Guessing ASU is going to move pretty quickly now, as is Utah. I'll be shocked if we make it to Monday morning without any updates there.
this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2023
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Sounds like the B1G lowballed ORWA last night and some/all in the PAC may just lay down in the snowbank that is the Apple deal.
If I'm Utah or Arizona I'm not sure I'm trusting ORWA to stay long term, even if they stay this season. It's in the B1G's interest to expand west with the California schools, and eventually a deal will get done.
I could also see the Big 12 or rump ACC making a play for Oregon and Washington. Maybe they'll help keep the latter together, with FSU calling for more money than they're currently receiving from the ACC's grant of rights.
Going by the "sources" flying around on reddit (don't judge me! I use adblock and don't post there!), I think literally every permutation has been discussed on a Zoom somewhere in the last 90 minutes.
I'm not judging anyone. That also sounds totally believable, to be honest.
Agreed. Then, with FSU probing the ACC's GoR, who knows if they make it anywhere near 2036. Things were uniquely unlucky to have a ORWA-led conference scrambling for dollars this badly, but they're still on the B1G's radar, clearly.
I'm not sure the structural disadvantages of being on the west coast will allow ASU and Utah to anchor a conference at a level comparable to whatever the B12 will manage in the next media window. Like the rest of the B12, they're nice logs for the fire, but if they're in somebody else's woodshed, 5 miles down the road, why bother?
I think that's why the big 12 is the only option for them now. Texas and Oklahoma are close enough to make something of a rivalry with Arizona / ASU and keeps more eyes on them (plus earlier timeslots, which is a huge factor). Trying to maintain a PAC conference is essentially relegating yourself out of the P5.