• You do not need to register if you are not going to pay the yearly fee to post. If you register please click here or log in go to "settings" then "my account" then "User Upgrades" and you can renew.

HuskerMax readers can save 50% on  Omaha Steaks .

More realignment details emerge: B1G originally wanted USC + Oregon

DuckTownHusker

Blackshirt Sith Lord
10 Year Member
This is a really good -and far reaching - article. Sounds like the Arizona president can't keep his mouth shut, lol.

A couple highlights:
  • Arizona / ASU are trying to be a package deal. Sounds like both presidents are unified on this and want to avoid a breakup like Texas - Texas A&M.
  • The four corners schools don't see travel as a big problem if they move to the Big XII. Lubbock and Stillwater aren't that far away.
  • The tipping point is $31.6 million. That's what the Big XII would pay. If the Pac can pay more, the four corners schools likely all stay.
  • The B1G originally was looking at USC and Oregon, not UCLA. But Fox pushed back and wanted to capture the entire Los Angeles market and not leave behind an LA-based Pac-12 school.
  • The Pac-12 doesn't want to expand further (SMU, San Diego State, etc) until they get their media deal locked down. So, I wouldn't expect them to try and sign a bunch of schools in an effort to jack up the media price.

 
This is a really good -and far reaching - article. Sounds like the Arizona president can't keep his mouth shut, lol.

A couple highlights:
  • Arizona / ASU are trying to be a package deal. Sounds like both presidents are unified on this and want to avoid a breakup like Texas - Texas A&M.
  • The four corners schools don't see travel as a big problem if they move to the Big XII. Lubbock and Stillwater aren't that far away.
  • The tipping point is $31.6 million. That's what the Big XII would pay. If the Pac can pay more, the four corners schools likely all stay.
  • The B1G originally was looking at USC and Oregon, not UCLA. But Fox pushed back and wanted to capture the entire Los Angeles market and not leave behind an LA-based Pac-12 school.
  • The Pac-12 doesn't want to expand further (SMU, San Diego State, etc) until they get their media deal locked down. So, I wouldn't expect them to try and sign a bunch of schools in an effort to jack up the media price.

The OU thing looks like a guess on his part. "I heard" and "that's what I would have done".

I don't think OU was ever in contention. The money simply wasn't there unless Uncle Phil was about to pony up money and I haven't seen anything that says he was. Their tv draw just isn't big enough. Their academics aren't going to make up for it.

OU has a $1.5B endowment, UCLA is over $5B. OU is ranked outside the top 100 for schools, UCLA is top 20. UCLA brings the rest of the la market for tv's. OU brings Portland?

Sorry, I've seen sites where the numbers were run of what each PAC school could bring in terms of dollars to the B1G and outside of UCLA and USC, every other school reduced the dollars per school.
 
The OU thing looks like a guess on his part. "I heard" and "that's what I would have done".

I don't think OU was ever in contention. The money simply wasn't there unless Uncle Phil was about to pony up money and I haven't seen anything that says he was. Their tv draw just isn't big enough. Their academics aren't going to make up for it.

OU has a $1.5B endowment, UCLA is over $5B. OU is ranked outside the top 100 for schools, UCLA is top 20. UCLA brings the rest of the la market for tv's. OU brings Portland?

Sorry, I've seen sites where the numbers were run of what each PAC school could bring in terms of dollars to the B1G and outside of UCLA and USC, every other school reduced the dollars per school.

That could be. It's all speculation.

Also, this is a nitpicky thing, but nobody calls Oregon "OU." It's UO, or said aloud as, "U-of-O." Some abbreviations can refer to multiple teams (UT = Texas or Tennessee) but Oregon is pretty exclusively UO. Believe me, I live here and calling the Ducks "OU" would be like calling the Huskers something like ULN for "University in Lincoln, Nebraska." You'll just get funny looks around town.

OU is that dirt burglin' team from Norman.
1589px-Oklahoma_Sooners_logo.svg.png
 
Last edited:
That could be. It's all speculation.

