PAC-12 Leadership Remains Quiet - What Might Really be Going on with Additions & Media Partners

PAC-12 leadership has been quiet over the past several months and the Big Mountain breaks down what is really going on behind closed doors? Is this silence a sign of strength or weakness? Lastly, the fellas break down the possible additions and the possible media partners for the PAC-12.
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[@thatcollegefootballguy]

Another possibility. The media partners perhaps told them to stop concentrating in the western United States and get more into the Central time zone. More broadcasting windows means more value.

[@TheBigMountainPodcast]

Another good point. Windows are ver important to media partners. Hello NIU to the MWC. We love the add, but the window was probably the selling point for a media partner.

[@stevenvitte]

And that's most likely what networks like ESPN would tell a conference like the MAC to do after losing NIU. I'm currently studying certain numbers and figures about expansion candidates...

[@PCSPounder]

@@stevenvitte I dare say NIU was more about “Chicago market” than about CTZ. The networks who want ETZ and CTZ viewers already have the B1G, SEC, ACC, and B12. The other networks either have other contracts to fulfill or can spend 90% less money to get near the same viewership (think NBC and Olympic sports)… or don’t think it’s worth spending money to compete in P4 time slots. It might come to pass that the Mountain West remains a cheap (frankly cheaper than now) option for CBSSN and FS1/2 and the Pac goes to streaming for more money and less stray viewers.

[@SurfCityBill]

I'm sure the Pac is exploring all options. The challenge is finding available targets.

[@RyanDooley55]

NIU football only was good for CTZ and Chicago market. They also just beat Boise state in the last bowl game. It’s a better future brand!

[@letitroll610]

It was a sudden surprise when the initial group announced leaving the MW, then all the talk and rumors that followed hurt the PAC because people can try and block you when they know your plan. I think they are playing it tight lipped again and working hard behind the scenes. Leaks are a sign of weak organizations, likely everything is going ok. Memphis just said they still have interest.

[@jeremybuck5152]

Exactly!!

[@SurfCityBill]

This is the correct take!

[@Denozo88]

my thinking is like this that they feel ok where they are and are taking their time. well see by the start of the 2025 season rumors flying if their in trouble.

[@luckuania8723]

Memphis has stated they are open for business. So they're more of a player in this than y'all are giving them credit for.

[@ABQREDorGREEN]

No their not he was asked a question on Memphis radio and answered it. He'll listen to any offer, but everyone knows the Whack Pac is broke and has nothing to offer Memphis with their 6-8M dollar Media deal.

[@TheOceanMan-xc7qp]

Pack your bags Memphis, Pac be coming

[@CarlaJenkinsTV]

I think that it is good that the PAC-12 is quiet. Just keep the main thing the main thing. No playing for headlines or the win the news cycle. Just get your money and start planning for 2026.

[@TheJuan624246]

Death, Taxes, and someone commenting that the two Conferences should just merge. You'd think people would realize it's just not going to happen

[@TheBigMountainPodcast]

As we said, a merger is unlikely. But it is not a dead idea from a discussion or due diligence standpoint.

[@adamcompean9385]

​@TheBigMountainPodcast John Canzano has said in two videos that the Pac12 would come out March Madness College basketball 🏀 before the tip off with an announcement. That's the date! Plus John Canzano also said after the meeting in California the AD's Pac12 meeting the AD's where very happy with the media deal. No amount was mentioned.

[@jasonpayne5638]

@@TheBigMountainPodcast with the MW additions of UTEP and NIU, Hawaii as a full member and UC-D and Grand Canyon as non-football members and then with Gonzaga joining the Pac as a non-football member...doesn't all of those additions really muck up any kind of "merger"? How on earth would that work itself out? To the best of my understanding, the ink is dried on all of those contracts so it's not like they can tell UTEP, NIU, GC, UC-D, and Zaga to go kick rocks (they'd probably try to keep Gonzaga) or else they'd have a "mountain" of new lawsuits and payouts to make to those 4 (or 5) schools to compensate their non-inclusion and/or any entrance fee to a new conference.

[@ABQREDorGREEN]

@@jasonpayne5638 I doesn't hurt at all, the combined Merger would end up with 16FB Schools and 19 BB Schools. Plenty of room to add more schools as well, if they add value.

[@denisdooley1540]

​@@jasonpayne5638I am counting 18 between the current members, including Hawaii, plus the 4 additions with OSU, WSU, and Gonzaga. I'm not saying it's going to happen, I'm just saying they wouldn't be the first 18 team conference.

[@TheOceanMan-xc7qp]

You clowns and The Monty show are always trying to shade on the PAC lol. U mad bro? There is a reason why all the teams that left the Mountain West for the Pac are also suing the MW. I'd quit worrying about the PAC and worry how your gonna fill stadiums with those MW schools lol

[@rvegas3240]

Everyone is wrong. The small market Pac will thrive.

[@jesterscorner879]

Definitely truth to that. 4 remaining schools in the MWC can't get 18K home attendance on any regular basis.

