bowl appearance.

Now, relegation to a glorified MWC masquerading as the Pac-16 would not get us another Rose Bowl, but it puts us in the position to be in the playoff or other NY6 bowl game, which is better than being a bottom feeder in a bloated Big 10 or Big 12 is likely to get us. So, our fans can say that you don't find passion in playing MWC teams and I get that, but let's not pretend that it was ever about winning national championships.

 

[Loyal Coug1]

All BS aside, WSU has never been a serious contender for a national championship and with an expanded playoff, our chances of winning one went to zero. The closest we got was late in 2002 and after that gack against UW, we were no longer close. Frankly, even if we had beaten UW and Ohio State had not converted that fourth down....the college football powers would have jumped Iowa or Georgia over WSU. We never had a shot.

Anyone who thinks that WSU could make a run through a playoff is delusional. Mike Leach's best team in 2018 had something like a 5% chance of making the playoff before we got our asses thumped in the Apple Cup. That team would have gotten crushed by Alabama, Clemson or Ohio State. As much as I love the Cougs, I realized a long time ago that our best hope was a conference championship and another Rose Bowl appearance.

Now, relegation to a glorified MWC masquerading as the Pac-16 would not get us another Rose Bowl, but it puts us in the position to be in the playoff or other NY6 bowl game, which is better than being a bottom feeder in a bloated Big 10 or Big 12 is likely to get us. So, our fans can say that you don't find passion in playing MWC teams and I get that, but let's not pretend that it was ever about winning national championships.

I get kind of annoyed about this fixation with the national championship. Yeah in basketball or soccer or volleyball sure. But in Football? Ain't ever gonna happen. F the playoff. And so what? Our society is so fixated on that shit. How about we just find a home (Mtn West) where we can have our FB Saturdays, maybe travel to Wyoming or Colorado, maybe Gawd forbid Fresno and Boise. And oh yeah, Hawaii. Go across the country to play in the ACC? Give me a break.