According to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports, AAC presidents voted to accept Army into the conference on Tuesday night. 

PODCAST: Do we have any more clarity after some major week eight decisions? 

Army will be a football-only member, according to Pete Thamel of ESPN. 

Army has been independent in football since 2005. The move comes after Southern Methodist University announced in September that it would move to the Atlantic Coast Conference beginning on July 1, 2024. 

According to Brett McMurphy of Action Network, the annual Army-Navy game will remain on the second Saturday of December and will be played as a nonconference game. 

The post Reports: Army set to join AAC in 2024  appeared first on Saturday Glory.

Oregon State and Washington State filed the complaint “to confirm the governance structure of the conference, gain access to business information, and protect the conference’s assets,” according to a joint release by Oregon State and Washington State. 

“This is a critical step that allows the two universities to continue to explore all options for preserving the conference going forward, according to Oregon State President Jayathi Murthy and Washington State President Kirk Schulz,” the releases state. 

Oregon State and Washington State are the only two programs remaining in the Pac-12 as 10 former member programs announced plans for conference realignment. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah will join the Big 12 Conference in 2024, Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington will join the Big Ten and Cal and Stanford will join the Atlantic Coast Conference. 

According to the joint releases, the lawsuit “seeks to prevent the Pac-12 from permitting the departing members of the Pac-12 Board of Directors from meeting and attempting to take any action regarding the status or governance of the conference in ways that preclude OSU and WSU from potentially rebuilding the conference.” 

The temporary restraining order against Kliavkoff and the Pac-12 would stop a Wednesday meeting of “current and former members of the Pac-12 board” to vote on a “go forward governance approach,” which would be “in violation of the Pac-12 constitution and by-laws,” according to the releases. 

The meeting or similar actions “would cause immediate and irreparable harm to OSU, WSU, and the conference,” according to the releases. 

“We owe it to our student-athletes, coaches, and fans to do everything in our power to protect the Pac-12 Conference and explore all future options,” Washington State University President and Chair of the Pac-12 Board of Directors Kirk Schulz stated in the releases. “WSU and OSU are working in lockstep to identify the best path forward. The future of the Pac-12 must be determined by the remaining members, not by those who are leaving.” 

According to the releases, “the legal brief filed by OSU and WSU states that the other schools in the Pac-12 forfeited their right to vote on conference matters when they announced their withdrawal from the league.” 

The temporary restraining order would allow Oregon State and Washington State “to make reasonable business decisions for the conference while continuing to seek collaboration and consultation with departing universities on any ultimate financial decisions,” according to the releases. 

“As the two remaining member institutions of the Pac-12, we are stepping forward with urgency to safeguard the integrity of the conference and preserve its legacy on behalf of student-athletes, fans and the conference itself,” Oregon State University President Jayathi Murthy stated in the releases. “We’ve heard the voices of constituents at home and from across the West about how much the Pac-12 and our regional rivalries mean to them. We are linking arms and fighting on their behalf.”

The post Oregon State, Washington State file lawsuit against Kliavkoff, Pac-12 seeking temporary restraining order  appeared first on Saturday Glory.

After nearly three-plus weeks of discussions and possibilities, SMU officially announced its plan to join the ACC beginning July 1, 2024, on Friday. It will join the ACC along with former Pac-12 Conference members Cal and Stanford. 

“We have known that today’s move was a possibility, which has allowed us time to investigate a number of options, including consideration of the larger group of institutions in the Pacific time zone,” Aresco stated in a release. “We have concluded, however, that the best way to proceed for our outstanding student-athletes is to not look westward.” 

Given the AAC will no longer pursue westward expansion, it will instead “focus any expansion efforts on schools that allow for sensible and sustainable competition and student-athlete well-being within our strong geographic footprint,” according to a release. 

“SMU has shared our pursuit of competition at the highest level throughout its time in the American Athletic Conference,” Aresco stated in a release. “President Gerald Turner and Athletic Director Rick Hart have been among our strongest advocates and leaders both internally and externally. We wish them well.” 

The post AAC releases statement, concludes it will ‘not look westward’ amid conference realignment  appeared first on Saturday Glory.

The ACC Board of Directors announced it voted Friday “to formally admit” a trio of programs: Cal and Stanford of the Pac-12 Conference and Southern Methodist University.

“We are thrilled to welcome three world-class institutions to the ACC, and we look forward to having them compete as part of our amazing league,” ACC commissioner Jim Phillips stated in a release. “ Cal, SMU and Stanford will be terrific members of the ACC and we are proud to welcome their student-athletes, coaches, staff and entire campus community, alumni and fans.” 