[@liljoe31]

yes and no. problem w UNLV is winning. they are in Las Vegas so there is just too much competition for entertainment in contrast to say Logan UT or Boise ID. however if the rebels win the fans go nuts. UNLV is a local Vegas vibe that people from other places dont get. but they have to win. if Mullen can keep the football momentum, well, time will tell

[@jesterscorner879]

@@liljoe31 I agree that winning is key, that and the contested poaching/departure fees. That said, I do think the writing is on the wall for the long term viability of the MWC. They will okay for the upcoming media cycle, but I could see UNLV bolting in 2031 and if UNLV and Air Force leaves the MWC effectively becomes the Sunbelt or MAC of the West.

[@ericevans1856]

Not sure why UNLV would make the jump. Already splitting the lion share of profits with AF. Why would they jump into a conference with no set media deal in sight? Time to move them to the NO column.

[@jesterscorner879]

It all hinges on the results of the disputed poaching and exit fees. If they get the full amount then I agree that it's highly unlikely that they will leave for the next media contract cycle. If the fees are negotiated down in some form and UNLV is looking to get a lot less than they originaly thought then they could definitely bolt and Air Force as well.

[@stevenambrose97]

I think you guys are missing something about adding Sacramento State to the PAC 12. I think it would be help them land a better media value being Sacramento is the 20th largest media market in the US . I think If they could get UTSA and Rice and get UNLV and UNR and add Sacramento State and actually have 12 Teams They Could get a good media deal and the top GA conference

[@jesterscorner879]

Media Markets mean nothing without bringing actual viewership, attendance, investment, etc. along with it. San Jose State, NIU, Kennesaw State, Akron, Florida International and Ball State are just a few examples of schools that are technically part of large media markets but no one in the PAC or AAC has ever shown any interest in these schools. 4 of the 7 2026 PAC schools were in the 33-40K range for home attendance averages last year and have significant TV Viewership to boot while Sac State State has been averaging less than 14K for several years. Bottom line Sac State is going to have to actually build FBS caliber facilities, and show full commitment to stepping up to the FBS and move to a conference like C-USA and prove themselves there before they can have a shot at even a higher profile non-P4 conference like the PAC or AAC. Rice is another one that is Big Market, but low interest as they are buried behind a Pro team and 7 P4 teams for interest.

[@tylernelson3343]

I have my own theory PAC 12 remaining quiet about what going on with expansion and media deal. They are doing it due diligence. There are more options than ESPN and Fox. Don’t forget about The CW. There is another option for the PAC 12. That would be TNT and losing the NBA could help the PAC 12. TNT needs contents for their network. I wouldn’t be surprised if streaming services still at play in the media deal. Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.

[@TheBigMountainPodcast]

I assume you wrote this prior to listening to the very end of this pod. We stayed CW & TNT for the PAC.

[@tylernelson3343]

@@TheBigMountainPodcast I did hear your show . I was reminding other people

[@SurfCityBill]

I'm sure streaming is still on the table but I have a hard time believing it will work. The last deal for the "old" Pac was incentive based. Bring 1M new subscribers, etc, etc, etc. Everyone is tired of having multiple subscriptions. I see limited people signing up if that's the case.

[@dougden47]

Wasn't it these guys who said something about how the old PAC12 was wrong for going after a the media deal before expanding when G.K was commissioner of the PAC12. Now these two are saying the New PAC12 needs to get a media deal done before expanding. Does the little guy ever give the big guy a chance to speak? The little guy assumes alot. He seems n upset the PAC12 hasn't released any new news. The best thing the PAC12 can do is to stay focused & keep the PAC12s cards close to their chests. The only ones saying the PAC12 has to get everything done now are sports reporters. PAC12 has plenty of time to get it done correctly. Don't need to rush things & make mistakes. Get it done the right way by taking the time to get the best deal for the PAC12. PAC12 still has time & now w/the acc extension w/espn. It changes alot of things. Theres alot more moving parts involved now. I think these guys couldn't be more wrong. I'm also leaning towards anything is possible now w/espn extending the acc media deal.

[@letitroll610]

@ surfcitybill ,Yes, but Apple had a base rate then Bonuses for new subscriptions, Been some rumors that they could maybe get 10+mil guaranteed, plus bonuses from all streaming, just don''t know about exposure and time slots, etc., but they have their own production co. which may give them an advantage their.

[@rumblingcds]

Sources only tell you what they want to tell you. Why would someone want to tell Canzano that memphis and tulane are of equal value to UNLV and nevada? I can think of several reasons. Memphis' AD said he was willing to listen to the PAC again last week.

[@TheBigMountainPodcast]

Correct about sources. Memphis will always listen and do their due diligence.

[@caleb62469]

Memphis would be the Best Selection for the PAC.

[@thatcollegefootballguy]

Could the reason be that no other school brings in additional media value is because they're already at the $9-10 mil range and the media partners just don't want to pay anymore than they absolutely have to?

[@TheBigMountainPodcast]

💯. We believe that is likely what they are saying. The amount is the amount. Just fill your conference with members.

[@arecizzle]

@@TheBigMountainPodcast can you both be guests on each other pod cast? You both provide good insight on while whole conference realignment. Love both of your channel's!

