🗞️ Da Conference Realignment Game: No Can Stick To Da Deadline 🔄🚫
⬇️ Pidgin | ⬇️ ⬇️ English
San Diego State, dey had fo’ make one decision whether fo’ leave da Mountain West Conference o’ not. Dey stay put fo’ now, but da Pac-12 still calling. 🤔🏙️
Da latest turn of da conference realignment carousel driven by college football take me back to da Pleistocene period of journalism, when I stay work as one summer news desk clerk amid da telex machines, pneumatic tubes, an’ desk drawers full of booze at da dearly departed Los Angeles Herald Examiner. 📜📠🗄️🍺
One sign on an editor’s desk catch my eye: “Deadline stay one two-syllable word.” Short an’ sneaky, it mock one of da newsroom’s most sacrosanct rules: No can blow da deadline. 😏⌛🚫
But in dis digital era of continuous publishing, da idea of one deadline — which blend two of Merriam-Webster’s more clear-cut words — somehow turn pliable, one transformation dat bring me back to da recent maneuverings of San Diego State University. 💻🔄📅
If da school stay goin’ leave da Mountain West Conference fo’ da Pac-12 in one year, dey had one 11 p.m. Pacific Time deadline on Friday fo’ let da Mountain West know. If no, dey gotta pay double da exit fee, ’bout $36 million. 💼📆💸
Da problem: San Diego State no get one offer from da Pac-12 Conference. ❌📩
Da reason: Da Pac-12 no get one media rights deal. (Mo’ ’bout dat in one moment.) 📺🤝🤷♂️
As da hourglass run out on Friday, da Pac-12 chancellors an’ presidents meet fo’ get one update on da media rights negotiations. Aftah, San Diego State let da Mountain West know dat dey goin’ stay put. Fo’ now. ⏳👥📢
Dis all happen on June 30, an’ dat stay jus’ right. 📅👍
Las’ year on dat date, Southern California an’ U.C.L.A., da Pac-12’s football an’ basketball top dogs, shock da college athletics world when dey decide fo’ bolt fo’ da Big Ten when da Pac-12’s television contract expire aftah da 2023-24 season. 🌟🏈🏀
Dis open da door of opportunity fo’ San Diego State, one school dat always stay dreamin’ of goin’ Pac-12 — one move dat no jus’ give ’em athletics respect, but also put one California State University school on da same level as Cal-Berkeley, one flagship school in da mo’ prestigious University of California system. 🚪🌟🎓
It gotta go through three steps. First, da Pac-12 gotta secure one media rights deal. Den, da 10 remainin’ members (da Pac-12 stay hopin’) gotta sign one grant of rights, dat keep ’em locked into da conference as long as da media rights agreement stay goin’. An’ finally, da conference gotta think ’bout expansion. 👥✍️🔒📈
Yet one year latah, da Pac-12 still stay in first gear. 🚗⏩
Da Pac-12, whose current agreement with ESPN an’ Fox expire aftah dis season, find itself boxed out of plenny options when da Big 12 surprisingly lock in its media deal with Fox an’ ESPN last October, two months aftah da Big Ten announce its deal with Fox, CBS, an’ NBC. Da Southeastern Conference’s 10-year contract with ESPN start next year, an’ da Atlantic Coast Conference’s deal with ESPN go until 2036. 📺🔒🔥
Dat no leave much room on da broadcast schedule fo’ showcase da Pac-12. 📺🗓️📢
“Da problem fo’ da Pac-12 stay all da oddah cards already dealt,” say Ed Desser, one sports media rights consultant, who note dat da only coveted spot would be Saturday night on ESPN or Friday night on ESPN, Fox, Apple or Amazon. 🤷♂️🃏🎥📺🍎🛒
Negotiations have sputtered for several reasons. 😫📉
First, da Pac-12 commissioner, George Kliavkoff, tried to persuade the University of California Board of Regents last fall to keep U.C.L.A. from leaving, which would have given the conference the valuable Los Angeles media market to shop around. (In December, the governing board voted not to block the move.) 😤🌴📺
Also last fall, many media companies began slashing jobs nearly across the board, particularly at Disney, which owns ESPN and said it would shed 7,000 jobs as it dealt with the continuing impact of cord cutting. And while streaming platforms like Apple and Amazon might be attractive, those companies are unlikely to view sports programming (that is not the N.F.L.) as indispensable. 📉💼🎥💔📺🍎🛒
It quickly became apparent that the media industry’s belt-tightening would manifest itself in second-tier rights deals. Shortly after the Big 12’s deal, which was largely considered below-market at $31.7 million per school, the Pac-12 adjusted downward by 10 percent estimates of an agreement it could reach if U.C.L.A. remained. 📉💰💔💼💰
