Is another massive college football shakeup on the horizon? Nobody knows quite yet, but the potential “Project Rudy” idea, which was proposed by former Disney executives who are now employed by a venture capital firm called Smash Capital, seems to be an idea that some major conference athletic directors are considering.
“Of all the ideas I’ve seen, this one makes the most sense,” Miami athletic director Dan Radakovich told Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger. “Conferences are kept intact, commissioners still have an important and valuable role, and there is the ability for schools to make increased money from bigger matchups and more playoff games.”
Part of the proposal also involves eliminating games against lower-level schools and focusing on the 70 teams in the proposal, which would all fall under one media rights agreement instead of a conference-by-conference basis.
But where do the Huskies fit in all this?
Washington will have a seat at the table in any superleague no matter what, but the question begs, what will the future look like? The move to the Big Ten is already paying off, as any plan wouldn’t go anywhere without the approval of Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey.
More playoff spots may not seem ideal, but for Washington, which was the only school in the Pac-12 era to reach the four-team College Football Playoff twice, it could work out well. One of the biggest parts of the move was about national exposure, which the Pac-12, unfortunately, never truly offered.
If any of these proposed superleagues, even the extremely unlikely Big Ten/SEC merger, come to fruition, Washington doesn’t need to worry about its seat at the table. Coach Jedd Fisch’s team will only need to worry about who it’s playing, and with so many different ideas floating around, including more regional matchups, it could include fewer cross-country flights to destinations like Rutgers and Penn State.
But only time will tell.