Options dwindling as California, Stanford, Oregon State, Washington State prepare to take financial hits

[cousin oliver]

No matter how this round of realignment plays out, the remaining Pac-12 teams will be losing money

In many ways, this upcoming round of conference realignment is more uncertain than the last one. At least last time -- all the way back to earlier this month -- we knew the participants, where the money was going and who was throwing it around.

Consider this rarity as the four remaining Pac-12 schools try to figure out where they'll be playing in 2024: The priority for California, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State -- at the moment -- isn't money.

In fact, for perhaps the first time in realignment, Power Five schools are assured of losing money by changing conferences. That's a function of the Pac-12 all but dissolving and the remaining Pac-4 having limited options.

The priority now is finding a conference to call home in 2024. Clearly, Oregon State and Washington State have little value -- at least compared to the $21 million they are set to earn in the last year of the Pac-12 contract. It's almost assured they won't match that sum no matter where they end up.

The Mountain West and American are both in competition for any combination of the Pac-4. The MWC pays schools approximately $4 million per year in media rights with three years left to go on its deal with CBS and Fox. The AAC pays approximately $7 million per school and has 10 years to remaining on its deal with ESPN.

In both cases, rightsholders for those conferences would have to go back to affiliates and ask for additional subscription fees.

read more: https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/options-dwindling-as-california-stanford-oregon-state-washington-state-prepare-to-take-financial-hits/

[ColoradoEagle]

Quote

(It is debatable whether the Pac-4 create incremental value for existing rightsholders in the MWC, currently the dominant Group of Five conference. 

That line cracked me up; CBS trying to pump up their properties. The MWC hasn't even been in a NY6 bowl since Boise in 2014. Beyond the permanently online G5 fans, no one in the country views the MWC as the dominant G5 conference.

[Tommy Gadberry]

15 minutes ago, cousin oliver said:

The MWC pays schools approximately $4 million per year in media rights with three years left to go on its deal with CBS and Fox. The AAC pays approximately $7 million per school and has 10 years to remaining on its deal with ESPN.

Wow that says a lot!

[Tommy Gadberry]

Also not a small issue is Then there is the not-so-small case of the Pac-12 owing $50 million to Comcast due to overpayments. That will count against the bottom line.

so if they made the Pac go bankrupt and joined the AAC would theybstill owe Comcast that money?  That in itself might be reason enough for them to close up the PAC shop!

[VideoEagle]

19 minutes ago, Tommy Gadberry said:

so if they made the Pac go bankrupt and joined the AAC would theybstill owe Comcast that money?

Comcast has made it VERY clear they are holding the schools that received the overpayments responsible, NOT the conference. And they keep saying ALL the schools that received overpayments. 

 

 

[El Paso Eagle]

27 minutes ago, VideoEagle said:

Comcast has made it VERY clear they are holding the schools that received the overpayments responsible, NOT the conference. And they keep saying ALL the schools that received overpayments. 

 

 

It sounds like Comcast already has a plan to withhold payouts to the PAC
https://sports360az.com/2023/05/pac-12-financial-affairs-the-presidents-are-responsible-for-the-comcast-overpayment-fiasco-they-should-cover-the-damage/

[GrayEagle]

On 8/15/2023 at 5:17 PM, cousin oliver said:

No matter how this round of realignment plays out, the remaining Pac-12 teams will be losing money

In many ways, this upcoming round of conference realignment is more uncertain than the last one. At least last time -- all the way back to earlier this month -- we knew the participants, where the money was going and who was throwing it around.

Consider this rarity as the four remaining Pac-12 schools try to figure out where they'll be playing in 2024: The priority for California, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State -- at the moment -- isn't money.

In fact, for perhaps the first time in realignment, Power Five schools are assured of losing money by changing conferences. That's a function of the Pac-12 all but dissolving and the remaining Pac-4 having limited options.

The priority now is finding a conference to call home in 2024. Clearly, Oregon State and Washington State have little value -- at least compared to the $21 million they are set to earn in the last year of the Pac-12 contract. It's almost assured they won't match that sum no matter where they end up.

The Mountain West and American are both in competition for any combination of the Pac-4. The MWC pays schools approximately $4 million per year in media rights with three years left to go on its deal with CBS and Fox. The AAC pays approximately $7 million per school and has 10 years to remaining on its deal with ESPN.

In both cases, rightsholders for those conferences would have to go back to affiliates and ask for additional subscription fees.

read more: https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/options-dwindling-as-california-stanford-oregon-state-washington-state-prepare-to-take-financial-hits/

What happened to the $480,000M that was supposedly paid to the Pac 12?  Could that be distributed to the four remaining teams?  

[El Paso Eagle]

5 minutes ago, GrayEagle said:

What happened to the $480,000M that was supposedly paid to the Pac 12?  Could that be distributed to the four remaining teams?  

There do not seem to be any exit fees or penalties associated with leaving the conference. So any money distributed for this year will still be evenly split between the teams participating this year.