Governor Newsom pushing back on the UCLA move

[ProudUte]

See the link below.  I am not a big Newsom fan.  However, I believe he is right to be upset that UCLA made this move without communicating with the regents.

Governor Newsom not Happy

[Central Coast Ute]

The UC system allows for individual schools to join any athletic league. Not sure why he’s upset at them for following the rules. Nothing will happen.

[Charlie]

I am not sure you have looked at this from the Cal perspective. Realignment is very likely to hurt Cal and could be seen as unnecessary in the big picture. At work most decisions I was free to make but inside the limits of those I could were things I would be able to recognize were best done by providing a ‘heads-up’. In this case, the only reason to not communicate would be fear that someone up the line may slow the process down. Also in this case, someone up the line wanted communication that may not technically be required. I have never worked in Cali government but I can see this would be a mistake to keep from your higher ups. Also funny because when I was a kid, Cal was the head office and UCLA was the extension campus in SoCal. I wonder if this is a done deal or are they working thru an accepted invite towards a done deal?

[Central Coast Ute]

I get your points. But from what I understand the BOR can’t do much. They had a meeting the other day about a potential law suit stemming from UCLA jumping ship. Not a meeting about keeping them from leaving because leaving isn’t breaking any rules. I’m not sure what kind of law suit could be possible because they’re not leaving until the GOR is up. Staying in the PAC hurts UCLA who, like Cal is struggling financially. The irony is, it’s the California schools that are largely responsible for the conferences woes. They’ve under performed and it was their state that kept the conference from playing in 2020.

As far as keeping things quiet, that’s how it always goes. If you go back and read Dan Sorenson’s article about how it all went down, Utah kept it really quiet to keep “anything political from happening”. Translation: the legislature squashing it because it didn’t include BYU.

UCLA didn’t break any rules. I’m not sure saving Cal at UCLA’s expense is what Newsome will ultimately try to do. He’s all talk.

[ProudUte]

I don’t know the rules for California higher education.  However, it would seem to me that they “should” get the regents’ blessing.  But, I admit that I do not know the statutes in California governing higher ed.

[Charlie]

I agree, there likely will not be a change because UCLA is forced. If UCLA was to change from the direction that benefits them it would be because they don’t want to upset the BOR that they may depend on for other unrelated support. All that is unlikely because I’m not sure that if it is a BOR decision they would not also proceed letting UCLA go. The more important question is when the Big 12 and PAC merge which conference will provide the baseline of teams to start with. The best 12 schools are not just in either conference currently.

[UteThunder]

From strictly a football perspective, the Pac-12 provides the better baseline.

When TX and OK announced they were leaving the BigXII, that conference was DEAD unless they expanded immediately. The Pac-12, while it will be weakened by the departures of USC & UCLA, is not dead without expansion. We could continue as the Pac-10 just fine. It wouldn’t be great, but it would be better than what the BigXII was left with after their latest departures.

Furthermore, the perception of the Pac-12/10 is that we are a conference with nothing but P5 teams. Contrast that with the BigXII which backfilled with four G5 teams. I know, I know, Utah was G5 before joining the Pac but so was TCU. Besides, we have built the perception and reputation of being a strong P5 team over the last 10 years or so. Cincinnati, Houston, UCF, and BYU haven’t been P5 for a decade+ like Utah has and we have no idea if those programs will flourish the way Utah has. It is unlikely that all four will grow into strong P5 teams the way Utah has. Maybe one or two will.

If the Pac-12/10 teams are smart, they are working behind the scenes to expand with select BigXII teams rather than allow the BigXII to poach a few of them.

[dystopiamembrane]

5   Oklahoma State
7   Baylor
15  Utah
28  Iowa State
30  Oregon
31  Kansas State
46  Texas Tech
49  Arizona State
55  West Virginia
59  Oregon State
60  Washington State
72  Texas Christian
83  California
88  Washington
95  Colorado
99  Stanford
108 Kansas
117 Arizona

College Football Ranking Composite

[dystopiamembrane]

Note: Oklahoma – 9, UCLA – 35, Texas – 47, USC – 85

[dystopiamembrane]

Note: Cincinnati – 6, Houston – 21, BYU – 27, Central Florida – 52

[dystopiamembrane]

5    Oklahoma State
6 Cincinnati
7    Baylor
15  Utah
21 Houston
27 BYU
28  Iowa State
30  Oregon
31  Kansas State
46  Texas Tech
49  Arizona State
52 Central Florida
55  West Virginia
59  Oregon State
60  Washington State
72  Texas Christian
83  California
88  Washington
95  Colorado
99  Stanford
108 Kansas
117 Arizona

[UteThunder]

One year’s worth of rankings is a terrible way to determine the perception of a team and a conference.  

[dystopiamembrane]

This difference has been the same for a number of years, but I agree that perception can have little to do with reality. I trust your judgement on the perception front. I was just trying to put a little data into the conversation.

[PlainsUte]

What one can do and what one should do are often two different things.

[Author]

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