Then came the delays. 🚫⌛
Expectations of an agreement by the start of the Pac-12 men’s basketball tournament led to hopes of a deal by the Final Four. And then by mid-April. And then surely by the start of summer. Now, the assumption is that an announcement will be made before the Pac-12’s football media day on July 21, so that the event’s dominant story line is actually football. 🏀🎉🗓️🏈
Of course, what is in the agreement will have consequences. 🔒🔍
The Big 12, which added Brigham Young, Cincinnati, Central Florida and Houston on Saturday, and could lose Texas and Oklahoma this time next year, is interested in poaching any Pac-12 school that is unhappy enough to jump if the payout is significantly below what the Big 12 is receiving. 🤝💰🎓🏈
In that case, it would not take much — Colorado and Arizona leaving, perhaps, or Utah — for the Pac-12 to disintegrate. 😱📉🔥
These are the scenarios that San Diego State had to game out. The Aztecs, who came within one final push of winning a men’s basketball championship and who regularly exhibit a quietly competent football team, are in a familiar spot. They agreed in 2011 to jump to the Big East for football, while playing in the Big West for other sports. But two years later, that agreement collapsed and they remained in the Mountain West. 🏀🏈🌟🏆
Last month, the San Diego State president, Adela de la Torre, wrote a letter to the Mountain West saying the school intended to leave and asking for more time. A flurry of back-and-forth letters ensued. 📝✉️📨
In da end, San Diego State figured out dat its conference exit could be negotiable, like plenny before it. So da school concluded dat if one move to da Pac-12 was gonna happen, it would happen in time — deadlines be damned. 🔄🏢💼🤝🚫
Da conference realignment game stay unpredictable, full of twists an’ turns. Da Pac-12 stay tryin’ fo’ find its place in da media landscape, while San Diego State keeps its eyes on da prize, hopin’ fo’ one day make da jump. Only time will tell what unfolds next. ⌛🔄🏈📺🔍
NOW IN ENGLISH
🗞️ The Conference Realignment Game: Can’t Stick To The Deadline 🔄🚫
San Diego State had to make a decision on whether to leave the Mountain West Conference or not. For now, they have chosen to stay put, but the Pac-12 is still calling. 🤔🏙️
The latest twist in the conference realignment carousel driven by college football takes me back to the Pleistocene period of journalism when I worked as a summer news desk clerk amid telex machines, pneumatic tubes, and desk drawers full of booze at the dearly departed Los Angeles Herald Examiner. 📜📠🗄️🍺
One sign on an editor’s desk caught my eye: “Deadline is a two-syllable word.” Short and sneaky, it mocked one of the newsroom’s most sacrosanct rules: You can’t miss the deadline. 😏⌛🚫
But in this digital era of continuous publishing, the idea of a deadline – which combines two of Merriam-Webster’s more clear-cut words – somehow becomes pliable, a transformation that brings me back to the recent maneuverings of San Diego State University. 💻🔄📅
If the school was going to leave the Mountain West Conference for the Pac-12 in a year, they had a deadline of 11 p.m. Pacific Time on Friday to inform the Mountain West. If not, they would have to pay double the exit fee, around $36 million. 💼📆💸
The problem: San Diego State did not receive an offer from the Pac-12 Conference. ❌📩
The reason: The Pac-12 does not have a media rights deal. (More about that in a moment.) 📺🤝🤷♂️
As the hourglass ran out on Friday, the Pac-12 chancellors and presidents met to get an update on the media rights negotiations. Afterwards, San Diego State informed the Mountain West that they would stay put. For now. ⏳👥📢
All of this happened on June 30, and that was just right. 📅👍
Last year on that date, Southern California and UCLA, the Pac-12’s football and basketball powerhouses, shocked the college athletics world when they decided to bolt for the Big Ten when the Pac-12’s television contract expires after the 2023-24 season. 🌟🏈🏀
This opened the door of opportunity for San Diego State, a school that has always dreamed of joining the Pac-12 – a move that would not only give them athletics respect but also put a California State University school on the same level as Cal-Berkeley, a flagship school in the more prestigious University of California system. 🚪🌟🎓