Also, this is a nitpicky thing, but nobody calls Oregon "OU." It's UO, or said aloud as, "U-of-O." Some abbreviations can refer to multiple teams (UT = Texas or Tennessee) but Oregon is pretty exclusively UO. Believe me, I live here and calling the Ducks "OU" would be like calling the Huskers something like ULN for "University in Lincoln, Nebraska." You'll just get funny looks around town.

OU is that dirt burglin' team from Norman.
1589px-Oklahoma_Sooners_logo.svg.png
Knowing that, I now have no choice but to continue calling them OU. :)
 



  • The B1G originally was looking at USC and Oregon, not UCLA. But Fox pushed back and wanted to capture the entire Los Angeles market and not leave behind an LA-based Pac-12 school.
USC -- B1G
UCLA -- PAC12
Oregon -- B1G

Hindsight but how about this ..... USC/UCLA yearly non-conference game. Just like USC/N.Dame and Iowa/Iowa St. (yearly)

Anyway I can't wait until 2024 schedule. No divisions?? 3-6-6 plus three non-conference games??

https://schersdd.tripod.com/sig2024.html

 
Last edited:



OU brings Portland?
There a thousand reasons to not be concerned about that city.

With 2M+ population they’re 25th in the US but when’s the last time you‘ve heard about the Trail Blazers in the NBA? Football in the Northwest is not as revered as it is in the southeast or Midwest. It’s a dumpster fire of a city for reasons that should be shared in the Cafe.

It doesn’t bring you anything … Portland doesn’t get you Seattle (a U of Washington) town. Having to add Washington to get Oregon and vice-versa seems wasteful for a region that isn’t accretive to your media rights profile.

At the end of the day … TV is not about specific media markets but rather it is about eyeballs. National brands bring eyeballs beyond a specific media market.

“Getting” Portland doesn’t do anything for Fox Sports, CBS or ABC.
 
Interesting stuff. Oregon and Washington bring similar viewership nationally as Nebraska. They are ranked fairly close.

Nebraska (1.51M), Oregon (1.34M), Washington (1.32M)


Regarding the Pac-12, despite what their presidents and ADs are putting out there, they are officially in the ditch, and the crap will hit the fan after the NCAA tournament:

- The $31.7 million dollar figure they are trying to reach is somewhat beside the point. The Pac has only one linear TV partner bidding - ESPN, and that is for only one game a week. The other partner(s), Apple and/or Amazon, will be streaming. So the Pac-12 schools are signing up for greatly-reduced exposure over the next contract period. The Mountain West will be on TV more. That is suicide.

- The numbers being quoted out there are almost $10 million less than the Big 12. About $22 million. Again, only one linear partner. Could that number increase by 50 percent at the 11th hour? Doubt it. The number has been consistent since the "whisper" number last July.

- Even if, by some miracle, the partners gave the Pac-12 the $31.7 million, the Pac-12 schools are responsible for production costs for the streaming content. That's $5-7 million per school, per year.

- Even if the numbers seem "good enough", will all Pac-12 schools sign a Grant of Rights? Oregon and Washington for starters. I say no way.

I don't care what the ADs and presidents are saying. Barring something super weird, Washington and Oregon will not sign the GOR, one or more schools will move to the Big 12 and/or the Big 10 for more security, and the Pac-12 will backfill with some G5 schools. This isn't that hard to see.
 
Last edited:
Interesting stuff. Oregon and Washington bring similar viewership nationally as Nebraska. They are ranked fairly close.

Nebraska (1.51M), Oregon (1.34M), Washington (1.32M)
So little ole Nebraska with Omaha which ranks 58th in the US, while Portland which is 25th and Seattle which is 15th.

Point is … it’s not about media markets … it is about national brands, viewer interests and less about securing TV markets. No one cares about the Pacific Northwest … both brands are respectable brands but they are accretive to the media rights deal the B1G has in place.
 
So little ole Nebraska with Omaha which ranks 58th in the US, while Portland which is 25th and Seattle which is 15th.

