Yes, the pac12 has been incompetent. Our leadership as well.
But let’s not forget that not only are we the top academic brand in d-1 sports, contrary to popular opinion, Stanford football delivers tv ratings (!)
Ok, we’ve sucked the last 2-3 years obviously. But when we are decent to good, we get far better ratings than, say UW.
The idea we should have to grovel to find a new conference is absurd. Even over the past 6 years or so - mostly bad - we were #5 in the pac 12. In good years, much higher.
I hope the big 10 is playing chess and not short term checkers. Yes, our timing couldn’t be worse. But over the past 15 years, we actually deliver legit tv ratings - certainly higher than at least 1/3rd to 1/2 of the big 10.
And let’s not forget that 2 pro teams recently left the East bay, opening it up for higher ratings for cal (and for college sports in general).
No way we should be left in the cold. This is a joke. And let’s stop short selling our own ability to deliver viewers.
Some data from the athletic last year:
“The next-highest performer was a mild surprise: Stanford (1.83 million), which edged out Washington (1.73 million). While the Cardinal have been dreadful the past few seasons, they were notable ratings draws in the days of Christian McCaffrey and Bryce Love. In 2016, a Friday night ESPN game between No. 7 Stanford and No. 10 Washington drew 3.3 million viewers, third-highest of any Pac-12 game that season.
Stanford also gets significant mileage out of its every-other-year home games against Notre Dame. The two have played every year (save 2020) since 1997. The four installments during this period averaged 4.8 million. While there is no guarantee the series continues forever, an ESPN or Fox might pay handsomely just for the rights in the event it does.”
(https://theathletic.com/3444339/2022/07/25/pac12-big12-tv-viewership/?source=user_shared_article)
But let’s not forget that not only are we the top academic brand in d-1 sports, contrary to popular opinion, Stanford football delivers tv ratings (!)
Ok, we’ve sucked the last 2-3 years obviously. But when we are decent to good, we get far better ratings than, say UW.
The idea we should have to grovel to find a new conference is absurd. Even over the past 6 years or so - mostly bad - we were #5 in the pac 12. In good years, much higher.
I hope the big 10 is playing chess and not short term checkers. Yes, our timing couldn’t be worse. But over the past 15 years, we actually deliver legit tv ratings - certainly higher than at least 1/3rd to 1/2 of the big 10.
And let’s not forget that 2 pro teams recently left the East bay, opening it up for higher ratings for cal (and for college sports in general).
No way we should be left in the cold. This is a joke. And let’s stop short selling our own ability to deliver viewers.
Some data from the athletic last year:
“The next-highest performer was a mild surprise: Stanford (1.83 million), which edged out Washington (1.73 million). While the Cardinal have been dreadful the past few seasons, they were notable ratings draws in the days of Christian McCaffrey and Bryce Love. In 2016, a Friday night ESPN game between No. 7 Stanford and No. 10 Washington drew 3.3 million viewers, third-highest of any Pac-12 game that season.
Stanford also gets significant mileage out of its every-other-year home games against Notre Dame. The two have played every year (save 2020) since 1997. The four installments during this period averaged 4.8 million. While there is no guarantee the series continues forever, an ESPN or Fox might pay handsomely just for the rights in the event it does.”
(https://theathletic.com/3444339/2022/07/25/pac12-big12-tv-viewership/?source=user_shared_article)