[@jasonpayne5638]

Can any of you explain how the Pac keeps being mentioned as getting roughly double the media package as the Mountain West? The new Pac is just a group of MW schools, two P5 rejects in bad media markets, and maybe Texas State. Seems like the best they could do is about exactly what the MW will do, which begs the question, why did those MW schools leave the MW for the Pac?

[@davidethompson1271]

Look at funding levels, facilities, revenue and athletic performance. Sans UNLV, the advantages all lie with the departing Pac members

[@jeh58]

@@jasonpayne5638 Yes but the PAC took the most valuable teams of the MWC. A good handful of teams in the MWC didn't bring much of any media value but took equal shares & shrinking the pie slices of the media deal. This is why the PAC broke up. USC, UCLA, UW & UO didn't like sharing the pot evenly. WSU & OSU where near the lower end of the P5 in media value. There are others in the P4 that are on par with WSU & OSU but those conference hasn't fractured yet. USC, UCLA & UW wanted unequal sharing of the media rights and the PAC presidents said no. USC left taking UCLA as a plus one. Now the ACC is looking at unequal media sharing. Maybe the lower end of the ACC will learn from the PAC12. At any rate BSU, Fresno, SDSU didn't like the bottom of the MWC watering down their media payouts and were looking for an upgrade. Merging the conferences wouldn't solve their issue because the teams at the bottom of the media value will keep on watering down the payouts. UNLV & AF are the most valuable members of the new MWC. The new PAC will be OSU, WSU, BSU, SDSU & CSU has possibilities of developing. USU got an opportunity & jumped on board.

[@jeh58]

BTW, Scott Barnes was in the court as well. Now Commissioner Gould, the eight PAC presidents & ADs are making the decisions.

[@thatcollegefootballguy]

I'm wondering if Boise State is pushing them to stay out at market since they were promised a lot of money and they're perhaps not delivering it. Boise State left the Mountain West to get paid. There will be some problems if they're getting less than what they were promised.

[@TheBigMountainPodcast]

And boise getting paid is more difficult because they were getting the bonus from the MWC. Their delay must be bigger for the impact they are hoping to achieve. We probably don’t talk about that fact enough. But good point bill.

[@jasonpayne5638]

What chance is there that these MW schools (SDSU, BSU, USt, etc, etc) sue the conference (Pac) because they moved with promises that they are unable to fulfill?

[@SuperMario64378_Editz]

@@jasonpayne5638 but then what? Remain in the MW? I’m good with that.

[@SurfCityBill]

Jeremiah Dickey knew staying in the MW with Boise's less than $5M annual payout was a dead-end. He also knew jumping to a conference being raised from the ashes was a risk. He has stated that in interviews. However, he firmly believes that it was a risk based on logic and reasoning. If the new Pac can't get more than $5M/team, then I'm sure he, as I, would be shocked.

[@RavenThom]

Listen to Canzano and bet the opposite

[@af6456]

The media valuation is the key here. Just because Memphis is "larger market" doesn't mean people in the area are watching Memphis football. These media companies are writing the checks. They know who watches what.

[@scottyking7161]

Memphians watch alot of Memphis football. Google 2019 home depot gameday on beale street!

[@scottyking7161]

@reverend_wintondupree but it's a new time zone.

[@jesterscorner879]

Agreed, just as they know that virtually no one in San Jose watches San Jose State or that almost no one in Chicago watches NIU.

[@af6456]

@jesterscorner879 I knew when I typed what I did it would be taken as a shot to Memphis. That wasn't my intention. I was responding to the comments made @19.00 mark about Memphis and media valuation. Some of the discourse around the new PAC12 and it's new members is the claim they have more viewers and are better TV markets. If what is being reported on here is accurate, those aren't factors to the media partners. Whether it's SDSU or SJSU or NIU or Memphis. Any live content is better than no live content at all. This media deal is about content and time slots, not so much about the on field performance and market size. Whichever conference can provide the better variety of time slots probably gets the better deal.

[@scottyking7161]

@jesterscorner879 but 90% of Memphis watches Memphis. Our espn local network is all grizz, tiger basketball and tiger football first. We are very pro Tigers. Not UT or ole miss or Mississippi st or Arkansas or bama or auburn. Matter of fact Memphis boost SEC ratings because we love college football. For 100 years it's been why think about Memphis as an SEC team. We already own that market? So our location is horrible in the heart of the SEC. Which should intrigue the ACC or X12. Having 2 SEC teams in the state, Tennessee and Vanderbilt the University of Memphis has done very well being in the little confrences they've been in. If the ACC or X12 gave them a chance they would thrive like Louisville and Utahand TCU have!

[@Habitual_mufn]

Could of turned the video off after the first sentence and you would be just as informed as if you watched completely.

[@CharlesFosterMalloy]

The Trifecta would be: Texas State Memphis Tulane Tulane may hold out for an ACC invite along with Rice and/or Tulsa. USF may want ACC as well. But Memphis is ripe for pickin’s as might be UNT & UT-SA - the AAC is not on an upswing. ESPN just extended the ACC so they may not be as aggressive with the AAC. So AAC stock may be down as a result. FSU & Clemson, maybe UNC & NCSt, Louisville, may all be leaving the ACC in 2031, so Tulane and other relatively higher academics schools in good large markets will be courted by the ACC: Tulane, Rice, Tulsa, Temple, UConn, UMass, USF… Memphis, UNT, UT-SA would be eager to find a landing spot if the AAC starts to crumble.

