Ivan Maisel details pitch for remaining Pac-12 teams to Big Ten

The Pac-12 is going back to 10 teams in 2024 when USC and UCLA officially depart for the Big Ten. But what if more teams decide to leave amid conference realignment?

On3’s Ivan Maisel talked about what each team would bring to another conference, and it all goes back to what made USC and UCLA attractive. Media markets.

Maisel detailed how many of the other Pac-12 programs do in their markets. Washington is in Seattle, Arizona State is in Phoenix and Stanford and Cal are in the Bay Area — all top-15 media markets. However, Maisel said attendance might not be there for Stanford and Cal, but their market could make them attractive choices if they decide to bold from the Pac-12.

“They’ve all got attributes that would be attractive to [the] Big Ten,” Maisel told Inside Texas’ Bobby Burton during an episode of On Texas Football. “Stanford brings you prestige and athletic prowess in a lot of sports. It also brings you, at least technically, a big media market in the Bay Area. You can argue whether sports fans in the Bay Area care about Cal or Stanford if you looked at Cal or Stanford’s attendance. Still, they are the presence there.

“It’s the same with Arizona State. They do pretty well in The Valley, which is a pro market. UW does very well in the Seattle market, probably the best college in a pro market in terms of interest and attendance, and that should be appealing.”

Ivan Maisel on what Oregon would bring to another conference

Oregon, however, isn’t in a major market like the others. But the Ducks have the backing of alumnus and Nike founder Phil Knight, who’s proven he’s willing to help wherever needed — and spend however much is needed.

“You know Oregon will spend whatever Oregon needs to spend to do whatever Oregon needs to do. Mr. Knight has made that abundantly clear for 30 years,” Maisel said. “So they have attributes. Are they attractive to make the Big Ten look beyond 16 or are they attractive to make the SEC look beyond 16? We’ve all sort of focused on getting to 16 because that was the next big number. There are other even numbers beyond 16, I’m told. I didn’t do well in math.”