What Are Cal's Options with the Pac-12 Apparently Doomed?

Cal officials issue a statement. Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News lays out what Cal, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State might do now

What will Cal, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State do now? There are options, but none are pretty.

With the departure of USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington to the Big Ten and the now confirmed departures of Arizona State and Utah to the Big 12 along with Colorado and Arizona, the 2023-24 school year will be the final year in which the Pac-12 exists in its current state.

As of Friday evening, the Pac-12 now has just four schools.

Cal issued a statement Friday afternoon that notes Cal is looking at options but does not specify a preferred destination:

A statement from Chancellor Carol Christ and Athletic Director Jim Knowlton.#GoBears pic.twitter.com/49QiHuZRV6

— Cal Athletics (@CalAthletics) August 4, 2023

Cal and Stanford were hoping to get an invitation to the Big Ten, but that's not happening, at least not yet, so Bay Area rivals Cal and Stanford now must scramble to find a conference landing spot by this time next year.  Stanford and Cal will both try to convince the Big Ten to add them as well, but if that fails, who knows.

The Pac-12 offered this statement after separate sets of departure by Oregon and Washington to the Big Ten and Arizona, Utah and Arizona State to the Big 12 that leave the Pac-12 with just four schools:

Pac-12 Conference

The Big 12 then confirmed its moves, adding ASU and Utah to create a 16-team conference starting in the fall of 2024:

Twitter

You have to wonder whether some of the Golden Bears' top athletes in all sports will consider transferring with the prospect of playing in the Pac-12 virtually erased. The same goes for some of Cal's top coaches. And Cal's athletic boosters. Presumably they will wait to see what shakes out.

You also have to wonder how much Cal's 2024 football schedule and 2023-24 basketball schedule will be affected.

The fact that Cal chancellor Carol Christ is scheduled to retire in June 2024 doesn't help any possible transition.

Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News has a pretty good grip of the Pac-12 -- or what's left of it -- and presents these options for Cal, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State:

— Washington State and Oregon State join the Mountain West while Stanford and Cal compete as Independents.

— WSU, OSU and Cal join the Mountain West while Stanford alone goes the Independent route.

— The quartet sticks together and attempts to reform the Pac-12 through expansion, using a handful of Mountain West schools and perhaps SMU (from the American Conference) as the building blocks.

One of many challenges with this strategy is the timing: It’s unlikely the Pac-12 could add schools in time for the 2024 season because of logistical issues and exit fees in other conferences.

— The schools move en masse into the Mountain West, creating a 16-team mega-conference under the leadership of current commissioner Gloria Nevarez.

At that point, the next step would be the media rights piece. The MW’s current deal with Fox and CBS runs through 2026 and spins off an average of $4 million annually to each school.

The options for Cal, in essence, are: 1. Convince the Big Ten to add the Golden Bears and Stanford to form a six-team West division; 2. Compete as an Independent; 3. Join the Mountain West; 4. Stick together with Stanford, Oregon State an Washington State and hope to reform the Pac-12 (Pac-4?) into something credible.

One concluding excerpt is significant:

The remaining Pac-12 schools will receive a pittance of cash compared to what they stood to earn had the conference survived.

Cover photo of Cal athletic director Jim Knowlton and Justin Wilcox is by Kelley L. Cox, USA TODAY Sports

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