Members of the Stanford Axe Committee (at right) hold the Stanford Axe during the traditional stare down with the University of California Rally Committee while waiting for the end of the 122nd Big Game between the Stanford Cardinal and the California Golden Bears played on November 23, 2019.
David Madison/Getty Images
Cal and Stanford have been backed into a corner because of the Pac-12’s implosion, but they’re reportedly holding out hope for their escape to a new conference.
Unfortunately for both programs, their choice is essentially between inferior competition and implausible travel; for now, the Bay Area duo are praying for the latter option. “The Cardinal and Bears are desperately seeking invitations to either the ACC or the Big Ten,” longtime college sports reporter Jon Wilner wrote Tuesday.
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It’s a case of the obvious becoming official. If the two athletic programs want anything approaching the TV money that comes with a major conference — even at a reduced share — the ACC and Big Ten appear to be the only games in town. (As for the other two remaining major conferences: the Big 12 reportedly doesn’t want Cal or Stanford, and the SEC obviously has no use for them.)
The ACC will have, per ESPN, “exploratory discussions on the potential additions” of Cal and Stanford this week, but that’s hardly an invitation. Yahoo reported Tuesday that officials are discussing the possibility of adding the two Bay Area programs alongside SMU, or just the two California schools sans SMU. In the Big Ten, conference presidents “like the association” that could come with adding Cal and Stanford, but broadcasters “have balked at moving to 20 teams and bringing in Cal and Stanford,” according to Yahoo Sports.
If the ACC and Big Ten decide they don’t want to dilute their profits any further, the options for Cal and Stanford start looking grim. There’s the “Pac-16,” basically merging with the Mountain West, or worse: joining the AAC.
Cal and Stanford play in a huge market and have a proud history, but that only goes so far. Their value to TV is worth way more if they’re playing Penn State, Clemson or Ohio State, instead of Wyoming, the University of Alabama at Birmingham or Springfield Heights Institute of Technology. Independence doesn’t seem much more promising.
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Oregon, Washington, USC, UCLA, Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State depart after the 2023-24 school year. Things will only get more desperate as the Pac-12’s death day comes closer.