[AtlantaBadger]

It is now apparently official that the P12 CG will be played at a neutral site, Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, beginning this year.  Still on a Friday night, Dec. 5 (REALLLLLLLLY bad idea, and hope that Pac-12 gets out of that situation with Fox pronto).  This brings the conference into line with all the other power conferences with neutral site games. 

http://blogs.sacbee.com/49ers/archives/2...nship.html 

Living in Atlanta, and working downtown, I am quite familiar with the annual packed house for the SEC Championship Game -- no matter where the ACC, Big Ten, or Pac 12 play their games, they will probably never reach that level of consistent attendance, because most of the rest of the country has other things going on in their lives besides football.

Eric

[AtlantaBadger]

It is now apparently official that the P12 CG will be played at a neutral site, Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, beginning this year.  Still on a Friday night, Dec. 5 (REALLLLLLLLY bad idea, and hope that Pac-12 gets out of that situation with Fox pronto).  This brings the conference into line with all the other power conferences with neutral site games. 

http://blogs.sacbee.com/49ers/archives/2...nship.html 

Living in Atlanta, and working downtown, I am quite familiar with the annual packed house for the SEC Championship Game -- no matter where the ACC, Big Ten, or Pac 12 play their games, they will probably never reach that level of consistent attendance, because most of the rest of the country has other things going on in their lives besides football.

Eric

[washingtonismoney]

This is one issue I don't get why we have to be in line with the rest of CFB. Works great for SEC, but the ACC championship is a snoozer -- little attention, attendance, or relevance. The Bigs 10 and 12 seem to be in between.

But the home-school thing seemed to work pretty well for the Pac-12, and I don't see the point of change. And if the logic isn't immediately obvious to an outsider, you can assume $$$ played a role -- with the number of big events heading to Levi's, my guess is they're bidding aggressively.

[washingtonismoney]

This is one issue I don't get why we have to be in line with the rest of CFB. Works great for SEC, but the ACC championship is a snoozer -- little attention, attendance, or relevance. The Bigs 10 and 12 seem to be in between.

But the home-school thing seemed to work pretty well for the Pac-12, and I don't see the point of change. And if the logic isn't immediately obvious to an outsider, you can assume $$$ played a role -- with the number of big events heading to Levi's, my guess is they're bidding aggressively.

[AtlantaBadger]

In the long run I think a neutral site is better because it allows folks to make plans at least somewhat further in advance.  I realize that as a player parent we are in a unique (and lucky) position, but last year we knew we were in the CG, but could not make any travel plans until late Saturday night after the ASU game was complete.  Let's just say Delta had no sympathy for our plight! 

To the extent the Pac-12 EVER hopes to attract the sort of regular attendance from non-participating school fans like the SEC does, folks simply have to know where and when the game is, and need to know it a helluva lot earlier than the week before.  A brobdingnagian chunk of the Georgia Dome is filled with "SEC" fans -- not necessarily fans of either school in the game.  It is a sold out game weeks/months in advance.  You just cannot do that with the alternating site format.  Again, I repeat that I would not ever expect regular attendance of 80,000 fans at the Pac-12 game (or even the Levi's capacity of approx. 69,000), but it may creep up over time. 

And I think having it a neutral site is a fairer setup for the teams in a conference championship.  But that is just me.  Obviously, Stanford has won ugly at home and won big on the road, so maybe the home/away thing is not much of a problem.

Eric

[AtlantaBadger]

In the long run I think a neutral site is better because it allows folks to make plans at least somewhat further in advance.  I realize that as a player parent we are in a unique (and lucky) position, but last year we knew we were in the CG, but could not make any travel plans until late Saturday night after the ASU game was complete.  Let's just say Delta had no sympathy for our plight! 

