PAC-10 realignment

[Renz]

Almost done...

Cal, Stanford could be turning point
Updated: October 12, 2010
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com

The Bay Area schools, California and Stanford, appear to be the final hurdle before the Pac-10 unveils next week its two-division, 12-team setup for the 2011-12 football season.

Pac-10 athletic directors weren't able to arrive at a consensus during two days of meetings last week in San Francisco, but a compromise is in the works, according to multiple sources.

The conference would like to have a north-south split of two six-team divisions, instead of a "zipper format" that would divide the conference on an east-west alignment of every rivalry.

The schools in the Northwest will sign off on a north-south split, but want Stanford and Cal to be in their division instead of Colorado and Utah to ensure a foothold in recruiting-rich California.

However, the California schools would rather stay together, which would mean UCLA and USC being with Stanford and Cal. Add southern schools Arizona and Arizona State, and the South not only would have all of California, but also a historical competitive advantage, even if the current standings show the Oregon schools atop the conference.

One source said the league has to do what's best for the overall conference, not just for the individual interests of a few schools. And to a number of the members, splitting the four California schools is a must.

If a compromise is reached, Cal and Stanford would be placed in the North division with Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State. The South division would be UCLA, USC, Arizona, Arizona State and new members Utah and Colorado, formerly of the Mountain West and Big 12, respectively.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=5677006

 

[ASUCHRIS]

By far the most reasonable proposal, the zipper idea is just stupid and would only exist to placate Stanford and Cal.

 

[Folster]

Within the North/South alignment they are proposing a 5-2-2 scheduling format to placate the California schools. For instance, USC and UCLA would play the other 5 teams in their division then play 2 games guaranteed against Stanford and Cal The other two games would float between the Oregon and Washington schools.

It's not a bad compromise but I'd rather see scheduling with no built in biases. The four interdivision games should float equally. With this rotation, the No Cal and So Cal will still get to play each other twice in a 3 year period. Not to mention they have the opportunity to play in the conference championhip. They make it seem like they will never play each other again.