[ColoradoTree]

Any idea why in alternate years we play either 6 home/4 away Pac12 matches or 4 home/6 away Pac12 matches? The problem is the location of our match against Cal, who has a similar unbalanced schedule. Seems like the Pac-12 could take advantage of a year in which we and Cal are clearly mismatched in strength to fix this by having one team host 2 years in a row.

We used to generally play Cal twice a season, with only one match counting in the conference standings, so perhaps Lele didn't worry about it so much since we were playing at both places anyway. We've gone away from that, and the first year we did that (2017), it was Cal's turn to host the match that counted, so we ended up in this uneven conference schedule where we host the Washington and Arizona schools in odd years while playing at Oregon, Utah, Colorado, and the other California schools, with it being flipped in even years.  

Cal still plays UCLA and USC twice a season, though, so while their schedule looks unbalanced, it isn't this year. In the 10 matches that count in the conference standings, they get the Arizona and Washington schools and us at home this year, with Oregon, Utah, Colorado, and the L.A. schools on the road. Last year, it was flipped, also at 5 home and 5 away.  USC is also balanced this year, since it gets UCLA at home, which means UCLA is in our same boat at 4 home matches and 6 away matches. Similarly, UW is balanced this year (hosting Oregon and playing at Wazzu), while Wazzu is unbalanced, with 6 home matches and 4 away matches, since it hosts both Oregon and UW. Arizona has a 5-5 split, while ASU has a 6-4 split (hosting both Arizona and Oregon this year). 

Since everyone other than Oregon has a travel partner, we have five "pods" of 2 neighboring teams and then Oregon to try and slot in somehow, meaning you'll play the other 4 pods, Oregon, and your travel partner. You could get everyone to a 5-5 home-away split, but it would mean Oregon would play one match at home and one away with every pod, upsetting normal travel schedules and putting Oregon at a competitive disadvantage. (Oregon is unbalanced every year, too, and this year it's at 4 home matches and 6 away matches.)  

So, the way I think it works is that within each travel pod, one team has a 5-5 home-away split, and the other team rotates between a 6-4 and 4-6 home-away split. If we were to change our away Cal date to a home date, it would just switch roles, as we'd then be the 5-5 team (hosting Cal the year we play in Eugene), and Cal would turn into the 6-4/4-6 rotating team. Not sure there's a way to get everyone to 5-5 without upending travel schedules, though.

[ColoradoTree]

Any idea why in alternate years we play either 6 home/4 away Pac12 matches or 4 home/6 away Pac12 matches? The problem is the location of our match against Cal, who has a similar unbalanced schedule. Seems like the Pac-12 could take advantage of a year in which we and Cal are clearly mismatched in strength to fix this by having one team host 2 years in a row.

We used to generally play Cal twice a season, with only one match counting in the conference standings, so perhaps Lele didn't worry about it so much since we were playing at both places anyway. We've gone away from that, and the first year we did that (2017), it was Cal's turn to host the match that counted, so we ended up in this uneven conference schedule where we host the Washington and Arizona schools in odd years while playing at Oregon, Utah, Colorado, and the other California schools, with it being flipped in even years.  

Cal still plays UCLA and USC twice a season, though, so while their schedule looks unbalanced, it isn't this year. In the 10 matches that count in the conference standings, they get the Arizona and Washington schools and us at home this year, with Oregon, Utah, Colorado, and the L.A. schools on the road. Last year, it was flipped, also at 5 home and 5 away.  USC is also balanced this year, since it gets UCLA at home, which means UCLA is in our same boat at 4 home matches and 6 away matches. Similarly, UW is balanced this year (hosting Oregon and playing at Wazzu), while Wazzu is unbalanced, with 6 home matches and 4 away matches, since it hosts both Oregon and UW. Arizona has a 5-5 split, while ASU has a 6-4 split (hosting both Arizona and Oregon this year). 

Since everyone other than Oregon has a travel partner, we have five "pods" of 2 neighboring teams and then Oregon to try and slot in somehow, meaning you'll play the other 4 pods, Oregon, and your travel partner. You could get everyone to a 5-5 home-away split, but it would mean Oregon would play one match at home and one away with every pod, upsetting normal travel schedules and putting Oregon at a competitive disadvantage. (Oregon is unbalanced every year, too, and this year it's at 4 home matches and 6 away matches.)  

So, the way I think it works is that within each travel pod, one team has a 5-5 home-away split, and the other team rotates between a 6-4 and 4-6 home-away split. If we were to change our away Cal date to a home date, it would just switch roles, as we'd then be the 5-5 team (hosting Cal the year we play in Eugene), and Cal would turn into the 6-4/4-6 rotating team. Not sure there's a way to get everyone to 5-5 without upending travel schedules, though.