It has to go through three steps. First, the Pac-12 has to secure a media rights deal. Then, the 10 remaining members (hopefully) have to sign a grant of rights, which would keep them locked into the conference as long as the media rights agreement is in effect. And finally, the conference has to think about expansion. 👥✍️🔒📈
Yet a year later, the Pac-12 is still in first gear. 🚗⏩
The Pac-12, whose current agreement with ESPN and Fox expires after this season, finds itself boxed out of plenty of options when the Big 12 surprisingly locked in its media deal with Fox and ESPN last October, two months after the Big Ten announced its deal with Fox, CBS, and NBC. The Southeastern Conference’s 10-year contract with ESPN starts next year, and the Atlantic Coast Conference’s deal with ESPN goes until 2036. 📺🔒🔥
That doesn’t leave much room on the broadcast schedule to showcase the Pac-12. 📺🗓️📢
“The problem for the Pac-12 is that all the other cards have already been dealt,” says Ed Desser, a sports media rights consultant, who notes that the only coveted spot would be Saturday night on ESPN or Friday night on ESPN, Fox, Apple, or Amazon. 🤷♂️🃏🎥📺🍎🛒
Negotiations have sputtered for several reasons. 😫📉
First, the Pac-12 commissioner, George Kliavkoff, tried to persuade the University of California Board of Regents last fall to keep UCLA from leaving, which would have given the conference the valuable Los Angeles media market to shop around. (In December, the governing board voted not to block the move.) 😤🌴📺
Also last fall, many media companies began slashing jobs nearly across the board, particularly at Disney, which owns ESPN and said it would shed 7,000 jobs as it dealt with the continuing impact of cord cutting. And while streaming platforms like Apple and Amazon might be attractive, those companies are unlikely to view sports programming (that is not the NFL) as indispensable. 📉💼🎥💔📺🍎🛒
It quickly became apparent that the media industry’s belt-tightening would manifest itself in second-tier rights deals. Shortly after the Big 12’s deal, which was largely considered below-market at $31.7 million per school, the Pac-12 adjusted downward by 10 percent estimates of an agreement it could reach if UCLA remained. 📉💰💔💼💰
Then came the delays. 🚫⌛
Expectations of an agreement by the start of the Pac-12 men’s basketball tournament led to hopes of a deal by the Final Four. And then by mid-April. And then surely by the start of summer. Now, the assumption is that an announcement will be made before the Pac-12’s football media day on July 21, so that the event’s dominant storyline is actually football. 🏀🎉🗓️🏈
Of course, what is in the agreement will have consequences. 🔒🔍
The Big 12, which added Brigham Young, Cincinnati, Central Florida, and Houston on Saturday and could lose Texas and Oklahoma this time next year, is interested in poaching any Pac-12 school that is unhappy enough to jump if the payout is significantly below what the Big 12 is receiving. 🤝💰🎓🏈
In that case, it would not take much – Colorado and Arizona leaving, perhaps, or Utah – for the Pac-12 to disintegrate. 😱📉🔥
These are the scenarios that San Diego State had to game out. The Aztecs, who came within one final push of winning a men’s basketball championship and who regularly exhibit a quietly competent football team, are in a familiar spot. They agreed in 2011 to jump to the Big East for football while playing in the Big West for other sports. But two years later, that agreement collapsed, and they remained in the Mountain West. 🏀🏈🌟🏆
Last month, the San Diego State president, Adela de la Torre, wrote a letter to the Mountain West saying the school intended to leave and asking for more time. A flurry of back-and-forth letters ensued. 📝✉️📨
In the end, San Diego State figured out that its conference exit could be negotiable, like plenty before it. So the school concluded that if a move to the Pac-12 was going to happen, it would happen in time – deadlines be damned. 🔄🏢💼🤝🚫
The conference realignment game is unpredictable, full of twists and turns. The Pac-12 is trying to find its place in the media landscape, while San Diego State keeps its eyes on the prize, hoping for one day to make the jump. Only time will tell what unfolds next. ⌛🔄🏈📺🔍
