The PAC/MWC Dominoes Begin to Fall

[StockonLB]

Some questions here:

1. Does anyone see the possibility that Cal/Stanford realize the big mistake they made in jumping to the ACC and come back to the Pac with their tails between their legs?

Likely too much money difference. The ACC is locked into that long term media deal with each school getting ~$30-$40mil. The new Pac is likely single digits right now.
Also, Cal had a resurgent football year even if they lost the close games and ended 6-7. Beat Auburn, ESPN game day named them their best stop all year in a great Miami game. lost 4 games in a row by a total of 9 points. Or they might have ended 10-3.

2. My personal feelings about the move up aside, can anyone summarize the NCAA's justification in rejecting Sac? Given the fact that they approved Liberty for exactly what Sac asked, even though I don't want Sac to leave the Big Sky, I just can't comprehend that rationale. It just doesn't make sense to me. If the school and the preponderance of the fans want to move up (and from the general stance of all of you, that seems to be the case), rejecting Sac on those grounds makes no sense whatsoever.

Liberty is a different beast. They are the BYU of the Southern Baptist. They have a $2 billion endowment. Rebuilt every facility on campus.

 

[SDHornet]

The Big XII podcast synopsis in short:

If ACC loses members, the Pac-12 isn’t that bad a conference, likely moves back to being the de facto 5th conference in America.

In regards to Sac St- the market they are in and recent commitment to athletics could propel them quickly into the conversation. In five years time if they get stadium built, won’t blink at them being in conference . Compares them to the American and CUSA schools and doesn’t see much difference.

I don’t necessarily agree with his take, but shows how well the potential move is being marketed.

Thanks for the breakdown. The P2 consolidation will trigger the next major realignment as the ACC will likely get poached who will in turn backfill and thus trigger more realignment. Even if the P2 consolidation doesn't kick off significant movement in the east, the aspirational current/new PAC and MW members will desire to be in a "more prestigious" conference. Given that both the PAC and MW will be at minimum membership levels heading into the next realignment session, even the slightest movement will create opportunities.

Regardless, all that is out of our control. Dr. Wood needs to get the stadium done as well as some of the other lesser athletic facility projects done in preparation for the next round of realignment.

 

[Hornet25]

Likely too much money difference. The ACC is locked into that long term media deal with each school getting ~$30-$40mil. The new Pac is likely single digits right now.
Also, Cal had a resurgent football year even if they lost the close games and ended 6-7. Beat Auburn, ESPN game day named them their best stop all year in a great Miami game. lost 4 games in a row by a total of 9 points. Or they might have ended 10-3.

Liberty is a different beast. They are the BYU of the Southern Baptist. They have a $2 billion endowment. Rebuilt every facility on campus.

Very true about Liberty, however that is not a requirement for moving to FBS. Winning and longevity are not even requirements.

Having the requirement of being invited by a conference allows for arbitrary reasons behind the scenes. That is the weak point of the NCAA case. If NCAA had a good reason to deny, they would have said it.

Texas State has only a couple of years of relative football success. Yet they are praised as a savior. It gets the Pac-12 into Texas and they were already FBS. That's about it.

 

[Green Cookie Monster]

Dr. Wood needs to get the stadium done as well as some of the other lesser athletic facility projects done in preparation for the next round of realignment.

This is the single most in your face urgent item.
No new stadium or a half ass remodeling of the current temp stadium won't cut it.

An actual arena is 2nd in your face. Converting the Student Union into a makeshift bigger gym stopped the bleeding, but there is still stink.

 

[Green Cookie Monster]

Very true about Liberty, however that is not a requirement for moving to FBS. Winning and longevity are not even requirements.

Having the requirement of being invited by a conference allows for arbitrary reasons behind the scenes. That is the weak point of the NCAA case. If NCAA had a good reason to deny, they would have said it.

Texas State has only a couple of years of relative football success. Yet they are praised as a savior. It gets the Pac-12 into Texas and they were already FBS. That's about it.

Yep, Texas State has been downright sucky in FCS. They won a natty in D2 under Jim Wacker but that was in the 80's.
As an alum of Texas State also, I am in a good space. Even if Sac falls on its face, I still have an alma mater that is moving on up and it feels good.

 

[SDHornet]

This is the single most in your face urgent item.
No new stadium or a half ass remodeling of the current temp stadium won't cut it.

An actual arena is 2nd in your face. Converting the Student Union into a makeshift bigger gym stopped the bleeding, but there is still stink.

A stadium remodel can work if done properly. If nothing moves in the coming years then FBS isn't happening.

The Well remodel is sufficient as it got us a BW invite. With Golden 1 available for use, the need for an events center to address athletic department needs is greatly reduced.

 

[SDHornet]

Yep, Texas State has been downright sucky in FCS. They won a natty in D2 under Jim Wacker but that was in the 80's.
As an alum of Texas State also, I am in a good space. Even if Sac falls on its face, I still have an alma mater that is moving on up and it feels good.

Texas State is the big winner in this round of realignment. They are now on par with their fellow G5 FBS counterparts in the AAC and are well positioned to move into a more regional conference (probably the AAC) if they perform well in the next half decade. Their Oly's are going to have their work cut out for them with all the west coast travel.

 

[Kadeezy]

Texas State is the big winner in this round of realignment. They are now on par with their fellow G5 FBS counterparts in the AAC and are well positioned to move into a more regional conference (probably the AAC) if they perform well in the next half decade. Their Oly's are going to have their work cut out for them with all the west coast travel.