[@Denozo88]

I see wherever UTSA goes so does Texas State. rivalry travel and access to the Austin San Antonio markets.

[@jesterscorner879]

With the extension and it looking more like settlement between the ACC and the schools in dispute, I seriously doubt any AAC team gets an offer from the ACC for the next decade or so and even then it would take a significant collapse of membership before they would get an offer.

[@SurfCityBill]

I do not agree that the Pac needs to keep making statements for PR purposes. The fan base has absolutely no bearing on the negotiations at hand. There is no point in leaking any information until something happens. Another point, while I think adding Memphis rather than Texas State is a better addition for the Pac due to the fact that Memphis is a more established brand. But from a media deal perspective, the dollars added would not be that much more. Think of it this way. If an 8 team conference got $80M or $10M a team, would that change that much if you swapped out Texas State for Memphis. Probably not much. Now add Notre Dame or similar and that certainly would. Bottom line, Pac is managing the process just fine. IMO.

[@rumblingcds]

Schultz is a lame duck president that his own university wants gone....

[@TheBigMountainPodcast]

While this may be true today, I’m not sure anyone would argue that he wasnt the public voice of the PAC to get them where they are today. Maybe we are wrong, but he showed leadership for the PAC-2.

[@rumblingcds]

"One of the initial points of friction between regents and the president was sparked by the break-up of the Pac-12 in August of 2023. Board members were frustrated that they had to push Schulz to join Oregon State in the lawsuit against the 10 departing members of the Pac-12. That lawsuit resulted in a $255 million windfall settlement for OSU and WSU" Sounds like he was dragged along.

[@Awalker5000]

I heard that also, I know now the WSU Board of Regents don't trust Schultz anymore and have him under a very tight leash after some really bad financial decisions.

[@Awalker5000]

@@TheBigMountainPodcast I don't know about that, I got a friend that told me a couple of months ago that the Oregon St. President doesn't trust Schultz anymore and that its Oregon St. that has taken the leadership role of reaching out to schools about joining up the rebuilding PAC12.

[@jeh58]

@@TheBigMountainPodcast Then he turned against the WSU AD, BOR, & FB. He tried settling for lesser goals than the AD & BOR wanted.

[@Fred_JMZ]

Hopefully Texas State accepts the invitation to the PAC-12

[@tilu3303]

Texas State would be a reasonable travel companion for Memphis if they don't get Tulane.

[@liljoe31]

behind the curtain pac leadership is looking at each other and one says " we have no idea what we're doing do we"

[@Denozo88]

one thing Ive seen is they maybe waiting for the mwc lawsuit to settle as well. if so then unlv is on the table if not then its onto san marcos.

[@sgtmorhew]

You guys think it's possible that TV executives could push both conferences to merge? Seems like they could force the PAC to do so then maybe the new league can get say 12 million per school or so? Maybe more?

[@letitroll610]

They could but I doubt they are, same amount of inventory either way, TV partners want to pick the best games to maximize profit, likely be very hard to get above 6mil per if merged, the bottom 1/2 dilutes a lot.

[@sgtmorhew]

@letitroll610 fair point but I figured more TV markets raises the overall combined value.

[@letitroll610]

Memphis is obviously more valuable than Nevada, the Media partners know Nevada is not a serious candidate to join, that's why it doesn't matter.

[@tylernelson3343]

letitroll610 I not sure why Nevada keeps on being mentioned as a candidate besides being in the same state as UNLV.

[@peterfitzentite6581]

Nevada is like a community college

[@jesterscorner879]

Agreed. Terrible attendance, virtually no athletic budget and no real media market to speak of.

[@russrichards6685]

@ ?? Nevada has 21,000 students and a med school.

[@letitroll610]

@@tylernelson3343 Agree, Sac St. has a better chance of getting in than Nevada, I like the wolf pack but they have never invested enough to keep up.

[@miamea2]

I also wonder if the reason the PAC is being tight lipped is because they are waiting to announce when it gets closer to the NCAA tournament. Look what the press did for the PAC when they announced the initial expansion on Rivalry week between UW/WSU and UO/OSU. It did media wonders to boost interest. Right now maybe a bad time because interest is in the NFL.

[@samburgener231]

“We have a PAC-12 update” *says nothing but personal speculation* “when you let Canzano and Wilner keep the narrative going…” You realize these guys are credited journalists for years and you guys are just speculating after your 9-5 right ? The amount of times you’ve both missed out on predictions makes it hard to believe any of this

[@RavenThom]

Canzano completely blew how the Pac 12 went to the Pac 2

[@jesterscorner879]

@@RavenThom True, but he has far more connections with actual folks in the industry then 2 random sports fans spouting theory and conjecture on a KZbin channel.

[@lndrldcold1762]

😂 yes you guys would know more than John Canzano. I doubt that.