To the extent the Pac-12 EVER hopes to attract the sort of regular attendance from non-participating school fans like the SEC does, folks simply have to know where and when the game is, and need to know it a helluva lot earlier than the week before.  A brobdingnagian chunk of the Georgia Dome is filled with "SEC" fans -- not necessarily fans of either school in the game.  It is a sold out game weeks/months in advance.  You just cannot do that with the alternating site format.  Again, I repeat that I would not ever expect regular attendance of 80,000 fans at the Pac-12 game (or even the Levi's capacity of approx. 69,000), but it may creep up over time. 

And I think having it a neutral site is a fairer setup for the teams in a conference championship.  But that is just me.  Obviously, Stanford has won ugly at home and won big on the road, so maybe the home/away thing is not much of a problem.

Eric

[Papa John]

I don't really care where the Pac-12 Championship Game is played as long as Stanford is in it.

[Papa John]

I don't really care where the Pac-12 Championship Game is played as long as Stanford is in it.

[Leftcoast]

I get the rationale for a preselected neutral site but I've also seen the black-eye given the conference by lightly attended and passionless neutral site Pac 12 Basketball championships.  The luxury box revenue and venue/date certainty are compelling but they will be there for the league in the future as well.

What this event needs NOW is time.  Time to get recognized as an event that crowns deserving champions, time to establish packed venues and must-see status for the TV viewing audience and time for tradition (and perhaps a few classic games) to build fan acceptance beyond the participating teams' diehards. 

What it doesn't need is two non-Bay Area teams meeting at 5:00 amidst rush hour traffic and in front of a sparsely filled stadium and apathetic audience.  Imagine the hit the game would take if UW were to play UofA next November.  Now imagine the same game played in the kind of driving rain we had on game day two years ago.  (Although thankfully it had mostly cleared by kick-off.)

Well, I wish the game good luck but I'm nervous as I do so.  Very nervous.

[Leftcoast]

I get the rationale for a preselected neutral site but I've also seen the black-eye given the conference by lightly attended and passionless neutral site Pac 12 Basketball championships.  The luxury box revenue and venue/date certainty are compelling but they will be there for the league in the future as well.

What this event needs NOW is time.  Time to get recognized as an event that crowns deserving champions, time to establish packed venues and must-see status for the TV viewing audience and time for tradition (and perhaps a few classic games) to build fan acceptance beyond the participating teams' diehards. 

What it doesn't need is two non-Bay Area teams meeting at 5:00 amidst rush hour traffic and in front of a sparsely filled stadium and apathetic audience.  Imagine the hit the game would take if UW were to play UofA next November.  Now imagine the same game played in the kind of driving rain we had on game day two years ago.  (Although thankfully it had mostly cleared by kick-off.)

Well, I wish the game good luck but I'm nervous as I do so.  Very nervous.

[Farm93]

UofA has never won the Pac-##.  My guess is that their community would travel anywhere to support a team, that was just one win away from winning it all.  The Northwest schools live for rain and likely would be delighted to show the Pac-12 South representative how support in the rain is done.  The California schools are the ones with the worst bad weather reputation, but for those four schools proximity and easy logistics of a California venue can mitigate the weather and apathy issues.

If one looks at the conference the best venue is probably a new LA/OC Jaguars' stadium, but until then Levi is a very good choice.  The conference was losing ground in football and non-revenue sports to the SEC money and the Pac-## powers felt the conference needed a set of TV deals and $$ to compete.  Once on that path Friday was put in the realm just like all of those 7PM kick-offs.

I think the conference needs some stability and predictability from its TV partners.  The Pac-12 needs to own Las Vegas for hoops and some venue, city & day for the football Pac-12 CG.  Of all of the possible locations of the Pac-12 CG Levi is far and away the best for Stanford, so I don't think Stanford fans should be complaining too much given the realistic range of options (Seattle, Levi, Phoenix, Denver, Rose Bowl, LA Coliseum, San Diego).