GJ Kinne cucks us again!

 

[Green Cookie Monster]

A stadium remodel can work if done properly.

How? Everything current is built/supported on 2" rods screwed together sitting on superficial ground level cement footings. If you add to a crappy foundation, then the rest of the house is unstable. Your in construction and should know this.

 

[SDHornet]

How? Everything current is built/supported on 2" rods screwed together sitting on superficial ground level cement footings. If you add to a crappy foundation, then the rest of the house is unstable. Your in construction and should know this.

I do and you're concerning yourself over semantics. I consider a remodel to be the construction of new grandstands that includes new footings and foundations and the substructure that holds the actual seats within the existing footprint of HS. IMO, a stadium rebuild would entail the razing of the entire site and a new stadium from scratch.

It's been stated by many, including Dr. Wood, that the existing HS grandstands are beyond their useful life. No legit engineer would put their stamp on a new grandstand that uses the existing erector set support structure.

 

[Kadeezy]

I do and you're concerning yourself over semantics. I consider a remodel to be the construction of new grandstands that includes new footings and foundations and the substructure that holds the actual seats within the existing footprint of HS. IMO, a stadium rebuild would entail the razing of the entire site and a new stadium from scratch.

It's been stated by many, including Dr. Wood, that the existing HS grandstands are beyond their useful life. No legit engineer would put their stamp on a new grandstand that uses the existing erector set support structure.

With the Admin finally saying to Sports Illustrated that the build number is $300M, we're definitely trying to build a BMO Stadium ($350M) with slightly more seats, less frills.

BMO Stadium | South Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States - Venue Report

The Banc of California Stadium was designed with every imaginable event in mind.

www.venuereport.com

 

[Hornet25]

With the Admin finally saying to Sports Illustrated that the build number is $300M, we're definitely trying to build a BMO Stadium ($350M) with slightly more seats, less frills.

BMO Stadium | South Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States - Venue Report

The Banc of California Stadium was designed with every imaginable event in mind.

www.venuereport.com

Oh. I missed that SI comment. $300m is a good number. That's more than what the Colorado State stadium (Canvas Stadium) cost, also done by Populous. I'm a big fan of that design.

 

[ES2X]

How much of the 200 million dollar stadium is funded?

You guys are now talking 300 million.. why not go a billion?

 

[Hornet25]

How much of the 200 million dollar stadium is funded?

You guys are now talking 300 million.. why not go a billion?

Welcome to the board.

These are big projects that don't get going without showing ability to fund. In that sense, I don't worry about the details.

The football program and a stadium generates its own revenue, so this isn't money that is taking away from desks and classes. It's spending money to make money.

Deals do fall apart, but that is after some important aspect changes.

 

[ES2X]

Thank you for the welcome.

This stadium seems like a pipe dream unless it is funded. I think they said it was 90 million funded at one point? Where does the actual in-the-bank funding stand now to build an FBS level stadium?

 

[SDHornet]

Thank you for the welcome.

This stadium seems like a pipe dream unless it is funded. I think they said it was 90 million funded at one point? Where does the actual in-the-bank funding stand now to build an FBS level stadium?

Welcome to the board ES2X.

SDSU's Snapdragon Stadium broke ground in 2020 for a cost of $310M, of which $85M was privately fundraised and $225M of bonds via the CSU were required to fund the project. I don't know the details of their stadium build but SDSU needed to acquire the old Qualcomm Stadium site from the City of San Diego so the land acquisition costs could be a part of the overall stadium costs. Dr. Wood knows all this as he was a provost at SDSU when all this went down.

I see a similar route for Hornet Stadium to become a reality. Obviously land acquisition isn't our problem, but I don't see us raising the entire amount via private fund raising. I also don't anticipate anything grandiose in the final stadium plan unless some private monies are involved. I'm not in the finance space so I don't know the requirements of the CSU to go to the bond market to finance this project similar to how Snapdragon was bonded.

I do know that large scale public works projects like these are never fully funded by "actual in-the-bank funding". Public agencies don't (and in most cases, can't) sit on a bank of funds without it being allocated to something under its purview (operating expenses or capital improvement projects).

 

[Kadeezy]

Some good reminders here from December....

 

[Kadeezy]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1940817710075478511

 

[stingthemgood]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1940817710075478511

Sam is out of his depths here... "I backed Sac State's aggressive and bold push and said it made sense for the school to try to be FBS independent. And maybe it works out in the end via a successful lawsuit or changes in the D1 football structure. But it's been quite a saga, and it seems the industry and public perception of the school have taken a hit in the process"

Don't know any place he backed us. He went on the Dakota radio stations and bashed us like he always has.

Industry and public perception has taken a hit? Fucking bullshit.

 

[Kadeezy]

Sam is out of his depths here... "I backed Sac State's aggressive and bold push and said it made sense for the school to try to be FBS independent. And maybe it works out in the end via a successful lawsuit or changes in the D1 football structure. But it's been quite a saga, and it seems the industry and public perception of the school have taken a hit in the process"

Don't know any place he backed us. He went on the Dakota radio stations and bashed us like he always has.

Industry and public perception has taken a hit? Fucking bullshit.

Yeah, everyone's trying to pile on now. Man, I hope we see some things swing our way soon that we can point to our successes. Truth is, nothing would be better for us than winning some damn games...