and why have they been on an endless loop for months on this site?

Sorry, needed have a quick rant on something other than the Pac-Nada. . . ..

So sad to watch the demise of the Pac-12 and Stanford’s being left out of the party. We have an interim President and an AD who appears asleep at the wheel and has seen the worst combination of football and men’s basketball I have seen since starting to follow the cardinal in 1990.

We are on a path to taking the best athletic department in the ncaa and putting it on a path to be less and less relevant.

Does Cal Tech still play football?

And how does it differ from what Harbaugh brought to Stanford, especially during the first couple of years?

I know that there were a number of players who didn’t like Harbaugh and who considered leaving the program after ‘07.

Harbaugh talked about “Plowing the field, finding the snakes, and cutting their heads off.”

Kevin Danser’s father told me that the general sentiment from players about Harbaugh was that they hated him Sunday thru Friday but loved him on football Saturdays.

I’m hearing about this culture of love and talk among players that, “Football is fun again.”

I remember hearing, “Football is fun again” when Buddy Teevens took over in the spring of ‘02. I didn’t like the sound of it then, not sure if I do now.

Heard info that the B1G only wants NW schools.

2024 4-star QB Elijah Brown has officially popped for Stanford. Decision was expected to be today. Now it’s official.


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So for fun of it, I asked the now AI infused Bing 'What are the Chances that Stanford winds up in the B1G' and Microsoft Bing's answer was:

'That’s an interesting question. The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States, founded in 18961. As of 2024, it will consist of 16 member institutions and 2 affiliate institutions, with USC and UCLA joining from the Pac-121.

There have been some reports that the Big Ten is exploring further expansion, and might target Oregon, Washington, Stanford and Cal from the Pac-12 as well23. However, these discussions are in the very early stages and no decision has been made or is considered imminent2. The Big Ten might also be reluctant to move to 20 teams and wipe out the Pac-12 entirely2.

So, the chances that Stanford eventually winds up in the Big Ten are not very high at the moment, but they are not zero either. It depends on how the conference realignment landscape evolves in the future and what factors influence the decision-making of the Big Ten and Stanford.'

those extra 1. and 2. and 3. tags were tags/flags to its sources cited. Should be interesting to ask the same question in a week or so.

Read that here.

Read that here. Video is linked inside the article.

Colorado's bailout and grab of Big12 now guaranteed allotment a strong indicator of Mr K's inability to seal that media deal... at least at a $ value at or above Big12. Mr K's last announcement just before Pac12 (soon to be 9) media day just over a week ago in retrospect just hot air. Any word/reaction yet from Pac12 office or the remaining 9 member Universities re Colorado's leaving and/or future prospects for Pac9?

In retrospect Colorado's skinny set of Ncaa teams compared to the rest of the Pac12 makes for far less AD cum travel $$$ budget. And they'll be slotted into the western division, essentially the same/no travel worse than before they joined Pac10.

The football recruiting notes thread for July is here. The June thread is here. That thread was probably the busiest recruiting thread we've had since I started running this site. Very exciting!

I'm going to keep this breakdown brief since so much of the 2024 class is already filled up. The 2024 class has 27 commits at the moment and is currently the 9th ranked class by Rivals. The full list of commitments is here.

And then 2025 is off to a nice little start as well: Maxwell Richardson and Charlie Hoitink are both already in the fold. Currently the 26th ranked recruiting class by Rivals in the 2025 class.

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As far as what to look for down the stretch here of the 2024 class, 4-star DE/OLB Benedict Umeh will announce his decision July 8th. All signs pointing towards Stanford. I have a FutureCast in for the Cardinal, Adam Gorney is hearing Stanford, etc.

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3-star OT Isaiah Garcia is a bit harder to read right now. I know many have gotten excited about Wiltfong's prediction for Stanford and I don't want to throw any cold water on that. Even though he works for my competitor, I respect him a lot and know the history of how accurate his predictions are. That being said, going back to what I've been able to gather on my own, Garcia is harder to read. And we have a FutureCast in for USC from our Utah guy Alex Markham, who feels NIL is what's driving his decision given that an NIL company is who sponsored his announcement of his top four: Stanford, Utah, USC, and Oregon. Hopefully I'll be able to pinpoint more of a read on him in the coming weeks.

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One more name to mention is 2025 3-star OT Siosiua Vete. I got a FutureCast in for him given how a certain tweet and tweets he was retweeting indicated he was coming. He is yet to go public about any decision, so that's something to watch for this month as well.

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The black trim is officially GONE

Good riddance - beginning of a new era!


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Read that here.

Am I alone in thinking that the end of Stanford sports as we know it is right around the corner unless our Administration pulls a rabbit out of the hat, which given the current roster of Administrators (including Muir) seems very unlikely?

Brandon Larson - incoming Soph - DH/1B from UCSD and Rocklin. Says he's coming on twitter. That looks like 2 transfers in. Wonder if more are in the works.

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Read that here.

Read that here.

Patrick Rodgers is in the lead at the Barracuda Open, an alternate tournament from the British Open. Patrick has a two point lead with two holes to go. The Barracuda uses a modified Stableford where they get plus points for birdies, Eagles, and Albatrosses and negative points for bogeys and higher. This will be his first PGA win if he gets it!

Was hoping we’d get him. Important position and seems like the staff has almost turned him after his official.

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Former Players, Staff Reveal Troubling Allegations of Toxic Culture Under P.J. Fleck

Wilner raises the issue... then argues pros/cons.
FWLIW, I think Colorado stays. We'll see.

Read that here.

Read that here.

now a done deal, formal application to follow. Big12 Presidents already voted yesterday to invite Colorado in.