Point is … it’s not about media markets … it is about national brands, viewer interests and less about securing TV markets. No one cares about the Pacific Northwest … both brands are respectable brands but they are accretive to the media rights deal the B1G has in place.

It’s only about eyeballs. Viewers. Advertising dollars. Those brands would bring, or take away, fairly close to what Nebraska does. Their viewerships are close.
 
Last edited:



This is a really good -and far reaching - article. Sounds like the Arizona president can't keep his mouth shut, lol.

A couple highlights:
  • Arizona / ASU are trying to be a package deal. Sounds like both presidents are unified on this and want to avoid a breakup like Texas - Texas A&M.
  • The four corners schools don't see travel as a big problem if they move to the Big XII. Lubbock and Stillwater aren't that far away.
  • The tipping point is $31.6 million. That's what the Big XII would pay. If the Pac can pay more, the four corners schools likely all stay.
  • The B1G originally was looking at USC and Oregon, not UCLA. But Fox pushed back and wanted to capture the entire Los Angeles market and not leave behind an LA-based Pac-12 school.
  • The Pac-12 doesn't want to expand further (SMU, San Diego State, etc) until they get their media deal locked down. So, I wouldn't expect them to try and sign a bunch of schools in an effort to jack up the media price.

Well played.

We are all in PAC because we will be north of $50M. But if we aren't we will look at the Big 12.

No way they end up there. I take this as Lloyd Cristmas odds that the Pac stays together.
 
It’s only about eyeballs. Viewers. Advertising dollars. Those brands would bring, or take away, fairly close to what Nebraska does. Their viewerships are close.
You are assuming these viewership numbers are accurate, which I have a lot of reservations about. Nebraska gets tapped on population in these estimates as the actual game viewership is solid.

For example on a fox triple header you will have NU games with significant viewership bumps over games before and after that involve teams ahead of us on this list.

Especially for a historical dryspeell. Even if they were accurate, we are comparing a team with a historical low point against teams that have been winning. USC, for example, can have huge numbers when they are winning, but will tank when they don't
 

You are assuming these viewership numbers are accurate, which I have a lot of reservations about. Nebraska gets tapped on population in these estimates as the actual game viewership is solid.

For example on a fox triple header you will have NU games with significant viewership bumps over games before and after that involve teams ahead of us on this list.

Especially for a historical dryspeell. Even if they were accurate, we are comparing a team with a historical low point against teams that have been winning. USC, for example, can have huge numbers when they are winning, but will tank when they don't

Yeah they come from sports media watch, from 2015-19, It is average national viewership, in millions, per game over the 5 year period.

Ohio State (5.19M)
Alabama (5.09M)
Michigan (4.18M)
Notre Dame (3.61M)
LSU (3.22M)
Auburn (3.12M)
Georgia (2.91M)
Oklahoma (2.90M)
Clemson (2.67M)
Penn State (2.55M)
Florida (2.46M)
Wisconsin (2.27M)
Texas (2.269M)
Florida State (2.23M)
Michigan State (2.20M)
Southern Cal (1.98M)
Texas A&M (1.851M)
Tennessee (1.849M)
Oklahoma State (1.64M)
Mississippi (1.61M)
Iowa (1.57M)
Nebraska (1.51M)
Miami (1.503M)
TCU (1.495M)
Stanford (1.43M)
Oregon (1.34M)
Arkansas (1.33M)
Washington (1.32M)
Mississippi State (1.31M)
West Virginia (1.27M)
Virginia Tech (1.26M)
UCLA (1.25M)
Louisville (1.22M)
Indiana (1.17M)
Baylor (1.12M)
South Carolina (1.07M)
Navy (1.01M)
Texas Tech (921K)
Washington State (909K)
Northwestern (867K)
Utah (856K)
Army (825K)
Minnesota (803K)
Pittsburgh (781K)
North Carolina (749K)
Iowa State (747K)
California (730K)
BYU (714K)
NC State (703K)
Arizona State (695K)
 
Last edited:

GET TICKETS


Get 50% off on Omaha Steaks

Back
Top