[@RavenThom]

You haven't followed him much have you? Remember he guaranteed the Pac 10 would add 2, and get at least 30M ? He said Oregon "didn't want the B1G" Big fish small pond better. WRONG, WRONG WRONG, JOHN!

[@jesterscorner879]

​@@RavenThom Everyone in the industry is going to be wrong at some point. The fact remains that 2 guys speculating on KZbin don't have anywhere near the connections that Canzano and Wilner do.

[@donrice3464]

As you can see, female leadership in these conferences is lacking.

[@FelixChavez-xx9bg]

New Mexico State + PAC = $ BRILLIANCE $

[@mikefredd3390]

Has anybody made a table of FB teams sorted by media revenue? Id love to see that.

[@thatcollegefootballguy]

Not that I know of

[@mikefredd3390]

I suppose I heard during the Florida / ACC law suit that that might have been a trade secrete or something like that.

[@jeh58]

JY, are you going to get the Texas State AD or President on for an interview.

[@TheBigMountainPodcast]

Request has been made

[@jeh58]

@@TheBigMountainPodcast Thanks Jy, much appreciated.

[@bluehawks2064]

Well if they decline a reasonable offer then we know they are the same pac 12 doomed to failure

[@davidhopkins1199]

JY and Steve, thank you for your history regarding the Pac12, it is appreciated. My comments are as follows. 1) I like the way Steve split the discussion. First, actual reality and actual results. I totally agree that when negotiating media rights and deciding new members, silence is best. The Pac12 did a great job of this, prior announcing the first group of schools coming over from the MWC and they are doing the same thing now. Total silence, which I think is great. Second, the public relations/public perception of the silence. I respectfully disagree with both of you on this. The Pac 12 does not need to go out and beat his chest, during this time period. There is plenty of coverage of the Pac 12 on social media and with the OSU/WSU men’s and women’s basketball teams. Gymnastics is also being covered. My perception is that if the Pac 12 was trying to go out and say how great we are, all people would comment about is what’s happening with the media and new teams anyway. Regarding merger with the Pac12/MWC, JY thank you for clarifying your comments on “X”. Media partners, you could be right. So interested to see what the Pac 12 agrees to. I believe there will be an element of streaming involved. There could be surprises for all of us in these announcements. 5-7 weeks, hopefully we will all know.

[@TheBigMountainPodcast]

Thx for the comment David. Our takes on this could certainly be wrong. We Appreciate your point of view.

[@tilu3303]

Not surprised ESPN and FOX are no-bidding. They already have more inventory than they can really handle. The PAC could make an appeal to TNT and CW, but I'd be most excited if they learn how to turn their own extremely impressive media center into a major profit generator by perhaps leasing it out to an entity that wants to market their product. If done right they wouldn't need a media deal because they would have their own!

[@tylernelson3343]

I have a questions about ESPN. Is ESPN really in a good position. When ESPN is laying off people including executives. That ESPN made a mistake by miscalculating people who are cutting the cord. Look at the numbers for national championship game was down to previous year.

[@geno8150]

I don’t agree with you on everything but do agree that the money and the media value and options aren’t what they had hoped for wasn’t really that excited about the move by Fresno State now I’m even less

[@TheBigMountainPodcast]

Thx. No one needs to agree with us at all. We like discussion and varying ideas/opinions.

[@tylernelson3343]

Is it possible that PAC 12 is negotiating with schools in private not to tip off other conferences.

[@TheBigMountainPodcast]

100%

[@tylernelson3343]

@@TheBigMountainPodcast JY and Steve there is an article on Front Office Sports that ESPN, Fox and CBS are open to having a media package deal with the PAC 12.

[@TheBigMountainPodcast]

@ yep. Saw it. Will bring it up on our live show.

[@donaldfarmer8421]

The candidates potential to add NCAA credits and postseason football money to the conference also needs to be considered. Not just what "media partners" may or may not have said.

[@freddytrujillo331]

😂😂😂 It’s all a farce…

[@liljoe31]

it's quite something watching the ncaa destroy it's own brand in real time

[@leefleming1938]

I want UNLV in the PAC no matter what they gotta do to get em. This needs to happen!

[@petermark1766]

pac-x LIABILITY AS TO HOUSE SETTLEMENT Not sure about the facts but wasn't the PAC-X part of the Big Boys Power 4 plus the PAC-x) while the Mountain West was part of the G5 group. Wasn't the G5 settle amount per school much less than the Big Boys amount per school. If these statement are valid, then the PAC-X has another big liability nobody has mentioned.

[@2DamnGoodSports]

UNLV NEVADA ARE STAYING IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST!. They're not getting any more mountain West teams due to the fact that they will have to mitigate more of a poaching penalty. Memphis doesn't need to go as they have a good chance to be a playoff team by winning the AAC. But if they do they're going to play absolute hardball with the pac-12 so the pac-12 better not ask too much Sac St and a Texas school.

[@DocSkirv]

If the PAC wants an MWC school, they will take it.

[@jesterscorner879]

Memphis had a better shot at being a playoff team when UCF, Cincy, Houston and SMU were in the conference, but now the credibility of the AAC has been considerably weakened. The PAC is also a much stronger hoops conference which matters to them. I agree that Texas State would be a likely candidate for the PAC though.

