This week in the West: ACC, Big 12 push back (on the future CFP), Saban talks Trump commission, Pac-12 finances, BYU’s new AD

The offseason is definitely not the slow season as yet another week delivered news impacting both the Pac- legacy schools and other universities across the region Here are four developments you might have missed College Football Playoff discord as ACC Big dig in Nitty gritty During negotiations over the future version of the CFP the ACC and Big are creating alternatives to a proposed format that hands dominance of the event to the Big Ten and SEC Why it matters The CFP is locked into the -team model for the upcoming season but has a blank slate starting in the fall of The Power Four commissioners favor expanding to but disagree over the number of automatic qualifiers AQs from each conference The Big Ten and SEC want the AQs allocated using the so-called - - - - - model with four bids guaranteed for the Big Ten and SEC two for the ACC and Big one for the top association from the Group of Five including the rebuilt Pac- and three for at-large participants with specific criteria for Notre Dame That format would ensure a minimum of eight spots to the Big Ten and SEC with the possibility of at least two more via the at-large path ACC commissioner Jim Phillips and Big commissioner Brett Yormark undoubtedly spurred on by their constituents are resisting I remain steadfast about fairness in the system and access Phillips described reporters this week during the ACC s spring meetings at Amelia Island Florida According to Yahoo an alternate proposal features the - - - - - model by which the Big Ten and SEC would have four AQs and the ACC and Big would have three with one to the Group of Five and one at-large for Notre Dame Their prospects for success are slim The Big Ten and SEC have the authority to set the format based on the CFP s governance model for and beyond But the resistance plays well politically with their constituents and could lead to a compromise of specific sort The CFP is the most of fundamental event in the the greater part pivotal sport in college athletics The future format will impact every unit in every conference for years to come just as the entire sport enters the audition stage College football is likely to have a bifurcated structure in the s with upper and lower tiers Any format that creates more access for the ACC and Big in upcoming seasons could provide their members with a pathway to salvation in the next decade Saban skeptical of Trump s commission on college athletics Nitty gritty Former Alabama coach Nick Saban declared this week on The Paul Finebaum Show on ESPN that he doesn t know a lot about the commission and is not sure we really need a commission Why it matters First and foremost it provides everyone with a good laugh Here s one of the purported leaders of President Trump s planned commission saying he doesn t think the commission is necessary The contradiction perfectly encapsulates the state of college sports Also it suggests the commission while well publicized remains in the formative stages We don t know the membership the mission or the level of Trump s engagement But we do know the extent of its authority The commission cannot provide college sports with antitrust protection or codify NCAA rules For those essential elements congressional help is needed And that s where the commission could prove beneficial If it spurs lawmakers to lend structure to NIL rules and the transfer portal and shields the NCAA from lawsuits Pac- financial input reveal Nitty gritty The conference on Friday disclosed its federal tax filing for the - fiscal year The departed schools received just million approximately in distributions while Washington State and Oregon State collected million including million each from the pot of cash acquired in the negotiated settlement over control of the conference Why it matters The details provides context on the challenge for schools in their new homes While USC UCLA Oregon and Washington collected million in conference distributions their new peers in the Big Ten received approximately million While Arizona ASU Colorado and Utah collected million schools in the Big received between million and million While Stanford and Cal collected million schools in the ACC received between million and million Distributions for the ACC Big and Big Ten taken from a USA Nowadays summary The revenue disparity affects the allocation of information necessary for football success and increases the pressure on athletic department budgets that were already under stress Related Articles Pac- collapse Tax filings show revenue drop huge relocation costs Mailbag SEC leads Big Ten Big in post-spring conference hierarchy NFL schedule process offers a model for college football in transfer portal era How NCAA vs House settlement could benefit Oregon s NIL with Nike deals Big Ten power rankings Penn State OSU Oregon atop after spring football Fortunately for the former Pac- schools lower revenue doesn t perpetually correlate to lower win totals Oregon and Arizona State proved that with their championship runs in the Big Ten and Big respectively But the sorry state of financial affairs that plagued the Pac- in the final years of its existence add a daunting layer of complication to attaining consistent success in the new conferences Santiago takes charge at Brigham Young Nitty gritty The Cougars three-month search for athletic director Tom Holmoe s replacement concluded Tuesday with the appointment of his longtime deputy Brian Santiago Why it matters The decision drew criticism from several constituents for Santiago has been described as a polarizing figure within BYU athletics In an industry built on relationships that component is worth monitoring over time as Santiago represents the Cougars on the Big and national stages But it s also a secondary consideration His performance over time will be judged on two fronts Hiring and retaining profitable head coaches for the football and men s basketball programs both are in good shape at the moment and positioning the Cougars for the next iteration of college sports whether it arrives in a limited years or in the middle of the next decade BYU s institutional wealth and deep-pocketed donors offer inherent advantages in the NIL era whether the school wants to admit it or not That won t change if when the revenue-sharing era begins this summer The Cougars should compete for Big titles and postseason bids on a frequent basis Put another way Santiago is taking charge at an ideal time It will take considerable effort and numerous strategic mistakes to derail the BYU machine Send suggestions comments and tips confidentiality guaranteed to wilnerhotline bayareanewsgroup com or call - 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