The announcement comes after nearly three-plus weeks of discussions surrounding the possible decision to expand and include Cal and Stanford, and later factoring SMU and the “big guns” into the conversation. 

The ACC revisited and picked back up conversations in a “series of meetings” last week to reconsider a possible vote to allow the three programs into the conference. A meeting originally scheduled for Monday among ACC presidents was postponed due to the on-campus shooting at North Carolina, according to Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic. 

Finally, after much discussion and possibilities, the ACC has its hand involved in conference realignment. 

The Big Ten will increase to 18 programs beginning in 2024 and the Big 12 and Southeastern conferences will up to 16 teams apeice in the same year. 

SMU will officially join the ACC July 1, 2024, and Cal and Stanford will later join Aug. 2, 2024, according to a release. All three will begin competing in ACC athletics among all sports. 

According to Auerbach, North Carolina State “flipped and voted yes” in order to admit the group of three programs, and SMU will receive no ACC television revenue for nine years. Four ACC programs originally voted against the additions of Cal, SMU and Stanford.

According to a release by Florda State, Seminoles university president Richard McCullough stated that there “are many complicated factors that led us to vote no” on adding Cal, SMU and Stanford, and athletic director Michael Alford stated “our vote against expansion does not reflect on their quality.”

The move also leaves the Pac-12 with two member programs: Oregon State and Washington State.

The expansion is a sign of the latest step in an evolving college athletics landscape. More than 2,200 student-athletes will join the ACC from Cal, SMU and Stanford, and the move will “enrich the leagues’ competitiveness in all sports and further demonstrate the ACC’s commitment to broad-based programs for both women and men,” according to a release. 

“This expansion will enhance and strengthen the league now and in the future,” University of Virginia President and chair of the ACC Board of Directors James E. Ryan stated in a release. “We greatly appreciate the tireless efforts of Commissioner Jim Phillips throughout this entire process, especially his focus on minimizing travel burdens for student-athletes, and we are excited about the ACC’s collective future.” 

The post ACC officially votes to expand, add Cal, SMU and Stanford  appeared first on Saturday Glory.

Among the topics of discussion included ticket distribution, team lodging and “other important but tedious matters around the first-round games on campus,” according to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports. 

The meeting was described to have been “productive” and “cordial” by Executive Director Bill Hancock, according to Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic. 

“No major decisions” were made surrounding some of the bigger topics that leaders around the CFP will likely soon address, such as format changes and revenue distribution, according to Heather Dinich of ESPN. 

Amid conference expansion and recent realignment moves like the Big 12 adding four Pac-12 programs — Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah — and the Big Ten including Oregon and Washington. 

The Atlantic Coast Conference, left relatively unimpacted by expansion given no additions or subtractions are on the docket, is eyeing possible moves. There could soon be a vote held to determine whether the ACC will add Cal, Southern Methodist University and Stanford. 

A meeting originally scheduled among ACC presidents was postponed Monday due to the on-campus shooting at North Carolina, according to Auerbach. The meeting currently has no rescheduled date. 

Regarding possible CFP expansion, which is already set to increase to a 12-team format in 2024, it’s likely a change to the new model will come. Hancock reportedly said “We’re going to have to wait until the dust settles before making any decisions about how it might affect the CFP,” according to Auerbach. 

One change that came from Wednesday’s CFP meeting was that the CFP “will provide a stipend for student-athletes’ families to travel to all rounds” and that “125 players on each team will get $3,000 per round to cover their families’ travel,” according to Auerbach.

The post Reports: CFP meeting takes place in Dallas, ‘no major decisions’ regarding format change amid expansion appeared first on Saturday Glory.

According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, “a series of meetings will be held this week to further vet and discuss different financial models that would come with the additions” of Cal, Southern Methodist University and Stanford. 

And according to Ralph Russo of The Associated Press, conversations are “gaining momentum” when it comes to Cal, SMU and Stanford becoming potential members of the ACC. 

The ACC has been largely unimpacted by conference realignment in recent years. The Big Ten will expand to 18 programs and the Big 12 and Southeastern conferences will up to 16 apiece beginning in 2024 while the ACC will not see change. That could be different over time. 

The increased discussions come nearly a week after several of the programs of question, SMU and Stanford, enlisted the “big guns” and have supporters such as Condoleezza Rice lobbying for the schools to become new members of the ACC. 