[@MrProy33]

The Pac teams are realizing that they are worth exactly the same now as they used to be. The major networks aren't calling. They are gonna get another piecemeal deal with 8-9 televised games per year across CBS Sports and Learfield, or similar. The only hope is that Amazon gets so desperate for college football to compete with Disney that they pay Rings of Power money to get in the game. The only positive so far is that their fans won't have to listen to that horrible color guy in Hawaii anymore. Lol

[@terryfox9344]

No comment on the Memphis AD saying, that the PAC never came back with a better offer, and that Memphis is still waiting for their box of chocolates! Thank God, that eSECpn isn't interested. I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy. You guys in the B1G and MWC don't know how bad they suck!

[@TheBigMountainPodcast]

We kinda know, but certainly don’t have to live with them. As MWC & B1G fans, we enjoy FOX and CBS (and NBC for B1G)

[@SuperMario64378_Editz]

What happened to 15+ million per school for PAC 7? 🤓

[@thatcollegefootballguy]

It's still a possibility

[@geojohnwyo]

@@thatcollegefootballguy 🤣

[@jeh58]

No one know what it will be. Just be patient.

[@markcarbonaro6524]

If there is ANY talk of a merger I am certain the PAC-12 would insist on deciding whom they absorb and that would be the sticking point. The MWC is going to insist that ALL of their schools become members of the merged conference, while the PAC is sure to say NO WAY to the following: Hawaii, Northern Illinois, San Jose, UTEP. Basically everyone will be against Hawaii because of the cost of travel for all sports. The west coast schools will oppose NIU for the same reason. SJS and UTEP will be opposed because the perceived lack of strength of their athletic programs - and for whatever reason both Fresno and San Diego have a real hard-on for SJS.

[@SurfCityBill]

How about an incentive based plan? Conference winner gets the most money. Last place the least. If you're a perennial non-performer, you start winning or find a new conference.

[@jesterscorner879]

@@SurfCityBill Agreed. I think there are several remaining MW programs that really should drop down to the FCS.

[@markcarbonaro6524]

@@jesterscorner879 - What programs might those be? I'll bet you will suggest a program that has gone to four bowl games in the past five years, won a conference title in football in the last five years, won the conference baseball title and went to the NCAA's. I will bet the person suggesting "such and such program should drop down to FCS" is completely unaware and uninformed about the subject - but they have their opinion and that's all that matters, right?

[@jesterscorner879]

@@markcarbonaro6524 San Jose State is a better program than deserved for their lack of support. TV Viewership and attendance are embarrassingly bad given their market size. They did win a single conference title in football, but it was also the short COVID season title. Baseball has nothing to do with the FBS.

[@C.JefferyEvans]

Geez Louise, dude, take a breath or two. Your chaotic communication style gives me a headache.

[@TheBigMountainPodcast]

😮‍💨

[@KevinHampton-w3s]

I disagree. I'm a Pac-12 guy and often disagree with his points but I think his delivery is pretty strong for someone that (I assume) does not have radio or TV background. Both are well spoken. The whole pod is very well done.

[@denisdooley1540]

I'm sitting at home in Las Vegas wondering how UNLV would just be filler. I'm not a UNLV guy (Ohio State alumnus 😊), but I look at Allegiant Stadium and think it's the single best addition the PAC could make at this point. Sacramento State has potential, but the time line doesn't work. Memphis and Tulane with two Texas Schools is a great idea, but that seems like it would be better done at a later date, after the conference shows its actually functional. From the perspectives of Memphis and Tulane, there's too many questions. Get your 8th school and make it work.

[@joechurch7023]

Here's a headline for you on Feb 4, 2025: ESPN, Fox, CBS All Open to Media Rights Package With Pac-12. What do you think about that?

[@TheBigMountainPodcast]

“Open to” is a pretty broad statement and it contradicts the Ourand reporting. But, Amanda is a solid reporter, so I’m sure she got it from a “source”. ESPN is not surprising as they have been said to want western inventory.

[@berntlundgren7628]

MtnWest Teams are not moving untill they get the 400+ million. Whoever they add it will drop to $ to 6-8 million a team

[@GO-kg2dw]

I’m kind of hoping for a heavy streaming media deal because I expect the pac 12 to ask for more money for the risk. If they can triple the amount of the MW deal then I think UNLV comes

[@SurfCityBill]

The last streaming "deal" presented to the old Pac was based on finding a massive number of new subscribers. I simply don't see that happening. People are burned out on subscriptions.

[@BluTurf_J]

@@SurfCityBill is that based on your personal experienced or you have data's that proves subscription based anything (?) is really a crazy idea.

[@SurfCityBill]

@ Fully supported by data contained in the congressional record.

[@jesterscorner879]

@@SurfCityBill I think a lot of it depends on which service its. I agree that Apple TV is not a good delivery for a solid streaming product, but I really struggle with the concept that the likes of Fox Sports 1 or CBS Sports offers better exposure than say Amazon or Netflix.

[@DocSkirv]

Barnes has been driving this almost since the beginning.

