Four possible options for Stanford's future in college athletics

Stanford finds themselves in a situation that can make or break their athletic department

Over the past year the Pac-12 lost USC, UCLA, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and is expected to lose three other schools.

That leaves four programs in Oregon State, Washington State, Cal, and Stanford standing there alone like that one Will Smith meme. Their futures are all in question, and the discussions about where each of them will turn to have now all been raised. The school has yet to release a statement or comment on the situation. 

The way I see it, at this moment are that there is four possible options for Stanford moving forward on what they can do. Let's take a look at what the four options are. 

 

Merge with Mountain West

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After once planning on picking off a couple of the Mountain West teams, the Pac-12 programs find themselves possibly needing a life raft. This would create an intriguing conference, and Action Network's Brett McMurphy reported earlier that it's something the Mountain West could be interested in. They have a linear television deal with FOX and CBS Sports Network, while also having games on CBS through the 2025 season. Unfortunately for the Pac-12 schools, each Mountain West school gets $4 million a year compared to the around $30 million a year they got in the Pac-12. Adding the Bay Area market would boost that number, but whether or not Stanford would consider it is another question. 

Possible ACC invite

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Much of the questions surrounding Stanford is whether or not they are willing to compromise their academic standards just to be in a conference. However, the ACC has some extremely reputable academia, and part of the madness stemming from all of the reports early on Friday was the possibility of an ACC and Pac-12 merger. Now to be fair, at that time Oregon and Washington were still in the Pac-12, so whether or not that invitation would still be extended. 

Become an Independent

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This seems to be the most likely of the three, and something that most around the college football world are expecting. Of the remaining schools the Cardinal have the biggest and best brand, but unlike their rival Notre Dame their brand likely won't warrant as much revenue. For reference, Notre Dame brings in $22 million per year from their deal with NBC while adding an additional $11 million from their other sports in the ACC. Stanford would not only need to somehow manufacture a media deal to be a stand alone entity, but they'd also need to find a conference for their non-football sports. 

Join the Big Ten

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Outside of independence this stands out as the best viable option for Stanford. It is by no means their choice, and there is not even a guarantee that the Big Ten wants 20 programs. However, if they do decide to go to 20 both Stanford and Cal are viewed as options for the last two spots. The only other teams that are expected to be considered would be Notre Dame, who has made it clear they are fine being independent, and ACC powers Florida State, Miami, North Carolina and Clemson who are in the midst of figuring out their own media rights mess. Again, this is really Stanford's choice it is solely dependent on whether or not the Big Ten wants 20 teams and wants more programs out West.