Consequences Of Pac-12 Realignment Will Be Felt For Years To Come, And ACC May Finish It Off

Just one week ago the college football world was waiting to see what the future would look like for the once prominent Pac-12 conference. A week later the conference has four members for the 2024 season, with that likely to change again in the near future, thanks to the ACC.

How did it go so bad, so quick? There certainly wasn't a master plan to keep the conference afloat in the end, even though some held out hope the Pac-12 could be saved. But in the end, Washington and Oregon finally got the call from the Big Ten and a chain of events were set in motion.

The whole situation was frantic. Coaches at schools that were leaving constantly receiving text messages or updates on negotiations, while staffers were trying to have a normal day of fall camp, knowing the players were just as interested in the outcome as them.

Now that Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, Washington and Oregon know what will happen once the 2023 season ends, the real work begins. On the field, coaches are preparing their teams for the upcoming season; off the field, athletic staff members are already putting things in place for the conference transition.

"It's a madhouse around here," one current Pac-12 administrator noted. "Normally we're just preparing for the upcoming season, but now we've got to look at how we recruit for the future. We're not playing just on the West Coast any longer, so we're fighting with new teams on the recruiting trail. All the while, the athletic department is now working overtime to have every sport ready for the move next year, it's overwhelming."

What Is The Future Of The Pac-12, ACC?

The story now centers around what happens to the remaining schools in the now depleted Pac-12. Not only is the ACC looking into Cal and Stanford, but also Oregon State and Washington State are looking for a lifeline. While some folks will think this decision is easy for some AD's, they weren't trying to wreck their colleagues athletic department.

How does a school like Oregon State financially benefit in the future? This will be one of the tougher equations to solve moving forward. Taking a pay cut right now is hard enough, with athletic department budgets assuredly going to take a hit.

"There's no positive way to spin it, it's tough. Those schools are thinking five years in advance on how to pay their coaches and support staff in all sports. Now imagine them now knowing how much they can spend or taking a pretty hefty financial hit. We're not just talking about football. This will trickle down to every sport on-campus. Some schools know how to pench pennies, but most of those schools aren't in a Power-5 conference, or were in one," a Power-5 AD mentioned to OutKick this week.

This is one of the reasons why Cal and Stanford are entertaining the idea of joining the ACC, if they'll have them. Both schools would rather stay in their region to compete on a weekly basis, but they also understand the financial dilemma. Sure, they would enter the conference at a reduced share compared to other member schools, but it's better than what the Mountain West or AAC could offer.

In the case of Washington and Oregon, additional television revenue helped them make the move, thanks to FOX. How much is ESPN willing to pay the ACC for Stanford, Cal and a team like SMU? Sure, the ACC would love to have the academic prestige of all three schools, while getting into the Dallas and Bay Area television markets.

Make no mistake about it, television money is running this realignment, with the Apple TV-Pac-12 deal being the key piece of evidence. For now, ACC presidents will continue to meet this week and discuss the potential additions to the conference, hoping ESPN will bring more cash to the table if they decide to expand.

Television Money Runs The College Football World

Are we done with expansion? Most likely, once the ACC decides on a route that could add additional revenue. The SEC is in a spot where they don't feel the need to add additional teams, according to commissioner Greg Sankey. In the Mountain West conference, there's a chance Washington State and Oregon State could find a home, with the Pac-12 imploding.

In speaking with local media on Wednesday, Washington State AD Pat Chun made it a point to say how bad leadership has been in the Pac-12 over the years, which certainly includes the mismanaged television deal.

"There's a century of history that has gone by the wayside because this conference has mismanaged itself on a bunch of different levels. And when you have poor leadership, one of the outcomes is failure. That's what has happened to the Pac-12."

But every conference is trying to grab as much money as possible from television networks. FOX decided to add some cash to the pot so they could add Oregon and Washington. ESPN is sitting in a nice spot with the new SEC contract set to begin next summer, while CBS and NBC are tied up in the Big Ten. In the case of the Big-12, commissioner Brett Yormark has them sitting in a great spot, with each school set to receive almost $32 million per year, even with four new teams.

Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark talks before the opening game of the Big 12 Tournament basketball game on March 8, 2023 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

But the ACC is one to keep an eye on, considering the frustration coming from multiple schools in regards to revenue sharing.

"Florida State put on a show last week for the public. They knew exactly what they were doing. But the question is can they leverage this into more money down the road? Everyone knows they'd love a way out and to make the same amount as Florida does in the SEC, but threatening to leave will only work if they have a way out of the Grant of Rights. If they did, you'd be seeing more leaks about them potentially moving conferences, which they already tried. Right now the ACC is trying to come up with a plan to appease a few members," one television network official noted.

So now we wait. We wait to see if the ACC makes the final move and formally invites two or three additional teams. All of this is happening while the college football world is still trying to digest what has happened over the last month.

One thing is abundantly clear regarding the latest realignment. Nobody will forget the summer of 2023 and how it shifted the core of college football.