[@GreggRobinson-rb3xy]

Hey JY, having a parrot next to you would be cheaper.

[@dwightlilly4208]

I think however this pans out that the PAC12 is more value than the Mountain West. they have the studios which are churning out content and they have the better schools/teams. Canzano says we will probably hear something in March.

[@TheBigMountainPodcast]

PAC network is a wild card in this. We failed to bring that up but it’s a good point. Thx for the comment.

[@christmasvillager8489]

The MWC media deal is going to be lower the MAC. They lost all of their big name teams.

[@ABQREDorGREEN]

Wrong. MWC added bigger Media Markets then what left to the Whack Pac. NIU, CDavis, UTEP and GCU are all larger Media markets then the small USU, Fresneck, Corvallis and Pullman.

[@jesterscorner879]

I don't know quite that low, but definitely going to be a close race between the new MWC and the Sunbelt.

[@AntonioWong-k8p]

I think the only way Memphis/Tulane end up in Pac is FB only with the rest of their sports in the A-10. Seems like a win-win for everyone. Pac would have to get a UNLV or TXST to be the 8th full member though.

[@scottyking7161]

The school would want in in basketball also though!

[@jesterscorner879]

The lack of Bball would be a non-starter for Memphis. One of the biggest reasons for them to make the move is that the PAC will be a significantly better hoops league than the AAC.

[@scottyking7161]

@jesterscorner879 yes! Memphis basketball and football will not separate leagues. That is a non starter for sure. The school has a vision and it includes both sides staying in 1 confrence!

[@miamea2]

I also wonder if they are working out language in the contract similar to the Big12 which that language being "we will pay full membership fees if you add P4 teams." So maybe that's being worked out, or if let's just say CAL and Stanford say screw the ACC we want to go back to the PAC. I wonder if language is being addedfor those.

[@KevinHampton-w3s]

When I see quotes like none of the potential additions are more valuable than others it makes me think that this is part of a negotiation ploy by reps of some media companies in an attempt to lowball the Pac-12. Memphis is clearly more valuable than most others, for example. And Memphis is not off the table at all. The ACC and ESPN just re-upped so those AAC teams hoping to backfill will have to wait another decade or so.

[@TheBigMountainPodcast]

Very well could be.

[@SurfCityBill]

I think Memphis is a brand that brings more to the table, but if 8 teams are splitting media $$$, Memphis or Texas State or fill in the blank, are not adding $20/30/40M to the package. Assume they add $10M to the package over Texas State, that's only $1M more per team. Not a needle mover.

[@TimothyOhara-ro1nr]

I know football rules the roost leaving top ranked men's basketball teams out of the pack

[@tylernelson3343]

JY and Steve you keep on saying that Memphis is not a candidate for the PAC 12. Both of you probably not aware that ratings for Memphis went down in 2024 season.

[@berntlundgren7628]

Memphis and Tulane are out..they need 12 Million to make it worth tit

[@DrinkingmeadwithSamAdams]

Heck I went to Nevada, I see them trying to get the Nevada university board to back the idea, but what about some of the other sports, heck my daughter swam for SDSU. Right now pac swimming is SDSU, Fresno state Colorado state and Washington state. This is all about football and Basketball. As a parent of kids from these other sports I would be pissed.merge into a super conference. Even with the additions you could have a west and an east divisions and bring all. The east coast bias will always be there.

[@jesterscorner879]

In a perfect world fans would spend money and support all sports equally, but the reality is that if you removed Football and Basketball all other collegiate sports would cease because the universities couldn't afford to keep them going. As a result Football and Basketball drive the train for decision making as entire University Athletic budgets are dependent on these 2 sports. Merging conferences ignores the very concept that certain universities contribute more than others. That is what all of this silliness is about.

[@DrinkingmeadwithSamAdams]

@ I appreciate that fact, that football and basketball pay for the other sports. My daughter benefited from that, got a two degrees, and back in 2020 was nominated by SDSU for NCAA female athlete of the year. She had a good ride those four years. But what the pac does not seem to realize is the money is not there, and it looks like Gloria is winning the TV contract negotiation battle. Even the TV people are asking when the merger negotiation talk will start again. Both the MW and the PAC 7 need to sit those egos down and come up with a plan. Both are hurt and playing that same game that initially destroyed the old PAC 12 is a stupid playbook. Time to put the big boy pants on and get back to the negotiations. The east coast bias will always be there and they cherry picked what west coast schools they wanted, fave it we are the leftovers in the fridge. We are not the main course, but we do have value as tomorrows dinner

[@jesterscorner879]

@@DrinkingmeadwithSamAdams So you are saying that there is no difference in value between Boise State, Oregon State, Washington State, Fresno State and the likes of UNR, San Jose State, New Mexico and Hawaii? A merger implies that all schools add equal value to one another when there are pretty strong indicators that isn't the case. Fresno State, Oregon State, Boise State and Colorado State all had an attendance average in the 33-40K range last year and have maintained similar numbers for a while now. They also have equally favorable TV Viewership Numbers. On the flipside San Jose State, UNR, Hawaii and New Mexico have struggled for years to keep it around the 18K range and have equally poor TV Viewership Numbers. As for the "TV people asking when the merger talk will start again" Unless the TV people are the ones actively involved in negotiating and paying out the money to the conference it means nothing. Shows like this one are great for fan discussion and speculation but have no real connections to the folks who actually make and sign contracts.

