Have Utah, Colorado and Arizona moved from flyover country to hinge country?

[UTE98]

Let’s face it with USC and UCLA’s move they haven’t really screwed Utah and Colorado the newest members as bad as they have Cal, Stanford (maybe), Oregon State, Washington State, Oregon (maybe), Washington (maybe). All teams with a much longer history in the Pac than Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and ASU.

Think about this, even if we don’t make a move to the Big XII before the end of this next football season Utah is in the best position to make the CFP out of all the Pac 12 schools. If we can swing the CFP this year we will be one of only three Pac 12 teams to have made the CFP. (Oregon in 2015, Washington in 2017.) And that has to help us in the Big10, and other discussions. GO UTES!!!!!

I know this sounds really arrogant, but what UCLA and USC have done is make the left coast states much more isolated in the college football landscape. I can see Cal and Stanford moving much more to an ivy league type status than continuing as P5s. Football just isn’t that important to them in the big scheme of things.

Do I want Utah to be so focused on football the academics don’t matter? No, but neither do I want them to be so academic they remove the emphasis from sports. I want my Alma mater to be balanced.

So right now the hinge teams Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona St seem to have quite a bit more power than originally thought. If college football moves to a semi-pro type set up with teams split up into two leagues and divisions across the country I won’t care as much to watch.

From what I can see right now the Eastern four are in a great position to negotiate a shift left or right from a conference perspective.

 

[dystopiamembrane]

Agreed, excellent assessment.

[Sanders]

I agree with the articles that mention the semi pro league is coming and everything else is a short term bandaid until then. I read on a Syracuse Orangemen post that the ACC’s current buyout is $36M goes up to $60M before 2030 and their TV deal expires in 2036. If it gets more expensive for members to jump then it might implode sooner than later.

My opinion is the Utes in the BIG 12 would be fantastic short term as it will allow us to shine in a very good but not great league…we’ll get noticed big time.

Once the NCAA is kicked to the curb in football then ESPN, ABC, Fox, NBC  etc will control who plays at the table and probably a new league (football only) is formed as others predict. This is when AD’s won’t be in charge trying to determine if a member brings enough revenue to the table but rather TV networks will pick and choose a new set of members (40-50?) and leave out the garbage schools that even exist in the already major conferences.

It may not be just about the biggest TV markets that win out for the last 10-15 invites but how sexy the football market is in that area. All time zones for games will need to be filled the and I believe the Utes should be well positioned. It’s going to be so much fun to witness how it all shakes out. GO UTES!!

[RedLine]

I just hope that they do expand to another 10-15 bids.  The concern is that the decision makers want less members and more exclusivity / elistism.  Won’t matter how well Utah does if the powers that be see that name Utah and think, that’s not big-enough for us regardless of what the on-field results show.   

[PlainsUte]

What is going to be interesting if they break out into a semi-pro league if some of the underperformers in football are kicked out, like Vanderbilt, Northwestern, etc.   I really have to believe that the academic heavyweights at places like Michigan, Wisconsin, etc are not going to like that as much as it might help their school’s FB team with cash, will they let their Universities turn into badges that the semi-pro football programs can wear?  The alumni might be OK with it, just hard to see the college Regents, Presidents and high-ranking academics going along, especially if strong academics programs like Northwestern are kicked to the curb.   There might be some strong push-back at some point.

[Trailgoat]

Solid post. You make some very good points. The B10 and SEC are going all in and as more time passes with no further action, the P12/10, B12, and ACC to an extent have time to make a move. ND is the next critical move for the B10. Kilakloff (sp) has to be p**sed working all night with other conferences to counter the B10 move. A lot I suspect will happen in the next couple weeks. Guessing the B10 and SEC want to get things firmed up ASAP.

Kilakloff needs to do everything legally and financially possible to put the screws to USC and UCLA over the next two years at all costs. 

As the dust settles, exposure of the downsides to UCLA and USC moving to the B10 will come to light especially if the B10 stops there. Sure, it’s all about the media money and all looks pretty now. The media market for USC and UCLA is the only draw for the B10 and the SoCal schools are desparate for their old ways hopeful to buy their way to championship status appeasing deep pocket alumni so they feel more secure wearing their USC sweater vest at c**ktail parties. Highly doubt OSU, Michigan, and others are going to let USC come in make demands.

I suspect Kilakloff and others are pressing hard with the remaining P12 schools and other conferences to make a counter move fast. The B12 needs the P12 schools to keep their own stability. Could be Crimson colored glasses, I do think Utah is in a good spot overall especially from a geographical stand point and recent success and continued untapped potential. As you mention, the other West coast P12 schools are in a tough spot. I have to think Stanford and Cal are wild card in all of this shuffling. Weird and very sad times for the tradition of college football. All wild ass guesses. Go Utes!