Pac-12 vs Mountain West in realignment could decide fate of the MW. Are OSU/WSU hypocrites?

[@aBrewster29]

An interesting detail about Utah St-they were in a similar situation around 2010 when the WAC was fighting for survival against the MWC. Utah State remained loyal to the WAC plan while Nevada defected and torched the plan, and the Aggies were nearly left behind. No way USU was going to let that happen this time when the opportunity came.

[@yellowmartian]

Yeah, BYU left the MWC to go Indy and place their other sports in the WAC. It was Nevada AND Fresno that left the WAC and betrayed BYU, Utah State, etc. Eventually Utah State left the WAC for the MWC and BYU went to the WCC instead.

[@aBrewster29]

@@yellowmartian I hate to call it a betrayal…each school has a responsibility to take the best opportunity available to them. Nevada and Fresno State judged that was the MW when then opportunity came up. BYU obviously didn’t foresee that move from the MW, and it’s interesting now that those same MW programs BYU left behind are now essentially trying to ditch Nevada. The pecking order is real!

[@heetcrusher2880]

At the time of signing that schedule PAC12 said hey these are not enforceable the poach penalty. Exit fees are to protect the conference. Poach penalty was to hurt PAC12 from accepting a MWC team from leaving to them. Hence Law suit anti trust. But here is how MWC shows their true colors the schedule was for 14 mil first year. That is the highest price in the country for a FBS schedule. PAC12 accepted because of time constraints from legal battle with leaving teams to see even if they could keep the conference and its monies. PAC12 started talking with MWC bout season 2 and oh being such nice guys for charging the highest price for 1 year of FB, shit that wasn't enough they had to raised the price over 2 times the amount to 30 mil. SO WTF you think PAC12 is going to do. Now they are going to bury the MWC. And to show this the day the MWC sent email to ask for the first 4 poaching fees the same day BAM anti trust law suit served. PAC12 had its legal team already doing its work. So we will see what happens. Does it go to court and MWC risk getting 0 for poaching or do they try and negotiate a much lower fee. Or does PAC12 tell em to pound sand we think we got you beat.

[@markcarbonaro6524]

The PAC-12 was in no way "held up" by the MWC. No one put a gun in their ribs and said: "You must take this deal". There are 118 other schools playing FBS football in America. If the PAC-12 didn't like the proposed deal from the MWC, they could've gone anywhere else and filled their schedule. In their lawsuit, the P12 tries to allege that the MWC was the only game in town. Not true. Any court will see through this claim and laugh. The P12 may not have wanted to go searching for games elsewhere (MAC, AAC, SB, CUSA) but that in no way fortifies their claim. In reality, it highlights the weakness of that claim. What's Scott Barne's defense - "The MWC should've given us a better deal cuz we coulda gone and played Bowling Green and UTSA and Toledo and UMASS - but we didn't want to do that - so please rule in our favor your honor..." ??? Weak, weak, weak.

[@heetcrusher2880]

@markcarbonaro6524 correct and not every contract is legal. At times of SIGNING PAC-12 legal felt it was enforceable

[@aaronbrown9156]

30 million for second year scheduling alliance no wonder they moved on.

[@ryansuter4424]

Oregon state and Washington state not only wants to stay in the FBS they want to stay highly competitive. Just playing is not enough. They want to be competitive against all teams. They are making moves in trying to stay as competitive as they can be and just to survive in the college level.

[@Tetio]

I mean Texas State sounds like it would be an interesting team, just based on the name, not the school or the football team hah.

[@porterwake3898]

The Pac-12 commissioner is a con artist. They signed the contract with MWC for football games and the MWC protected themselves from the Pac-12 poaching their teams. They literally had that huge poaching fee in there to make sure the Pac-12 did not engage in the behavior they are currently displaying. I hope the MWC takes the PAC12 to the cleaners.

[@tylernelson3343]

ESPN got Oklahoma and Texas into the SEC then Fox responded with taking both LA schools to Big Ten. PAC 12 losing more schools to other conferences. PAC 12 has to raid the Mountain West Conference. Suddenly conferences like CUSA, WAC and Big Sky could lose schools to Mountain West. The move to SEC has caused a tidal wave.

[@daddio159]

Incorrect- the departing schools do NOT have votes. Their bylaws clearly say that once a member has resigned they no longer have a spot and the rest vote on their own. So it would take 6 out of the 7 current members voting to dissolve. Article 104, Resignation section e, subsections. (I) the board of directors shall be deemed to be reduced by the resigning member, etc ext. and (ii) a Resigning member shall be neither obliged or entitled to appoint a representative. So no, Boise and the other 4 Pac members don't have a vote.

[@noworriesbehappymr.x7681]

It would be funny to see Oregon state and Washington State bail in couple years if they get a invite to a power conference but happy for them if they did go to one.

