[midnight21]

Short of a miraculous Big Ten life raft, best way forward has to be Independent in football, and then WCC in everything else, right?

In football:
- Secure some kind of streaming rights deal with Apple or Amazon or other streamer for $10-15 mil (thinking we could get half of what ND gets?)
- Aggressively pursue high-major road games with big payouts, and continue to compete at the highest possible level with Power Conference opponents (Depending on school, could be $1-4 million per game)
- Allows Stanford to maintain rivalries with USC, UCLA, Oregon, etc.

Basically, the ND model with lower expected payouts, but crucially maintaining a Power Conference program and national brand that allows football to continue supporting the other programs.

In other sports:
- Strong potential rivals in key sports: Gonzaga (basketball M&W), St. Mary's (M basketball), Santa Clara (W soccer), Portland (W soccer), USD (baseball, women's volleyball)
- Keep student-athletes from being subjected to the lengthy travel that BIG teams will face
- Continue to aggressively schedule in the non-conference to ensure strong level of competition and national respect for programs

I think all of this maintains the integrity of the 'student-athlete' experience, allows for regional rivalries, and keeps Stanford well-positioned for the not-so-distant future when cable goes kaput/morphs into something else.

[midnight21]

Short of a miraculous Big Ten life raft, best way forward has to be Independent in football, and then WCC in everything else, right?

In football:
- Secure some kind of streaming rights deal with Apple or Amazon or other streamer for $10-15 mil (thinking we could get half of what ND gets?)
- Aggressively pursue high-major road games with big payouts, and continue to compete at the highest possible level with Power Conference opponents (Depending on school, could be $1-4 million per game)
- Allows Stanford to maintain rivalries with USC, UCLA, Oregon, etc.

Basically, the ND model with lower expected payouts, but crucially maintaining a Power Conference program and national brand that allows football to continue supporting the other programs.

In other sports:
- Strong potential rivals in key sports: Gonzaga (basketball M&W), St. Mary's (M basketball), Santa Clara (W soccer), Portland (W soccer), USD (baseball, women's volleyball)
- Keep student-athletes from being subjected to the lengthy travel that BIG teams will face
- Continue to aggressively schedule in the non-conference to ensure strong level of competition and national respect for programs

I think all of this maintains the integrity of the 'student-athlete' experience, allows for regional rivalries, and keeps Stanford well-positioned for the not-so-distant future when cable goes kaput/morphs into something else.