According to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports, one new financial model of the additions of Cal, SMU and Stanford would project “a financial boon of roughly $72 million in annual additional revenue for the conference.” 

Cal and Stanford are proposing to “take a significantly reduced revenue distribution for multiple years, starting at about 30%,” while SMU “is proposing to take no distribution for as many as seven years,” according to Dellenger. 

Finances remain near the center of discussions according to multiple reports. Yet to be addressed is “a performance pool for success initiatives,” according to Thamel. 

Twelve of the 15 ACC programs must vote in approval to add another school to its conference. Though, there are four programs already against the potential expansion, and this, too, could change over time. 

No meeting of the full board of presidents and chancellors has been scheduled, according to Russo, but the ACC is “trying to arrange a meeting of its athletic directors” for sometime this week, perhaps Thursday. 

The post Reports: ACC picks up expansion talks in ‘series of meetings’ surrounding 3 programs  appeared first on Saturday Glory.

During an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show, Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick summarized the recent expansion efforts and fact that programs like Cal and Stanford will be left without a conference for some time a “complete disaster” and that “everybody” in the industry “has to take responsibility here.” 

“I think the decision making has lost its way in terms of the focus on the student athlete and what’s primarily best for them,” Swarbrick said. “But we are where we are, and we have to try and make it work. I mean, we’ve been pretty vocal in the past month about we need to find a home for Stanford and Cal. That you can’t have two of the great academic institutions in the world not have a not have a place in play.” 

Since late July, conference realignment has retaken headlines amid a number of programs announcing plans to depart one conference from another. The Pac-12 Conference alone is left with four member programs — Cal, Oregon State, Stanford and Washington State — while schools such as Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Oregon, Utah and Washington are departing for either the Big Ten or the Big 12. 

According to multiple reports, Notre Dame had been “pushing hard” for Stanford and Cal to become additions to the Atlantic Coast Conference. 

Swarbrick said “there’s still consideration” for Cal and Stanford to become member schools of the ACC, and he added that Notre Dame is “very much so” lobbying for the pair to join. 

Though, Swarbrick said he can envision a college athletics landscape where football isn’t completely independent from other, Olympic sports.  

“It doesn’t mean you need to separate out football, operationally,” Swarbrick said. “I think I think we can all still stay under the same umbrella.” 

Swarbrick said factors such as conflicting media rights agreements and assignment or Grants of Rights deals will make it difficult for football to completely separate from Olympic sports within college athletic departments. 

Swarbrick also said he can see a state of college athletics where student-athletes aren’t considered “employees” similar to today’s state. But money and payouts remain near the center of conference realignment discussions, and Swarbrick said he sees that trend will continue. 

“They’re certainly based on money. There’s no question,” Swarbrick said. “Some of that is the demands that have arisen over time to find more revenue to meet this requirement or this requirement. So I’m not terribly comfortable with the description of it as greed, but it is all about money.” 

The post Notre Dame AD Swarbrick says focus on student-athletes has ‘lost its way’ amid expansion on The Dan Patrick Show  appeared first on Saturday Glory.

Washington State University President Kirk Schulz said in an interview Saturday that the program has about three options it is pursuing: join the Mountain West Conference, join the American Athletic Conference or be part of trying to “rebuild” the Pac-12. 

“None of these will be very surprising,” Schulz said. “Right now there’s four members left. But that could change literally within hours. And so I think each of those we’re pursuing in a parallel pathway. And we want to evaluate what’s going to be best for WSU, what’s going to be best for our student athletes, what’s going to be a good academic and athletic fit.” 

The Pac-12 is left with four member programs after expansion efforts led to six of its previous schools announced plans to depart for either the Big Ten or Big 12 conferences. Washington State, along with Cal, Stanford and Oregon State, is searching for a next move. 

“We want to be in a position where we control our own destiny as an institution and are not dependent on anybody else, and we want to be in a conference in a place where we can win conference championships,” Schulz said. 

Schulz was appointed to his position as university president at Washington State in 2016, and he spoke to his passion for the conference and the losses it has seen to expansion. 

Schulz said whatever direction Washington State goes, fans will be needed to help assimilate and make sure the transition is as smooth, and successful, as possible. Schulz said he wants among the solutions for Washington State to “remind everybody we’re still a great academic institution” and “not just simply a member” of any conference. 

