Colorado President Benson Not A Fan Of Pac-12 Expansion
by Jon Woods on Sep 6, 2011 2:49 PM MDT
in Buffaloes Football Feature Stories
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PrintConference realignment continues to dominate the talk around college football even though we just capped off a fantastic first week of the 2011 season (well, not so much for the Buffaloes. Much of the discussion has moved on from the likely move of Texas A&M to the SEC to the possibility of at least Oklahoma and Oklahoma State joining the Pac-12, possibly by two other schools.
Lost in the national discussion of these huge shifts in the college football landscape are the reactions of one of the Pac-12's newest members, Colorado. The Buffs joined the conference this summer amid near universal excitement among the schools alumni and fans. Now that there are rumors of some their old conference mates joining them out west, many are not happy. As the Denver Post reports, CU President Bruce Benson verbalized the feelings of Buff nation.
"One of the reasons - and there are a lot of reasons - we got in the Pac 12 is to play regularly on the West Coast," Benson said. "When I hear things like East-West divisions, we're going back to the Big 12 again. I don't know who's possibly going, but I sure don't want to get shorted out of the West Coast."
If the college football is really moving towards an era of 16-team superconferences then the Pac-12 will not be able to sit on the sidelines and stand pat. Hopefully, wiser heads will prevail and the Big 12 will find some way to stay together, holding off major realignment for a while. Unfortunately if the Aggies are approved to join the SEC today, that point may have already passed.
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I don't think any of the Conferences want to be the first to go to 16 teams
So I still don’t think the SEC wants Texas A&M. There are many reasons I believe this, but one of the big ones is that I believe the inevitable ‘Super-Conferences’ are all going to have to be standardized in makeup and in how they conduct their business in order for a playoff to actually work. Which, in my opinion, means that they’re all going to have to be formed at the same time and in similar ways. Yes, I believe the Big 12 and one of the Big East or the ACC will be raided, but I don’t think it happens yet. Both the Pac-12 and the Big 10 are going to want to feel out the effects of a Conference Championship on their teams and on how it affects their rankings and BCS bowl attendance. We’re used to having one at CU (and how it can harm or benefit teams), so we forget that it’s a new experience for a lot of teams around the Country.
Anyway, I’m just ranting at this point, but there are a lot of reasons why I don’t think this happens yet.
Mostly, I’m just glad to hear that Benson is coming out against the Pac-12 expanding for now and in this way. I will be incredibly unhappy if we get stuck without a yearly game in California anytime soon.
DAG
Email: David.Gerhardt@gmail.com
the more I think about it,
the more I’m starting to wonder why ESPN doesn’t just put the kibosh on further realignment. It’s not really in their best interest. More conferences mean more options for programming. If there are only, say, 4 conferences, then they absolutely have to make a deal or risk losing a huge chunk of games. So that would drive up the prices. As it is, if say the Beag East rights came up for bid, ESPN could set their $ amount and walk away if it got beyond that, and still have plenty of options for a diverse programming package. As it is, ESPN will pay Texas a big chunk of money. They don’t really care whether it says Pac 12 or Big 12 in the memo line.
Second, I think a greater degree of conference diversity would be better for overall ratings. The combined ratings for USC- Washington State and Texas-Iowa State would garner higher numbers than USC- Texas and Washington State-Iowa Stae would. That’s just speculation on my part, obviously.
Look, I've already told Utah to suck it. There's no going back now.
how the hell did I get "beag" from big?
idiot
Look, I've already told Utah to suck it. There's no going back now.
Didn't ESPN do that just last year?
Didn’t work out so well for them. Interestingly today there is an Andy Staples article saying when Larry Scott first floated the idea of super conferences to the networks they loved it. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/andy_staples/09/06/realignment/index.html
by ev on Sep 6, 2011 3:32 PM MDT up reply actions
Colorado: "What? No!"
“We just got away from those assholes!”
by CyHawk on Sep 6, 2011 3:29 PM MDT reply actions 3 recs
Utah
would be against this as well. They recently shifted a lot of their Texas recruiting assignments to be in California instead.
How does the voting process work in the Pac 12 with regard to new membership?
This indicates CU and Utah would vote it down, but there are a lot on the West coast that like the idea of the old Pac 8 being brought back.