[Farm93]

UofA has never won the Pac-##.  My guess is that their community would travel anywhere to support a team, that was just one win away from winning it all.  The Northwest schools live for rain and likely would be delighted to show the Pac-12 South representative how support in the rain is done.  The California schools are the ones with the worst bad weather reputation, but for those four schools proximity and easy logistics of a California venue can mitigate the weather and apathy issues.

If one looks at the conference the best venue is probably a new LA/OC Jaguars' stadium, but until then Levi is a very good choice.  The conference was losing ground in football and non-revenue sports to the SEC money and the Pac-## powers felt the conference needed a set of TV deals and $$ to compete.  Once on that path Friday was put in the realm just like all of those 7PM kick-offs.

I think the conference needs some stability and predictability from its TV partners.  The Pac-12 needs to own Las Vegas for hoops and some venue, city & day for the football Pac-12 CG.  Of all of the possible locations of the Pac-12 CG Levi is far and away the best for Stanford, so I don't think Stanford fans should be complaining too much given the realistic range of options (Seattle, Levi, Phoenix, Denver, Rose Bowl, LA Coliseum, San Diego).

[rudruff]

LA/OC or Bay Area is going to have a large number of alums of any potential match ups. I think the biggest thing is avoiding a Friday kickoff time in a disaster setting (C.al).

[rudruff]

LA/OC or Bay Area is going to have a large number of alums of any potential match ups. I think the biggest thing is avoiding a Friday kickoff time in a disaster setting (C.al).

[Robbie]

LA/OC or Bay Area is going to have a large number of alums of any potential match ups. I think the biggest thing is avoiding a Friday kickoff time in a disaster setting (C.al).

Friday night, Saturday afternoon, or Tuesday morning, I don't think we have to worry about what would happen if Cal reached the championship game.

[Robbie]

LA/OC or Bay Area is going to have a large number of alums of any potential match ups. I think the biggest thing is avoiding a Friday kickoff time in a disaster setting (C.al).

Friday night, Saturday afternoon, or Tuesday morning, I don't think we have to worry about what would happen if Cal reached the championship game.

[OutsiderFan]

How about having the P-12 CG the Friday after the other CGs, before the Saturday the Army-Navy game has been played on lately?  That way Stanford and UCLA will get a week off before playing each other consecutively, and the P-12 gets all the national attention and TV audience to itself.

[OutsiderFan]

How about having the P-12 CG the Friday after the other CGs, before the Saturday the Army-Navy game has been played on lately?  That way Stanford and UCLA will get a week off before playing each other consecutively, and the P-12 gets all the national attention and TV audience to itself.

[AtlantaBadger]

It would be great to have the extra few days, but the problem with playing the following Friday is that the whole bowl selection show/football playoff selection would then be delayed a week.  ESPN would go into apoplexy, and all the other bowl-bound teams probably would not be too enthused about sitting around to see two west coast teams play each other.

Eric

[AtlantaBadger]

It would be great to have the extra few days, but the problem with playing the following Friday is that the whole bowl selection show/football playoff selection would then be delayed a week.  ESPN would go into apoplexy, and all the other bowl-bound teams probably would not be too enthused about sitting around to see two west coast teams play each other.

Eric

[donkey687]

The Friday night game Stanford hosted two years ago drew only 30k fans.  Less than 5,000 UCLA fans showed up. I don't see a single match-up not involving local teams that will do better than that.  Teams don't know if they are in the game until 6 days prior. This is going to be a disaster from an attendance perspective.

[donkey687]

The Friday night game Stanford hosted two years ago drew only 30k fans.  Less than 5,000 UCLA fans showed up. I don't see a single match-up not involving local teams that will do better than that.  Teams don't know if they are in the game until 6 days prior. This is going to be a disaster from an attendance perspective.

[donkey687]

The lack of UCLA fans at that game was startling. Sure, weather dampened the size of the crowd, but it did offer a data point that fans don't mobilize on 6 days notice for a Friday night game.  There are more UCLA alums in the Bay Area than any other non-local school so it's not like it is going to be better with another team.  ASU Oregon is a very realistic match-up for this year. I think that would struggle to get 25k fans.

