full on merger with Mtn west and keeping the pac name , rights, and network. Also work with existing media companies under contract with Mtn west. 16 team conference.
Option 2)
PAC 4 add top 6 from Mtn west ( geography taken into account). Sign deal with Amazon, who is still interested. PAC networks provides content. Now PAC 10.
Schools are not interested in dropping football or moving to FCS at this time.
Personally. I like option 2 and if Ducks / UW would have stuck around it would be just as good as the big 12 . What's the buyout from the big ten?
none of the above?
I think there would need to be a reverse merger that upgrades MW to P5 status, because of the buyouts required by the MW grant of rights which is running almost 2x annual media revenue.
problems:
NCAA accepting MW teams as P5 teams as they take over the "operating shell" of the PAC
technically it should work, since G5 schools already garner P5 status when joining a P5 conf
current contracts
PAC's current media deal expires 2024 and is with ESPN and Fox Sports
MW exp 2026 and is with broadcaster CBS and pay-TV Fox Sports
would PAC franchises like Cal and furd be willing to turn over operational control of the PAC to MW franchises? solution might be to vote them out and let them go independent.
Boise gets a preferred payout under current MW media contracts
Biggest Liability: Comcast Overpayment to PAC (a debt) < edit
Leadership of New Conf (PACII) would need to seek early renegotiation of MW CBS/Fox contract while negotiating with ESPN and push for a deal modeled after the Big XII deal with ESPN and Fox, or better one modeled after B1G across all available broadcast options
Not sure what ESPNs interest in renegotioning their deal with the PAC might be, but it would be worth sitting down with them to test their interest, after all media companies need content.
They should also sit down with NBC, ABC, etc. to see who wants supplemental content or late day content
They need to push for broadcast/basic cable deals over pay-tv and streaming.
The good news is that they do have the PAC Network for producing streaming/paywall content if they can continue to fund it. Most services like Apple do not have production capbility, they are just aggregators and marketers which is why they should be considered supplemental and not THE media distributor/broadcaster.
First step is terminate Kliavkoff, merger or no.
Second, negotiate a pennies on the dollar settlement with Comcast for the overpayment < edit
What about no mergers, call it the 4-PAC, and each team plays 6 non-con games and a yearly home-and-home with every other team? Who's up for that?