Washington State and Oregon State at this point "appear focused on talking about trying to retain the 'Pac-whatever' assets" and "perform an ambitious rebuild under the conference banner," according to sports writer John Canzano. According to sources, Mountain West Conference Commissioner Gloria Nevarez met in Corvallis yesterday to "make a presentation to Oregon State officials." Canzano noted Nevarez was also "scheduled to meet with OSU at 10 a.m." She presented to WSU officials last week alongside Univ. of New Mexico President Garnett Stokes. Canzano wrote OSU and WSU "don’t need a resolution by the end of the week but they need to get pointed in a clear direction before the football teams kick off." AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco will also "present to Oregon State and Washington State." He will "do it via Zoom." Aresco also has been invited to Corvallis and Pullman to "appear in person by the respective university presidents" (JOHNCANZANO.com, 8/28).
JUST NOT YET: In S.F., Connor Letourneau wrote a decision by the ACC on Cal and Stanford, as well as SMU, had been "expected to come as soon as Monday evening." However, that conference call with ACC presidents "was delayed indefinitely" after the Univ. of North Carolina "issued a shelter-in-place order on campus because of an 'armed and dangerous person situation.'" According to a source, Cal is "expected to receive an invite whenever a vote happens," with Stanford and SMU "appearing to also have a good chance." Those three schools "would join the ACC in all sports the league offers for the 2024-25 academic year." It appears ACC presidents and athletic directors "have made significant progress on identifying a distribution model that can satisfy as many schools as possible." The ACC appears "intent on finding resolution on Cal, Stanford and SMU as quickly as possible." Now that the college football season has started, ACC officials "don’t believe they can afford to drag out this process." Cal and Stanford "share that sense of urgency." If they do not receive invitations to the ACC, they "must turn their focus toward other paths that would allow them to remain at the Power 5 level." Should the ACC pass on Cal and Stanford, the Bears and Cardinal "likely would have to concentrate on rebuilding the Pac-12 with Oregon State and Washington State." That option is "rife with potential complications, given that the league would need to add at least four members quickly and secure a palatable media-rights deal" -- all while Commissioner George Kliavkoff’s job status "appears in flux" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 8/28).
LAST DITCH EFFORT: YAHOO SPORTS' Dan Wetzel wrote the wild spending of "aggressive, wealthy SMU football boosters once killed the program" and now the businessmen are back -- "trying to save the program before a final churn of conference realignment leaves the prideful Mustangs behind forever." SMU is "so desperate to get into a so-called Power Five league that it is willing to join the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for free (or close to it)." In an era when everyone is jumping leagues to get money, SMU is "willing to get no money because its monied alums are willing to cover the loss." SMU has "shrewdly figured out its place in the world and its value to the ACC." The conference’s deal with ESPN "runs through 2036." If the ACC adds any members, ESPN must pay the league an additional $24M "per year per expansion team." If SMU was going to get an equal share, then that "would be a non-starter, since every school would receive less from ESPN." The ACC "doesn’t want to expand," but has "almost no other option if it wants to appease Florida State and Clemson, which are concerned about their revenue shares falling further and further behind their competition in the SEC and Big Ten." Cal and Stanford "certainly don’t want to travel all the way to the East Coast," but after the Pac-12 imploded, this is "likely their best deal" (YAHOO SPORTS, 8/28).
