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The Incredible Shrinking Pac 12

Possibly but if the ACC loses Clemson and Florida State to the SEC, it could potentially become the The Power 3.

Looks like Stanford and Cal are trying to go to the ACC. If I were the ACC, I would not add Stanford and Cal to the fold.

Not only are they snobby, but they don’t care about football and men’s basketball. They waste a ton of money on supporting excessive Olympic Sports. That media rights money should have been used to bolster their football and basketball programs.
 
Possibly but if the ACC loses Clemson and Florida State to the SEC, it could potentially become the The Power 3.

Looks like Stanford and Cal are trying to go to the ACC. If I were the ACC, I would not add Stanford and Cal to the fold.

Not only are they snobby, but they don’t care about football and men’s basketball. They waste a ton of money on supporting excessive Olympic Sports. That media rights money should have been used to bolster their football and basketball programs.
May we remind you that Title 9 does have some say in these fiscal matters.
 
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May we remind you that Title 9 does have some say in these fiscal matters.
Sure but offering 36 sports is a bit much when your football/basketball teams are bottom feeders. Besides we have learned that the Olympic sports are an alternative admissions path for desperate and medicore applicants/athletes.
 
Sure but offering 36 sports is a bit much when your football/basketball teams are bottom feeders. Besides we have learned that the Olympic sports are an alternative admissions path for desperate and medicore applicants/athletes.
Stanford offers 31 sports and Cal 28, by far the most in the (former) Pac 12 and more than most schools in the nation. Once these sports are entrenched they are very hard to eliminate as there are rules from Article IX regarding the ratio of male to female athletes that make it very hard to eliminate a sport. These schools should be applauded for providing so many opportunities for athletes to get an education at two top universities in the nation and the world. Cal has 900 student athletes currently (although many are not on scholarship or on partial) and Cal needs the money from football to subsidize them (a few sports might be endowed fully or partially). Stanford of course has a huge endowment that you would think could be tapped except that they have a self-imposed limit on what can be spent on non-academic items. As for an alternative for mediocre students in Olympic sports this is not USC, the students must be qualified. It happens that the so-called Olympic sports are ones, like swimming, tennis, gymnastics, are populated by students from families that can afford the enormous expense of traveling teams, sports camps, etc. The students that would get into Stanford and Cal, in other words. Yes, their football teams are down now but it was not that long ago that Stanford was winning Pac 12 titles, although for Cal it has been longer, back to the Jeff Tedford days. Cal's basketball has been beyond terrible, but they have a new coach and an influx of transfers that will turn them around. It is crucial that both teams (and I speak as a Cal grad who has been following Cal sports for close to 60 years) get into a Power 5 conference. It's the money, and unfortunately that's all that matters today, not tradition.
 
Stanford offers 31 sports and Cal 28, by far the most in the (former) Pac 12 and more than most schools in the nation. Once these sports are entrenched they are very hard to eliminate as there are rules from Article IX regarding the ratio of male to female athletes that make it very hard to eliminate a sport. These schools should be applauded for providing so many opportunities for athletes to get an education at two top universities in the nation and the world. Cal has 900 student athletes currently (although many are not on scholarship or on partial) and Cal needs the money from football to subsidize them (a few sports might be endowed fully or partially). Stanford of course has a huge endowment that you would think could be tapped except that they have a self-imposed limit on what can be spent on non-academic items. As for an alternative for mediocre students in Olympic sports this is not USC, the students must be qualified. It happens that the so-called Olympic sports are ones, like swimming, tennis, gymnastics, are populated by students from families that can afford the enormous expense of traveling teams, sports camps, etc. The students that would get into Stanford and Cal, in other words. Yes, their football teams are down now but it was not that long ago that Stanford was winning Pac 12 titles, although for Cal it has been longer, back to the Jeff Tedford days. Cal's basketball has been beyond terrible, but they have a new coach and an influx of transfers that will turn them around. It is crucial that both teams (and I speak as a Cal grad who has been following Cal sports for close to 60 years) get into a Power 5 conference. It's the money, and unfortunately that's all that matters today, not tradition.
In 2023, the key is winning in revenue generating sports. Stanford and Cal have been applauded for their Olympic Sports successes in the past but that feat has become obsolete in the era of the big tv network.

Stanford and Cal have willingly taken the tv deal money over the years and they have misdirected the funds for the purpose of sustaining Olympic Sports.

Let the United States Olympic team develop centralized training programs, like other nations. It’s not Stanford and Cal’s job to do so.

Cal and Stanford have been horrible in the money generating sports. They complain about the state of collegiate sports but still take the hefty check that’s attached to Power 5 affiliation.

The schools are not experts on the business of sports. College Football and Basketball are big business and one would think that they would both summons the expertise of local NFL/NBA franchises and savvy sports professionals to capitalize and maximize their potential.

Btw, athletic participation is the back door method for countless Olympic sports participants. Even at schools such as Stanford and Cal. Nearly 15 percent of Stanfords undergraduates participate in athletics.
 