Reporter: What would you say a Greg Studrawa offense is like? Stud:
"Attack and be very physical…fly around…attacking, come after you and come after you and come after you…." Me: I love this answer.
GET TO THE RIM HEAT (and SKY)! ATTACK THE PAINT!
3/4 vote
so we would need the AZ schools as well
Look, I've already told Utah to suck it. There's no going back now.
Keep in mind last year, Scott already had the votes
before making offers. Last year the AZ schools voted for this same expansion (less TAMU) too.
by ev on Sep 6, 2011 4:05 PM MDT up reply actions
Agreed, but
AZ may be satisfied with $20-25M/year + going to Cali schools vs. $30-35M/year + going to Texahoma schools
by BuffulanceMan on Sep 7, 2011 8:50 AM MDT up reply actions
im not sure if utah and colorado get full membership privileges, like voting, for a year or two.
by Quacker Backer on Sep 7, 2011 5:21 PM MDT up reply actions
I thought
this applied to Utah only, but maybe it’s just they get less $ than CU for a year or two?
by BuffulanceMan on Sep 8, 2011 10:30 AM MDT up reply actions
Not Expansion talk but
Ringo is reporting that Nembot is moving to O-Line and will redshirt this season
That was a surprise to me, not the redshirt, but the position move
Frankly, i don’t get it. Now, I’ve never really seen him play besides some youtube stuff but he seems like a perfect DE/DT – big & fast. Our o-line is terrible right now so maybe they know what they’re doing….still would have loved to see him rush the QB.
Maybe it's a technique thing?
I’ve always assumed that OL would require more foot/leverage technique than DE but I obviously don’t really know.
Embree says it was Nembot's decision
just thought he could help out quicker and better at OT
Look, I've already told Utah to suck it. There's no going back now.
A&M to the SEC is happening
it’ll be interesting to see what happens to the big XII. I can see it surviving if they take BYU or Boise State as a replacement. Boise would be a desperation move. Really depends on what Missouri does, they may get spooked and join the SEC. And I wouldn’t blame them.
I’m not sure Oklahoma has as much power as they think they do. I can’t see the Pac12 being interested in expansion unless both UT and OU are involved. OU/OSU alone doesn’t make sense geographically, academically or with the TV markets despite OU being a national football brand. A 14 team league doesn’t work well, so they’d need to bring in a total of 4 schools and unless UT is one of them, that just doesn’t make sense financially.
If OU/OSU join and the conference stops at 14 for now, who moves to the North - Utah or CU?
Would it be Utah because they were perceived to have less bargaining power at the start?
utah. a west-east split with arizona west and asu east.
by Quacker Backer on Sep 7, 2011 5:22 PM MDT up reply actions
WTF?
So Utah goes to the north, while Arizona goes to the west and ASU to the East? Who’s the south?
Or do you mean that if it’s an E/W split, you split the AZ schools? In that case, you’ve got 5 teams in the east and 9 in the west. A 14 team league only works if you move, say, Ucla to the east. and run an E/W split. Good luck with that.
The best option is zipper divisions
Ucla, Cal, Oregon st, WSU, CU, OU Arizona
USC, Stanford, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Okie St, ASU
6 division games, 1 guaranteed rivalry game, 2 other rotating cross divisional.
Look, I've already told Utah to suck it. There's no going back now.
I seriously doubt the Pac 10 ever goes to zipper divisions.
I think it’s more likely that Utah or CU moves to the North.
I didn't say it was likely. I said it was the best option
If CU or Utah goes to the north, we both get screwed
Look, I've already told Utah to suck it. There's no going back now.
you guys must be a bit pissed off right now.
exchanging hotel reservations in beverly hill and san francisco for rooms in, well anywhere else frankly, is going to totally suck! I have a feeling that Larry Scott has something special in store for you though, something like a guaranteed yearly trip to california. cal and stanford already get a guaranteed trip to los angeles and if the conference expands it will go east-west and that guarantee could be given to CU.
If 4 teams are added
I could see CU and Utah going to the N and putting all the new teams down S w/ the AZ and SoCal schools to make a N/S alignment. That would be fine w/ CU fans, I think.
by BuffulanceMan on Sep 8, 2011 10:33 AM MDT up reply actions
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