[donkey687]

The lack of UCLA fans at that game was startling. Sure, weather dampened the size of the crowd, but it did offer a data point that fans don't mobilize on 6 days notice for a Friday night game.  There are more UCLA alums in the Bay Area than any other non-local school so it's not like it is going to be better with another team.  ASU Oregon is a very realistic match-up for this year. I think that would struggle to get 25k fans.

[Farm93]

Hmmm, Friday 2014, Saturday 2015 and then back to Friday in 2016.  So strange.  Why does the conference get Saturday in 2015?

Tickets go on sale to Pac-12 season ticket holders NEXT week.  I could see how trying to sell and buy now might work in some conferences, but the Pac-12 does not seem like one of those places.  This is a time when attending a school with a small alumni base is really helpful.  At some schools the alum, donor, season ticket holder trifecta would not be even close to sufficient when the division champion allocation is released.

I guess in three years the Pac-12 will determine if the game should stay in Santa Clara or move to another willing NFL stadium (Denver, Seattle, LA/OC, San Diego) in the region or perhaps return to the home host model.

[Farm93]

Hmmm, Friday 2014, Saturday 2015 and then back to Friday in 2016.  So strange.  Why does the conference get Saturday in 2015?

Tickets go on sale to Pac-12 season ticket holders NEXT week.  I could see how trying to sell and buy now might work in some conferences, but the Pac-12 does not seem like one of those places.  This is a time when attending a school with a small alumni base is really helpful.  At some schools the alum, donor, season ticket holder trifecta would not be even close to sufficient when the division champion allocation is released.

I guess in three years the Pac-12 will determine if the game should stay in Santa Clara or move to another willing NFL stadium (Denver, Seattle, LA/OC, San Diego) in the region or perhaps return to the home host model.

[Class_of_75]

Hmmm, Friday 2014, Saturday 2015 and then back to Friday in 2016.  So strange.  Why does the conference get Saturday in 2015?

Tickets go on sale to Pac-12 season ticket holders NEXT week.  I could see how trying to sell and buy now might work in some conferences, but the Pac-12 does not seem like one of those places.  This is a time when attending a school with a small alumni base is really helpful.  At some schools the alum, donor, season ticket holder trifecta would not be even close to sufficient when the division champion allocation is released.

I guess in three years the Pac-12 will determine if the game should stay in Santa Clara or move to another willing NFL stadium (Denver, Seattle, LA/OC, San Diego) in the region or perhaps return to the home host model.

The 2015 game is being televised by ESPN. Fox has the Friday night games.

[Class_of_75]

Hmmm, Friday 2014, Saturday 2015 and then back to Friday in 2016.  So strange.  Why does the conference get Saturday in 2015?

Tickets go on sale to Pac-12 season ticket holders NEXT week.  I could see how trying to sell and buy now might work in some conferences, but the Pac-12 does not seem like one of those places.  This is a time when attending a school with a small alumni base is really helpful.  At some schools the alum, donor, season ticket holder trifecta would not be even close to sufficient when the division champion allocation is released.

I guess in three years the Pac-12 will determine if the game should stay in Santa Clara or move to another willing NFL stadium (Denver, Seattle, LA/OC, San Diego) in the region or perhaps return to the home host model.

The 2015 game is being televised by ESPN. Fox has the Friday night games.

[stupac2]

Hmmm, Friday 2014, Saturday 2015 and then back to Friday in 2016.  So strange.  Why does the conference get Saturday in 2015?

I believe this is because the title game alternates between FOX and ESPN, and FOX is run by ***** assholes.

[stupac2]

Hmmm, Friday 2014, Saturday 2015 and then back to Friday in 2016.  So strange.  Why does the conference get Saturday in 2015?

I believe this is because the title game alternates between FOX and ESPN, and FOX is run by ***** assholes.

