Ivan Maisel reveals four options for Stanford, other Pac-12 schools
On3’s Ivan Maisel joined the On Texas Football podcast following the blockbuster news that USC and UCLA are set to depart the Pac-12 for the Big Ten. The Stanford alum shared what he believes the Cardinal’s options are now as the conference begins to splinter.
“They’re flabbergasted the way everybody is,” Maisel said. “I haven’t talked to anyone that’s making any decisions … but they’ve basically got four options. One is: Stick with the status quo or what’s left of the status quo. Two is: Stanford is still trying to figure out how it’s going to handle Alston and actually paying athletes money that’s not available to other graduates. They’re wondering if they can be comfortable with that idea … They’re wondering aloud, is it going to be time to try to gather other like-minded schools and go in a different direction.”
Maisel described a scenario in which programs like Stanford, Notre Dame and Vanderbilt break off to form their own league with elite academics in mind.
“If they could get the academically-oriented FBS schools … Stanford would listen to that I think,” Maisel said. “The other thing is, how comfortable would the Pac-12 be taking schools that they’ve turned their nose up at for the last umpteen years. I’m skeptical of that.
“The last option to me is the Pac-12, with Stanford, goes to the Big 12 and says, ‘Let’s figure something out,’ and have some kind of symbiotic relationship.”
Is ACC, Pac-12 partnership a serious possibility?
A report surfaced this week about a potential broadcasting partnership between the ACC and Pac-12, but one ESPN insider said that might not be a serious possibility.
Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger first reported the idea, which would see Pac-12 games shown on the ACC Network or another ESPN network on the west coast. But ESPN’s Pete Thamel threw some cold water on it on Friday, saying the value might not be there.
“The real play here is geography and quantity, as ESPN already owns all of the ACC rights through 2036 and would benefit from a presence on the West Coast, in particular for Saturday night football inventory,” Thamel wrote. “But no one should hail this potential partnership as some sort of financial haymaker, especially for the high-end ACC schools worried about falling way behind the SEC and Big Ten. It’s novel, but unlikely to be a game-changer.”
This week, the Pac-12 voted to immediately start negotiating its next media rights deal. The league’s current agreement ends in 2024 — the same year USC and UCLA will join the Big Ten.
On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this report.