[@DrinkingmeadwithSamAdams]

@ from a east coast bias standpoint yes, they got what they wanted when the pac 12 imploded a few years back. The TV Gods have their late night window games , and view the rest as cannon fodder. I know it hurts, but they view all these markets with the same broad brush. If the MW gets their TV deal done for 8 million per school it’s over and a merger will be the only solution to survive. Just saying, I know SDSU, Boise and the others feel different, but that bias out east runs deep. It’s outa sight outa mind.

[@russrichards6685]

Gloria Navarez is running circles around the PAC. Yes, losing those schools to the PAC hurts. Is the MW diminished? Yes. But it's also viable with the additions. Hubris leadership is killing the PAC slowly.

[@KevinHampton-w3s]

This is a false narrative.

[@anthonyskinner4839]

I really liked her, but she screwed the pooch when she tried to get $30 mill for the 2nd year of scheduling. I think I saw OSU filled their schedule for less than 6 mill. She blew this up, it doesn't get mentioned much for some reason. She thought she had all the power, but she overreached and the PAC bit back as even if they have to pay poaching fees it will probably not end up being as much as her 1 year scheduling fee. Took her top 4 teams and while the MW has larger markets, they have much smaller fan bases. I really liked the 2 tier soccer style divisions that were proposed in the beginning, but I think the PAC feels she tried to take advantage of them and the MW feels like they were robbed. Both are correct...

[@russrichards6685]

@ What is false? She has a conference and the PAC doesn't. Will the PAC have a conference at some point, sure. Will it be more than the MW, sure. Her leadership and relationships are better than that of the PAC. The PAC has poor leadership and has been that way for many years. It's too bad as it's a great brand.

[@KevinHampton-w3s]

@@russrichards6685 The false narrative is she's running circles around the Pac-12. She already lost the top half of the MWC to the Pac. That is just a fact when looking at the football history of those MWC to Pac teams (along with athletic budgets and facilities for the most part) in comparison to the rest. There is absolutely no evidence that her leadership and relationships are better than the Pac. If that were true, those schools would not have committed to joining the Pac. The old Pac-12 leadership made poor decisions. This is basically a new and different conference. It's good that she fights for the MWC (we'll see how the lawsuit goes at some point) and has been aggressive in filling the slots but that's all reaction mode. For the most part that really doesn't affect the Pac-12 a lot and won't moving forward.

[@russrichards6685]

@@KevinHampton-w3s She knew some teams were going to bolt, that's why she structured it the way she did. I guarantee if the MWC stays at its current membership that the media right deal will follow. It wont be as big as the PACs when it happens but it will be on better footing as a conference. PAC will continue to bleed money they dont really have or can generate.

[@scottyclayton2501]

This thumbnail is unsettling

[@JosephKMayner]

It won’t happen but I would just merge the 8 PAC schools into the American and make an American East and American West division and a championship game. That’s basically your G5 nationwide super conference that would be assured of technically a playoff spot every year. Army and Navy is football only so bringing over Gonzaga for other sports wouldn’t be an issue to go along with Wichita State in the AAC.

[@tylernelson3343]

That very interesting idea since Jon Wilner has said the same thing as well.

[@DayOneRob]

Thanks for the update sirs. Great podcast as always! SDSU 💪

[@rjoetterer]

At the end of the day, the Pac and MW need to put the ego aside and come back the table and merge. The TV deal would be better with a 16 team conference and makes the most finacial success. It will also create a healthy competative market.

[@thatcollegefootballguy]

I get the idea behind it but there are too many egos involved that will allow that to happen. Like it or not, there will be two separate conferences.

[@Tee-duck]

No it wouldn’t. PAC didn’t want the lower teams. PAC will get more than Mtn west.

[@rumblingcds]

A merger was never going to happen and will never happen.

[@TheBiosimilars]

No

[@liljoe31]

nope pac values itself too much and blew up the top g5 into what will end up being two sub mw conferences. That'll show em

[@2DamnGoodSports]

Im buying into the fact rumor that the pac-12 is working from a place of desperation and bargaining from a position of weakness... They have almost no time to waste and all the other universities that are talking to are playing absolute hardball with them. And I hate to say it to you guys but SACRAMENTO ST IS IT GOING TO BE A MEMBER OF THE PAC-12.

[@jesterscorner879]

Why dip into the FCS with a school that is no where near ready to make the jump when Texas State would be a very cheap and easy add. As for desperation what would you call a conference that paid massive incentives to two schools that have been 25 year members and never won a single conference title in football and on top of that added 2 football programs that had zero interest from other conferences.

[@christmasvillager8489]

The MWC media deal is going to be lower the MAC. They lost all of their big name teams.

[@TheBigMountainPodcast]

This is a PAC discussion.

[@christmasvillager8489]

@ I was implying that the PAC is going to make way more than the MWC.