Tag: Stanford Pac-4

Can Stanford University play big-league poker to get a Power Five conference?

Let’s go through the various options Stanford has to land a Power Five spot if it doesn’t want to be independent in football.

Conference realignment is high-stakes poker. It is a matter of prestige, of revenue, of visibility and of prominence.

Stanford University, widely viewed as a premier academic institution in the United States, does not seem like a school which would — or should — comfortably accept relegation to the Mountain West or AAC. That would seem to be beneath the Cardinal. Their world-class women’s basketball program and their many other championship-level programs in Olympic sports deserve better.

Stanford resides in the prominent San Francisco Bay Area television market, which is supposed to carry considerable value for television networks and streaming outlets.

People will say, “But Stanford football sucks right now.” It does, but a decade ago, Stanford made three Rose Bowls in a four-year span and won two of them. The Cardinal can be very good with the right coach. Beyond that, Stanford has financial resources and enjoys strong academic standing and a cultural fit presidents and chancellors would envy.

The question is obvious: Why hasn’t Stanford already parlayed its advantages into a Power Five conference home? Why are the Cardinal still looking for a solution? It’s time for the school to play some poker. Serious poker.

Can this school play its cards right? Let’s explore some options.

Stanford going independent in football could happen and would make sense

Stanford women’s basketball needs a conference, but football could be indie. Here’s a schedule the Cardinal could create:

Stanford women’s basketball, an elite program for decades, needs a conference. Basketball teams need conferences to fill a majority of their schedule and participate in a conference tournament. They also need a conference for splitting and generating revenue. Football, however, doesn’t necessarily operate the same way. Just ask Notre Dame.

The Fighting Irish aren’t going to the Big Ten. They don’t need to. Why would they split Big Ten TV revenue with almost 20 other schools when they have their own NBC TV deal and get every cent of it without sharing? Notre Dame can also customize its schedule. Given its national brand and identity, it can command top dollar. It is working well for the Irish, and it will continue to work well for them.

Stanford doesn’t have the brand Notre Dame does, but Stanford also has a brand that is more valuable than BYU’s. BYU was independent for a number of years before finding a Big 12 home. BYU played its own customized schedule much as Notre Dame did, but BYU was treated as a Group of Five team more than a Power Five team the way Notre Dame was.

Stanford would be treated as a Power Five team more than a Group of Five team if it goes independent in football — not as prestigious as Notre Dame, but more prestigious than BYU.

Below, you will find some reactions to Stanford being left in the cold with the other members of the so-called “Pac-4” after Friday’s Pac-12 bloodbath. After those reactions, we will present a 12-game football schedule Stanford could realistically produce as an independent, creating a mix of challenging games and attractive TV properties ESPN would pay for. (We refer to ESPN since Stanford going to the Big Ten would mean Fox exposure. If Stanford goes indie, ESPN would be its most likely broadcaster.)

Here we go: