Move to Big Ten believed to not make sense for Cal, Oregon, Stanford, Washington
There are varying opinions about just pretty much everything in college football, but nothing has been more divisive than realignment talks.
While many people believe that the Pac-12 is done for after the departure of USC and UCLA to the Big Ten due to the fact that more schools are expected to follow, former Fox executive Bob Thompson thinks otherwise. There have been reports that the Big Ten is eyeing Cal, Stanford, Washington, and Oregon as their next additions to the conference with the latter two even reaching out to determine their fit with the Big Ten.
Adding these schools is believed to allow the Big Ten to bring in more money, and will also help with the absurd traveling arrangements that the two Los Angeles schools will be faced with, considering the current closest Big Ten member is Nebraska. However, Thompson firmly believes that it is in the best interest of the previously mentioned four Pac-12 schools to stay put, especially with the expansion of the playoff to 12 happening as he told Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury-News:
“The expansion of the (playoff) and the fact there are likely going to be automatic bids for a number of conference champions is great for the Pac-12,” Thompson said on 'Canzano and Wilner: The Podcast'"
Thompson also isn't confident that the four schools will get as much revenue as they might think, as he believes only Notre Dame would earn a full share if it became a Big Ten member in football saying:
“The only one that pencils out … is Notre Dame,” Thompson said. “And I don’t think that if Oregon and Washington — and even throw in Stanford and Cal, if they went out there — that they’re going to get a full share.”
He continued saying:
“They’d have to come out at a discount,” said Thompson, who negotiated media deals with the Pac-12 during his tenure at Fox Sports. “And it would be a significant discount, probably not a whole lot more than you’re going to get staying in the Pac-12.”
Thompson vehemently believes that staying put is just the all around better move for the Pac-12 schools both financially, and because of the expanding playoff. If the Pac-12 can stay in tact, they will have a chance to build themselves back up just in time for when the playoff will feature automatic bids.
All we know is that while the Pac-12 continues to "work" behind the scenes, the rumors from every direction will continue to surface until something concrete happens.