[@LockedOnCollegeFootball]

The 5-year GOR indicates nobody would be shocked if that happened

[@MattBuild4]

SInce they own the rights to the PAC, wouldnt that make them more behold to keep the conference around or run into issues where they would either have to dissolve the conference or merge the entire conference or maybe even sell the conference in order to leave?

[@mitchelmclaughlin5591]

“Where everything’s made up, and the points don’t matter”

[@robertdorr6339]

Ok, someone explain to me how there are big buyouts for teams to leave the mountain west and move to the pac-12 when they are doing so in the year there TV contract expires. Aren't they just doing exactly what USC and UCLA did with the PAC a few years ago saying they are out when the contract expires?

[@TheFrizbaloid]

You fail to understand that a “poaching penalty” has no precedent and is clearly illegal.

[@toredraget6553]

You are wrong about the PAC 12 going to court about the exit fees. It’s about the additional poaching fee.

[@jmulvey371]

Yup. Spencer's ignoring the money side.

[@Mr.Ed_Wayner]

Smash Bros, whacking ribs with a bat? Hmmm Time to attend FBS Anger Management. Lol. IMO B12 teams will beat each other up this year including surprise wins by bottom teams like Houston, especially later in the season after injuries accumulate and teams find their footing. My prediction Utah will have 2 losses and will play a 3 loss team in the B12 championship game.

[@RichardByrd-u2y]

Report is UNLV and AF are staying in the MW

[@ryansuter4424]

In order for the PAC 12 to stay a conference they need other teams. I get that. They probably could have taken on a whole conference that would have come over to the PAC 12. They didn’t and instead are “poaching” or inviting other top teams from other conferences.

[@DocSkirv]

Dumb to take a full conference when half of it has zero media value.

[@TheOldSchool1975]

Hawaii 🏈 like Gonzaga 🏀 is necessary. Honolulu is a sizeable tv market, the last hawaii game is watched by tons of degen gamblers, etc.

[@LockedOnCollegeFootball]

I believe I made that distinction

[@heetcrusher2880]

Hawaii should drop it's FB program all together. That school does not invest in it at all.

[@tylerjc1000]

FCS teams are more exciting than NMSU and UTEP.

[@manzac112]

Some of the FCS schools that the Mountain West wants to have don't want to move up due to the need to increase scholarship requirements, they have to pay to get out of those conferences, and even pay to get up to the FBS level

[@ReisterJP]

UTEP and NM state are great in basketball but their football programs need funding

[@DuckRon626]

What does travel partner have to do with football? Basketball I can see it but it means nothing to football.

[@ryansuter4424]

When it comes to greed and want I wonder if PAC 12 could have absorbed another conference be it MWC or another conference but they didn’t because they did not want programs they thought were not good enough /bring enough value. They could afford to and still remain a conference but they are more competitive as a conference by just taking the top teams that bring them the most value. That is greed and selfishness. The former PAC 12 teams that left last year could have stayed but they were guaranteed more money elsewhere. That was greed and selfishness as well.

[@DocSkirv]

It is t that they don’t think other schools aren’t good enough…it’s that they have no media value.

[@jaredmitts5203]

Yoshi

[@sqwatchman53]

If wazzu fans were blaming $C and ucla I would agree. But little brother syndrome took over and they are blaming Washington. When all Washington was doing was “trying to maintain their place in college football”. Which is exactly what wazzu is doing now.

[@Duck_Disciple]

Yea, Spencer forgot about that part apparently… It’s the same thing with the beavers & the ducks too.

[@sqwatchman53]

He makes damn good and consistent content so I will give him a pass… even if he is a duck lol jk. You guys going through the same thing with OSU?

[@mathewblood5113]

I’m a Wazzu fan and alum. I don’t blame Washington for what happened with the PAC 12, but I blame them for not being honest and upfront about what they were doing. They were two-faced. Negotiating with the B1G while also telling the members of the PAC 12 they were committed. Had they been upfront WSU could have began charting a path much sooner but Washington left WSU and OSU scrambling to cobble together a football schedule and media deal.

[@PCSPounder]

This argument? Screw the fans. The money that OSU & WSU need to make ANYTHING happen is contingent on having a Pac-something. So by hook or by crook, these two need to (1) make something happen that keeps the Pac alive, (2) have enough left over to cover some debt, and (3) try to have media revenues that don’t completely detach them in competition with their in-state rivals. All else simply doesn’t matter now.

[@sqwatchman53]

I’m not convinced, had the roles been reversed wazzu or osu would have done anything differently.

[@24vand]

That baseball bat analogy was terrible.

[@condog209]

Cpt Falcon main , but yes USC and UCLA really messed this up for the Pac

[@LockedOnCollegeFootball]

Very weak recovery, impressive you can main CF.