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In 2023, the key is winning in revenue generating sports. Stanford and Cal have been applauded for their Olympic Sports successes in the past but that feat has become obsolete in the era of the big tv network.

Stanford and Cal have willingly taken the tv deal money over the years and they have misdirected the funds for the purpose of sustaining Olympic Sports.

Let the United States Olympic team develop centralized training programs, like other nations. It’s not Stanford and Cal’s job to do so.

Cal and Stanford have been horrible in the money generating sports. They complain about the state of collegiate sports but still take the hefty check that’s attached to Power 5 affiliation.

The schools are not experts on the business of sports. College Football and Basketball are big business and one would think that they would both summons the expertise of local NFL/NBA franchises and savvy sports professionals to capitalize and maximize their potential.

Btw, athletic participation is the back door method for countless Olympic sports participants. Even at schools such as Stanford and Cal. Nearly 15 percent of Stanfords undergraduates participate in athletics.
I generally agree with this assessment, but I also don't like the trend of colleges have to be cookie cutter operations. It seems like unless you invest heavily in football then followed by men's basketball and the rest picks up the scraps, you are going to be left in the dust. That isn't right IMO
 
From 2010-2016 Stanford football went 76-18. They were really excellent not that long ago. As far using as endowment, there are many legal requirements around that. If you “raid the corpus,” it can cause default on loans you may have for various branches of the university. The intent of an endowment is to use the interest/returns, generally at a rate of 3.5 or 4%.
 
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I generally agree with this assessment, but I also don't like the trend of colleges have to be cookie cutter operations. It seems like unless you invest heavily in football then followed by men's basketball and the rest picks up the scraps, you are going to be left in the dust. That isn't right IMO
I get it… The Conferences have found a loophole to make money for the universities. It’s through the marketability and economy of football and basketball.

Had Stanford and Cal truly invested in their football programs, they would be in a much better place.

USC, Oregon and Washington have all made incredible investments to their football programs by prioritizing facilities, coaches, student athletes, and fans…

We also must highlight the fact that Oregon and Washington have successfully recruited the California region…They would not be successful with the talent in their own region. So they have built attractive facilities and experiences that have allowed them to recruit well in California. Their dedication to football has allowed them to surpass Cal and Stanford on the totem pole. Oregon and Washington our recruit Cal in its own backyard!

A successful program could do well not only in the Bay Area market but also the neighboring Sacramento market (which is a top 20 media market in itself).

Most California athletes would much rather be in the Bay area than Seattle and Eugene…. The on-campus facilities should look like a resort and the football and basketball facilities should be mini-versions of what we see in the pro’s!
 
In some respects, Stanford is a quasi-Ivy League entity trying to maintain a big-time West Coast athletic program for both men and women while maintaining an elite, ultra-high achieving student body. The Cardinal seeks to have it both ways as a private school. In many ways, it doesn't really fit in today's NCAA environment. Cal, a public school, is a different enchilada. Cal and its budget have to answer to the state's taxpayers. Stanford does not. Stanford can operate as it sees fit. In the end, no matter how all of this turmoil plays out as we sit here speculating, sports cuts are coming at Cal for sure and, perhaps, at Stanford as well.
 
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For what it's worth, the most recent published endowment figures for Stanford and Cal are: $36 billion for the former, $2.7 billion for the latter. Annual distributions of dividends, interest, etc. are severely restricted when it comes to athletics. By the way, we have T-shirts available that proclaim, "Never Touch Principal." A wise adage indeed.
 
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With the amount of travel that they will endure being representatives of the Big10 conference, maybe they will play them in the preseason. At least periodically.
I'm pretty curious how the scheduling shakes out. Makes a lot of sense for Big 10/Big 12 schools to play these more local games, but I can also see the remaining four schools not looking to do the other 8 schools any favors.
 
I'm pretty curious how the scheduling shakes out. Makes a lot of sense for Big 10/Big 12 schools to play these more local games, but I can also see the remaining four schools not looking to do the other 8 schools any favors.
Indeed! Those local games help though. It gives the families/friends and fans a chance to see their kids/teams play in their own backyard.

With the move to the Big10, there will be 5 east coast games that most family members can’t get to.

Cal and Stanford will be good preseason filler games.
 
SoCal travel to the Bay is either a quick flight or a beautiful road trip!

For USC players from NorCal, it’s right in the backyard of their families and friends.
 
Do you think Stanford stadium will be full moving forward?
There may some initial intrigue to see Florida State, Miami or Clemson the first time they come to The Farm - but why would anyone think Stanford would draw more fans in the long run for matchups with schools like Pitt, Wake Forest or Virginia than say Utah, UCLA or Oregon?
 
There may some initial intrigue to see Florida State, Miami or Clemson the first time they come to The Farm - but why would anyone think Stanford would draw more fans in the long run for matchups with schools like Pitt, Wake Forest or Virginia than say Utah, UCLA or Oregon?
they wont, but they had no choice. mountain west wasnt happening
 
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