[martyup]

This is where I want to be on December 5, 2014.  8)

[attachment deleted by admin]

[martyup]

This is where I want to be on December 5, 2014.  8)

[attachment deleted by admin]

[yvonne]

not Levi Stadium

[yvonne]

not Levi Stadium

[Stymie]

Conference "Championship" games (for BCS leagues/teams) will be a thing of the past well before 2020 arrives.  They have been semi-useless in the past decade and will be completely useless from now forward.

[Stymie]

Conference "Championship" games (for BCS leagues/teams) will be a thing of the past well before 2020 arrives.  They have been semi-useless in the past decade and will be completely useless from now forward.

[Redrum]

It IS all about the money and the conference championship game will become the gateway to those.  It won't guarantee a good seeding in the playoff system, but the total number of games will increase.  If conference games are going to get trimmed to keep it manageable,  look for pressure to cut the number of North/South inter-divisional games in the Pac12..  That will give us a cramp with our UCLA/USC traditional games,  but something's got to give.  My guess is the larger revenue/prestige  prospect of national playoffs will make the Pac 12 fall in line.  More likely alternating USC/ UCLA in the interdivisional mix.  [Can't see the conference backing off the current cycling scheme of all out-of-division teams just to preserve our old rivalries.  Also can't see Muir pulling it off in the larger world of Pac12 politics].  Beyond that adjustment, more games period.  More likely an earlier start,  meaning, for Stanford, yet another game without students on campus.  The rest of the conference might just  tell us "tough noogies" and we'll have to live with it. 

Add:  I can also see the tie-ins of mega stadiums into the playoff structure.  So NFL stadiums, particularly the domed ones, will become integral to the playoffs in January.  More money for the NFL as the two get more intertwined.

[Redrum]

It IS all about the money and the conference championship game will become the gateway to those.  It won't guarantee a good seeding in the playoff system, but the total number of games will increase.  If conference games are going to get trimmed to keep it manageable,  look for pressure to cut the number of North/South inter-divisional games in the Pac12..  That will give us a cramp with our UCLA/USC traditional games,  but something's got to give.  My guess is the larger revenue/prestige  prospect of national playoffs will make the Pac 12 fall in line.  More likely alternating USC/ UCLA in the interdivisional mix.  [Can't see the conference backing off the current cycling scheme of all out-of-division teams just to preserve our old rivalries.  Also can't see Muir pulling it off in the larger world of Pac12 politics].  Beyond that adjustment, more games period.  More likely an earlier start,  meaning, for Stanford, yet another game without students on campus.  The rest of the conference might just  tell us "tough noogies" and we'll have to live with it. 

Add:  I can also see the tie-ins of mega stadiums into the playoff structure.  So NFL stadiums, particularly the domed ones, will become integral to the playoffs in January.  More money for the NFL as the two get more intertwined.

[Stymie]

Reasonable vision, Mike, but I see something more like 4 megaconferences of 16-teams.  Top 4 in each by W-L (with agree to tie-breaker) plus next 4 (by poll--give Condi et. al. something to do rather than save the world) get into 8-team playoffs (starting Jan 1).  Rest of the losers play in the other bowls.  Next year some sort of re-alignment that gives the Boise States/Northern Illinois of the world a chance to get into the megaconferences next year.  Something like European/Ypremian ""I keek a touchdown" "foot ball.""

[Stymie]

Reasonable vision, Mike, but I see something more like 4 megaconferences of 16-teams.  Top 4 in each by W-L (with agree to tie-breaker) plus next 4 (by poll--give Condi et. al. something to do rather than save the world) get into 8-team playoffs (starting Jan 1).  Rest of the losers play in the other bowls.  Next year some sort of re-alignment that gives the Boise States/Northern Illinois of the world a chance to get into the megaconferences next year.  Something like European/Ypremian ""I keek a touchdown" "foot ball.""