Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes
There's a lot of smoke on social media about the potential for Washington State and Oregon State to join the Big 12 Conference.
I'm told by well-placed sources at those two schools that the rumors are just the usual smoke. WSU and OSU would love to be in a Power 4 conference — and maybe that will happen at some point — but the parties I spoke with aren't seeing or hearing anything new.
So what's up?
Said one involved party: "If you are referring to Big 12 rumors — no."
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark says he's looking for new broadcast windows. I like how aggressive and forward-thinking he is. But if he wants to add two or four members, Yormark will need the support of his television partner, ESPN — or maybe the Pac-12's new partner, The CW — to make it happen.
The appetite for more expansion wasn't there last August. The Big 12 had to squeeze financially to admit Utah to the conference, I'm told. The hope at OSU and WSU is that something will change, and if/when it does, I'll have it here.
I think the Pac-12 schools are eager to demonstrate they belong and are capable of adding value to the Big 12 or ACC TV contract. The Beavers and Cougars can't control expansion. So while they plot and wait, both need to invest heavily in branding and on-field football success. They can control those things.
I like the exposure to 125 million TV households the Pac-12 schools will get on The CW this season. OSU and WSU are in position, but I'm pumping the brakes on an imminent realignment development until I hear something more concrete.
FLIPS AND VAULTS: Oregon State made a strategic run at getting its women's gymnastics team to participate in the Big 12 next season, as I previously reported.
I was warned by a Big 12 source that the addition didn't necessarily mean the Beavers were getting closer to an invite for all sports. But it made sense that one of the best gymnastics programs in the Pacific Time Zone — one featuring Olympian Jade Carey — might join Oklahoma, Denver, BYU, Utah, ASU, Iowa State, West Virginia, etc. next season for competitions.
Oregon State's proposal was voted down by the Big 12, per sources. The Beavers and a couple of the Big 12 schools were surprised by that outcome, but that's how the vote went. OSU's program will compete in the Pac-12 (aka independent) next season.
A NEW TIER?: I'm thinking more and more about the G5 schools and how a handful of them have more media value than the rest.
Washington State and Oregon State are at the top of that list along with the San Diego State, Colorado State, Memphis, University of Texas-San Antonio, North Texas State, and the service academies (Air Force, Army, Navy). You might include Boise State, UNLV, and Fresno State in that bunch, depending on your metrics.
As one long-time college administrator told me: "They may not be there yet, but at some point, the top G5s will realize they're better off forming their own conference."
LAUGHING THROUGH IT: I appreciate old-fashioned self-deprecation and self-awareness. I nodded and smiled when I saw head coach DeShaun Foster's T-shirt choice when he showed up for the first practice of UCLA's camp. His Big Ten Media Days appearance was awkward and uncomfortable, but he's recovered nicely.
"We're in LA," was a brilliant touch.
PS: The "Punting Is Winning" tee worn in the photo by Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times is the product of a cool campaign by Iowa punter Tory Taylor.
The Australian-born Taylor is an international student. As a result, he's unable to benefit from his own NIL deals. Taylor is selling the shirts and giving proceeds to a non-profit known as "Count the Kicks."
OHIO STATE … OF MIND: I talked with Austin Meek on Wednesday. He covers Michigan football for The Athletic. I asked Meek what Wolverines fans were thinking about Oregon's entry to the Big Ten this season.
"So much at Michigan is focused on Ohio State," Meek said. "And I think Michigan fans have enjoyed sitting back this offseason savoring their national championship and realizing it has driven Ohio State crazy to watch them win it."
The Ducks play in Ann Arbor on Nov. 2. Is it possible the Ducks are somehow flying under the radar?!?
"I don't know how Michigan is looking at Oregon right now and how much that Oregon game is top-of-mind for Michigan," Meek said, "because so much is focused on Ohio State."
STOLEN VALOR: Anyone else viewing the ACC and Big 12's social media posts about some of the Team USA Olympians as a case of stolen valor?
The Olympic athletes from soon-to-be former Pac-12 schools such as Arizona State, Stanford, and Cal are being celebrated by those conferences with social-media posts this week using the hashtag #OlympiansMadeHere.
I understand why college conferences celebrate, market, and promote. It's just business, right? The 10 departing schools will officially join their new conferences on Aug. 2. But some of the Olympics athletes won't ever compete in an ACC or Big 12-sanctioned event.
As one reply on Twitter noted: "Just a couple things. These are Pac-12 athletes. Have not spent one second competing in your conference."
Will the Big Ten claim Jackie Robinson as an alumnus?
I haven't asked.
Rick Neuheisel, who attended UCLA (undergraduate) and USC (law school), joked with me during Big Ten Media Days that he was about to become a Big Ten alum. Realignment has caused some complicated, and strange, discussions, hasn't it?
The ACC is currently the biggest offender, as it posted a "medals table" showing that it currently leads the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, and every other conference in America in medals won in Paris. The ACC included medals won by Katie Ledecky, who graduated from Stanford in 2021.
MORE FROM PARIS: Oregon women's basketball coach Kelly Graves is in Paris for the Olympics. Graves told me on Thursday: "Ugly travel, but made it." He's got tickets for the 3-on-3 basketball event on Friday and the 5-on-5 games beyond that. Graves will join me from Paris on Friday's radio show. Tune in 3-6 p.m. PT.
LISTEN UP:Episode No. 108 of "Canzano & Wilner: The Podcast" is out. We talked about the Big Ten dipping its toe into Las Vegas, the Big 12's TV windows, and the Pac-12's blossoming relationship with The CW.
MONEY GAME: The LPGA Tour's 52-year-old Portland Classic is being played at Columbia Edgewater Golf Club this week. The event remains without a sponsor for the second straight year and may be held for the final time this week, per a Golf Digest report. Event organizers are trying to find a sponsor to keep the event running beyond this year.
I keep thinking about something Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote: "Money often costs too much."
