Tag: Pac-4 Mountain West

Stanford and Cal to ACC loses steam, so AAC re-enters the Pac-12 picture

Key point: If the ACC is off the table for Stanford and Cal, a merger with the Mountain West becomes more possible again.

Is anyone else exhausted by conference realignment? We sure are.

Like a dog chasing a cat in an open field, we’re always running a little bit behind, trying to keep up with the latest rumors, plot twist, conference board meetings, and the other related events in this theater of activity which is sometimes referred to as “a soap opera for dudes.”

It might be sad and depressing to see the Pac-12 die, and it might be annoying to see college athletes being disregarded in this process. Oregon softball players and Arizona State swimmers did not sign up for long plane flights to the Midwest when they chose to attend those schools a few years ago. Their needs are being ignored, and we know it.

Yet, the larger drama surrounding realignment is impossible to pull away from until it runs its course. Knowing that it’s uncertain whether Stanford University — a prestigious school with elite sports programs across the board — will be in one conference or another is hugely dramatic and considerably significant. We want to find out where this road is leading, and we want to stay with this drama until it is resolved.

That’s why realignment is exhausting. We don’t seem to have resolution to Stanford’s (and Cal’s, and Oregon State’s and Washington State’s) plight.

The ACC refused to vote on admitting Stanford and Cal on Wednesday night, a clear indication the conference doesn’t have the votes to approve the move. If the ACC’s attempt to bring in Stanford and Cal has stalled, that means the AAC is still a player. It also means the Mountain West might still have a chance to work something out with the “Pac-4.”

Let’s give you some reactions to the AAC part of this puzzle. Much like Stanford and Cal to the ACC, it wouldn’t seem to make a lot of sense, but then again, the Pac-12 dying doesn’t make sense on many levels.

Here we go:

Pac-12 merger with Mountain West is a huge political headache … but it’s necessary

We can’t mention every last logistical element of a #Pac12 – #MountainWest merger, but we can focus on the main ones.

The Pac-12 has become the Pacific four, whittled to a small group of schools. Of these four schools, the only one with some degree of leverage is Stanford, an elite academic institution with a robust sports program in the Bay Area television market and none of the financial woes of Cal-Berkeley, its Bay Area neighbor.

Yet, Stanford isn’t calling the shots here. It can make a pitch to the Big Ten, which would seem like the obvious landing spot for the Cardinal, but the Big Ten ultimately has to want the “Trees.” How the Big Ten considers its options is a plot point worth paying attention to, but the larger point is that the Big Ten will decide if Stanford joins. Stanford will not decide if it goes to the Big Ten. It can’t make it happen. It can only hope for it to happen and pray the Big Ten says yes.

It’s similar in the Big 12, where Oregon State and Washington State would love to join, but the Big 12 has to want to invite the two schools. That doesn’t seem likely. Stanford to the Big Ten has a better chance of happening than Oregon State and Wazzu going to the Big 12.

If these four schools are denied entry into Power Five conferences, the Pac-12 merger with the Mountain West will need to happen.

Mark Zeigler of the San Diego Tribune wrote a very detailed examination of the Pac-12 and the Mountain West. We’ll unpack what he said and offer our own analysis as well.

Here we go: