[Spiny_Norman]

I guarantee all of you that the Bay Area would absolutely care a lot if Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska were coming to play games at Cal and Stanford, and Cal and Stanford were going to play games at those places. Playing in a Big Deal college conference with the big boys changes everything.

Sorry, but even though Stanford can't beat WSU, playing the Coogs and Beavs doesn't move the needle. Stanford and Cal can thrive in the big leagues. They will both fade into relevance otherwise.

 So they either move on to the big leagues or disappear entirely.

I agree 100% that the P12 is dead. No way that Colorado, Utah, Arizona, ASU stick around. Some or all of them will be bolting for the B12.

Stanford and Cal can approach another league about joining. But ultimately, they have to be invited. How would it make business sense for the B10 to invite Stanford, Cal, Oregon or UW? The additional schools would dilute the share that the legacy schools receive from their massive broadcast rights contracts. And the additional schools would not make those contracts that much more valuable to offset the dilution.

The only option that makes sense from a conference business perspective would be the Big12. After OU and Texas leave, there will be 12 remaining schools. They have room to expand. And they probably would welcome the addition of major markets like Phoenix, Denver, Seattle and the Bay Area to help with their broadcast rights negotiations. Of course from an academic prestige and history perspective, it's not a fit at all. But money is driving these decisions. Soooooo much money.

Stanford does have one connection to the B12 - Bob Bowlsby, the outgoing conference commissioner.

[Spiny_Norman]

I guarantee all of you that the Bay Area would absolutely care a lot if Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska were coming to play games at Cal and Stanford, and Cal and Stanford were going to play games at those places. Playing in a Big Deal college conference with the big boys changes everything.

Sorry, but even though Stanford can't beat WSU, playing the Coogs and Beavs doesn't move the needle. Stanford and Cal can thrive in the big leagues. They will both fade into relevance otherwise.

 So they either move on to the big leagues or disappear entirely.

I agree 100% that the P12 is dead. No way that Colorado, Utah, Arizona, ASU stick around. Some or all of them will be bolting for the B12.

Stanford and Cal can approach another league about joining. But ultimately, they have to be invited. How would it make business sense for the B10 to invite Stanford, Cal, Oregon or UW? The additional schools would dilute the share that the legacy schools receive from their massive broadcast rights contracts. And the additional schools would not make those contracts that much more valuable to offset the dilution.

The only option that makes sense from a conference business perspective would be the Big12. After OU and Texas leave, there will be 12 remaining schools. They have room to expand. And they probably would welcome the addition of major markets like Phoenix, Denver, Seattle and the Bay Area to help with their broadcast rights negotiations. Of course from an academic prestige and history perspective, it's not a fit at all. But money is driving these decisions. Soooooo much money.

Stanford does have one connection to the B12 - Bob Bowlsby, the outgoing conference commissioner.