[@tylerjc1000]

I think the lawsuit is just being used to gain more time. If you don't pay mountain west fees then go get AAC schools.

[@Crimsonvandal]

Ike is my smash character!

[@EzraLaw234]

Pit is my go to Smash Bros fighter

[@LockedOnCollegeFootball]

Dark Pit is a better character tho...

[@markcarbonaro6524]

Spencer, the PAC-12 is doing EXACTLY to the MWC what was done to OSU, WSU, Stanford & Cal - they were raided by other conferences and left for dead. How you can say it's not hypocrisy by OSU and WSU is incredible and it shows that you're really just a PAC-12 fan boy and not an objective journalist. BTW, the term is "Hypocrisy" and not 'Hippocratic" - The former is what you're trying to describe while the latter is the oath medical doctors take to "first, do no harm" - that's the Hippocratic Oath, named after an ancient practitioner of medicine named Hippocrates. You're a college man, you surely must know the difference between the two. BTW, one thing that should make any school joining the PAC-12 wary is the way OSU/WSU had the new by-laws drawn up that those two schools and only those two schools have super veto power over conference business. So basically, they are telling Boise, CSU, Fresno and SUDS - "..at Thanksgiving dinner you guys sit at the little kids table..." If San Diego State and Boise every thought they were being disrespected in the MWC, just wait until the rubber hits the road in their new conference. Oh and there's little chance those 7 or 8 schools will ever get double digit media dollars ($10M or more) - everything I'm reading from people in that business is that OSU/WSU's valuation for their new conference is way off - as in way too high.

[@FOOTBALLFAN-c8x]

I dont agree with your “teams that don’t provide value”. The remaining teams have beaten those departing teams. Your “Value” comment is a moot and meaningless point.

[@russrichards6685]

The PAC 12 is a disaster.

[@McKay_G_Petersen]

What happened to talks about promotion and relegation. Couldn’t that be a way to settle that could benefit both conferences. It could spare the pac-12 of poaching fees without taking away the high competition, offer mountain west teams a way of moving up, and make media deals seem more favorable for both conferences.

[@McKay_G_Petersen]

Who knows why they stopped considering this last year?

[@LockedOnCollegeFootball]

I guess they didn't listen to the show enough.

[@hillzsantoro5179]

Cal State St. Louis Obispo new facilities. I think they’re ready.

[@PCSPounder]

11,000 capacity stadium that fills for the UCSB soccer game and none else. It’s a good resume for staying in the Big West.

[@tylernelson3343]

Spencer McLaughlin Why are we still having this discussion about college football realignment. Remember that true power brokers behind this realignment are the TV Networks.

[@jrcsvrvsc]

The real power is in the power 2 conferences. The rest of the conferences. Because all the money and power is in the power 2 conferences

[@MrEddiethedog]

@@jrcsvrvsc ridiculous statement!!!

[@jrcsvrvsc]

@@MrEddiethedog but true.

[@ChiefFan-oi7ew]

Stop

[@daddio159]

@@jrcsvrvscnot ALL of the power. Sure they're the most, bug not all powerful. They need thrnother conferences. Sure, those two Could break away, but their members like filling out their schedules and need the other conferences.

[@toredraget6553]

The five schools leaving the MWC will no longer have a vote with regards to the future of the MWC. We saw the same when the schools who committed to leave, were not allowed to vote to dismantle the PAC 12.

[@LoneWanderer727]

Wrong. There's a different set of bylaws for the MWC than the PAC12. They still having voting rights until they formally leave

[@heetcrusher2880]

The Board of Directors does not get to make that vote of dissolve. That is made by the member institutions that are in the league. And all schools are still there until 2026. So it will take 9 votes to dissolve. Right now PAC12 has 5 votes to dissolve it. Now I don't think PAC12 is looking to do that. They just are not going to pay the poaching fees.

[@trav8412]

People sometimes. Spencer is out of line and sounds biased. They Signed A Contract about NOT poaching. Now they are suing the MW to get out of the contract they signed. SHADY AF.

[@stevedonnie4077]

Is it shady? A poaching penalty is something no conference has ever had to deal with and could be looked at as coercive considering the situation the PAC was in when signing that deal and the fact that there’s already an exit fee for departing schools. It’s up to the court to decide who’s right, but I don’t think either side is coming out of this looking morally correct.

[@callawtf]

Because it can be pretty easily argued that poaching fee part of the agreement breaks anti-trust laws and thus makes it an unenforceable contract.

[@trav8412]

@@stevedonnie4077 Its shady AF

[@stevedonnie4077]

@@trav8412 That’s your opinion. If the court rules that the poaching fee violates anti-trust laws and is unenforceable will you change your opinion?

[@trav8412]

@@stevedonnie4077 Nope, its dirty work. They backstabbed a conf that helped them so they could play a season. The brass in the pac are a stain