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The PAC/MWC Dominoes Begin to Fall

I think everyone knows by now that USATF events will never be anywhere but Oregon. Okay we have a NCAA first round track and field regional slated for 2026, I am more than happy to lose the track… when was the last time you attended a track and field meet at Hornet Stadium? Otherwise bring your binoculars so you can watch the football games from the stands that will have to be on college town drive to accommodate width for a soccer field and then a 9 lane track, that sounds awful.
This. The track is gone and new Hornet Stadium will be better because of it.
 
I dont care for Hornets Nation's post regarding Conference USA. Smells of failure. We shouldn't even be discussing it because it has to be MW.
Agreed. Hard pass on CUSA. Hornet admin should shoot their shot at Pac membership and then when it becomes clear that an invite isn't coming, hard pivot and go all in on a MW invite.


Interesting read on the Pac term sheet. Essentially OSU and WSU have final say on critical matters.
The agreement notes that the conference will be structured to “recognize the significant investments OSU and WSU have made” in the Pac-12.

Voting rights follow past Pac-12 bylaws, except in regards to Pac-12 Enterprises — the conference’s broadcasting arm, in those cases, both Oregon State and Washington State must approve. Incoming board members are required to participate in board of directors meetings except when there is a conflict of interest but cannot vote on matters unless it involves other schools joining the conference, media deals for 2026 and beyond, and any matters that would have a “material impact” on the Pac-12 and college sports after the 2026 join date. In all of these matters, Oregon State and Washington State must approve.
 
Wyoming AD Tom Burman talks realignment, path forward for MW

The MW is actively looking to add at least two full-time members before 2026 to maintain its status as a Football Bowl Subdivision conference. Adding Hawaii in all sports is another option, as well as elevating teams from the Football Championship Subdivision level.
“They’re on the board,” Burman said about FCS programs. “For me to speculate for where it’ll land would be inappropriate, but there are a few high-level FCS programs that are on the board. But other than that, that’s all I’ll say about it.”
 
I'd be really surprised if Sac State didn't move up at this point. I mean, it is possible they get snubbed. But this is a master class on how to market your school. They've permanently wedged themselves into the realignment conversation. With every announcement, Sac State turns the head of another fan or 2. Suddenly the idea of Sac State in the MWC OR PAC-12 doesn't sound so crazy.

Thus, when/if it is announced that Sac gets an invite, it won't give the appearance that the conference was desperate. They'll look smart for taking an up and coming school. Makes it easier for Nevarez or Gould to make the call.

Perception is reality.
 
For perspective, WA State and OR State have about 3.1 million a year NIL, and SDSU has about $4.1 million NIL., although their sports Budgets look to be in the $40-$50 million range, which we would need huge uptick to make that happen.
Per the Knight Commission data, our FY '23 athletics expenses was $44.7M, with football accounting for $7.3M of that. The recent fee increase will push the athletics budget to nearly $50M (maybe more with COLA adjustments). Other CA FBS FY '23 expense numbers for comparison:

University
Athletics Budget
Football Budget
Fresno State
$51.7M​
$16.8M​
San Diego State
$96.6M​
$20.1M​
San Jose State
$44.5M​
$10.9M​
When the move to FBS happens, we'll need to seriously up the football budget (at the expense of other athletic programs) if we want to be competitive.
 
That's big for the Pac. At a minimum, they will retain their D1 conference status, but still need to figure out football. Pac will be a very strong hoops conference, I have a hard time seeing them add an awful program like ours even if we were playing our games in Golden 1.


 
Yeah. That heavy basketball focus hurts Sac State chances big time.

Hope Sac State knows something we don't know for them to put all their eggs in one basket.
 

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