22 schools in the 2 conferences. The idea floated this week was for everyone to play all 3 of its non-conference games against the other conference. That's not happening. But Wilner's newsletter today lays out how an alliance could work. Very intriguing, imho.
(btw, if you don't get the "Pac-12 Hotline" email blast from Wilner you are missing out: https://apps.mercurynews.com/newsletters/pac-12/ )
Imagining a Pac-12/Big 12 alliance
How might a scheduling partnership between the Pac-12 and the Big 12 play out?
We know a proposed model, in which each team would play three non-conference games against opponents from the other league, isn’t practical. But the Hotline has considered more realistic options, because an alliance makes sense for both conferences: Quality content would help engage fans, sell tickets and please TV partners.
The basics of my plan:
• The math is a bit tricky, because one conference has 12 teams and the other has 10. Roughly speaking, each Pac-12 team could play a Big 12 team twice in a three-year span -- not the same team, mind you -- while each Big 12 team would play a Pac-12 team four times in five years.
• The matchups would change every year, but teams would be guaranteed a home game in seasons their conference rivalry game is on the road.
When Bedlam is in Norman, for example, Oklahoma State would play its Pac-12 opponent at home.
When the Civil War is in Eugene, Oregon would play its Big 12 opponent on the road.
• For optimum flexibility with matchups — and to allow teams to fill out in the rest of their non-conference dates years in advance — an partnership would require dates to be blocked out ahead:
Four teams in each conference would be told to block out Week Two in the 2024 season, for example, and four would block out Week Three in 2024.
• Each spring, after rosters and expectations are established, the matchups would be set from the groups of four teams that have the same week blocked off.
Exceptions would be made:
Stanford and USC would be guaranteed a home game against their Big 12 opponent in the years they play Notre Dame on the road.
Teams involved in neutral-site matchups on Labor Day weekend — those are booked years in advance — would be guaranteed home games against their Big 12/Pac-12 opponent in Week Three, so as to allow for a cupcake in Week Two.
• The partnership would feature quadruple-headers each season in Week Two and Week Three, with the Big 12 hosting the first and third games and the Pac-12 hosting the second and fourth.
Sample schedule (all times Pacific)
Week Two
9 a.m.: Arizona State at West Virginia
12:30 p.m.: Kansas State at Utah
4 p.m.: UCLA at Texas Tech
7:30 p.m.: Oklahoma at Oregon
Week Three
9 a.m.: Washington State at Oklahoma State
12:30 p.m.: Iowa State at Washington
4 p.m.: Stanford at Texas
7:30 p.m.: TCU at USC
The key is buy-in from the coaches; they would have to give up control, which runs counter to their every fiber.
For both conferences, a partnership would create more challenges for individual programs — depending on the year and the matchup, of course — but benefit the collective. — Jon Wilner.
(btw, if you don't get the "Pac-12 Hotline" email blast from Wilner you are missing out: https://apps.mercurynews.com/newsletters/pac-12/ )
Imagining a Pac-12/Big 12 alliance
How might a scheduling partnership between the Pac-12 and the Big 12 play out?
We know a proposed model, in which each team would play three non-conference games against opponents from the other league, isn’t practical. But the Hotline has considered more realistic options, because an alliance makes sense for both conferences: Quality content would help engage fans, sell tickets and please TV partners.
The basics of my plan:
• The math is a bit tricky, because one conference has 12 teams and the other has 10. Roughly speaking, each Pac-12 team could play a Big 12 team twice in a three-year span -- not the same team, mind you -- while each Big 12 team would play a Pac-12 team four times in five years.
• The matchups would change every year, but teams would be guaranteed a home game in seasons their conference rivalry game is on the road.
When Bedlam is in Norman, for example, Oklahoma State would play its Pac-12 opponent at home.
When the Civil War is in Eugene, Oregon would play its Big 12 opponent on the road.
• For optimum flexibility with matchups — and to allow teams to fill out in the rest of their non-conference dates years in advance — an partnership would require dates to be blocked out ahead:
Four teams in each conference would be told to block out Week Two in the 2024 season, for example, and four would block out Week Three in 2024.
• Each spring, after rosters and expectations are established, the matchups would be set from the groups of four teams that have the same week blocked off.
Exceptions would be made:
Stanford and USC would be guaranteed a home game against their Big 12 opponent in the years they play Notre Dame on the road.
Teams involved in neutral-site matchups on Labor Day weekend — those are booked years in advance — would be guaranteed home games against their Big 12/Pac-12 opponent in Week Three, so as to allow for a cupcake in Week Two.
• The partnership would feature quadruple-headers each season in Week Two and Week Three, with the Big 12 hosting the first and third games and the Pac-12 hosting the second and fourth.
Sample schedule (all times Pacific)
Week Two
9 a.m.: Arizona State at West Virginia
12:30 p.m.: Kansas State at Utah
4 p.m.: UCLA at Texas Tech
7:30 p.m.: Oklahoma at Oregon
Week Three
9 a.m.: Washington State at Oklahoma State
12:30 p.m.: Iowa State at Washington
4 p.m.: Stanford at Texas
7:30 p.m.: TCU at USC
The key is buy-in from the coaches; they would have to give up control, which runs counter to their every fiber.
For both conferences, a partnership would create more challenges for individual programs — depending on the year and the matchup, of course — but benefit the collective. — Jon Wilner.