“Look, I put my heart and soul into the Pac-12 ever since I’ve been here as president, and I’m dismayed and upset and depressed about where that has gone,” Schulz said. “But at the same time, I kind of can’t sit here and go, ‘Well, let’s just wait around and hope a lightning bolt strikes.’ We got to plan aggressively about what’s the right future for Washington State University.” 

The post Report: Washington State president Schulz says Cougars ‘pursuing’ conference membership options  appeared first on Saturday Glory.

The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, which aims “to develop, promote and lead transformational change that prioritizes the education, healthy, safety and success of college athletes” according to its purpose statement, has publicly offered a stance on expansion that has riddled college football in recent years. 

Knight Commission CEO Amy Privette Perko released a statement Thursday that described the expansion efforts of six Pac-12 programs as it “should be the final tipping point forcing university presidents to explain why the current structure is still in the best interests of all Division I college athletes in all sports.” 

“These football-driven realignments create substantial challenges for basketball and Olympic sport athletes, who will spend much more time traveling and will miss many more classes with cross-country conference competition than football players,” Perko stated in a release. 

Perko stated FBS-affiliated programs “are driven today by one all-consuming pursuit: The money chase.” It’s clear revenue distribution and financial payouts are near the center of discussions when it comes to things like one conference’s potential media rights deal or Florida State’s concerns of remaining in the Atlantic Coast Conference over revenue distribution. 

Perko offered the idea of an independent college football governance model, detaching football from the rest of the sports offered in a program’s athletic department. 

This isn’t the first time the Knights Commission proposed a new college football governance model. 

Perko reemphasized the Knight Commission’s “2020 proposal for an overhauled structure” and clamed that it would “be better for athletes in all sports and improve governance.” 

“An important feature of the proposed new national governance entity for FBS football is that it be overseen by independent directors, rather than by university presidents and conference commissioners with built-in conflicts of interest,” Perko stated in a release. 

Perko pointed out that “a new national governance structure for FBS football could provide greater flexibility for competitive affiliations to be different for all other sports,” and that the “current NCAA structure and rules are restrictive on this point, requiring FBS football conferences to have at least eight programs that play regular-season competitions in basketball and a specified number of other Olympic sports.” 

Perko also took a stance on the impact of the College Football Playoff, noting it “does not contribute a dime to the NCAA” despite the NCAA paying “tens of millions of dollars in national legal and health care costs for FBS football annually.” 

Perko reiterated the idea of an independent college football model, and urged the NCAA to do more in its power over the distribution of payouts in order to be more fair and stable — having “FBS football be governed by its own entitity.” 

“If university presidents want to continue pretending FBS football is just like other NCAA Division I sports, then the CFP meeting on August 30 to determine future revenue distributions of more than $1 billion dollars should be its last—and these decisions should be made by NCAA governance.” 

The post Knight Commission CEO releases statement, emphasizes football-independent model  appeared first on Saturday Glory.

According to Ralph Russo of The Associated Press, Stanford has informed the Atlantic Coast Conference “that it would be open to joining the conference at greatly reduced or even no media rights payout for several years.” 

Cal, Oregon State, Stanford and Washington State leaders met Thursday, according to Russo, and more discussion was had surrounding what’s next for the remaining four Pac-12 member programs. 

The 100-plus-year-old conference is now down to a group of four member programs after Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah all announced plans to join the Big 12 Conference beginning in 2024. 

The Pac-12 released a statement Aug. 5 detailing that the conference is “focused on securing the best possible future for each of our member universities,” and among the possibilities could be a merger with the Mountain West Conference, which is “receptive” to such a decision. 

Stanford has enlisted the “big guns” and there are individuals such as Condoleezza Rice and Jerry Rice speaking in support of the Cardinal and lobbying for a move to a new conference. 

It “remains unknown” whether Stanford’s stance on the distribution of financial payouts will shift the ACC to vote in favor of the Cardinal joining the conference, according to Russo. 

The post Report: Stanford remains open to joining ACC  appeared first on Saturday Glory.

“Not like I’m the president giving the State of the Union, like I’m the President of NIL and (Transfer) Portal problems,” Kiffin said. 

The current landscape of college athletics is in flux. With variables like name, image and likeness and the transfer portal, student-athletes have a range of options to consider unlike at many points in time like before. 

Also in the mix is the conference realignment aspect. Kiffin and the Southeastern Conference will soon include Oklahoma and Texas in the mix while the Big Ten will increase to 18 programs and the Big 12 will have 16 come midway through 2024. 

Near the center of focus should be the student-athlete, Kiffin and his colleagues have said. 

“I’ve told them it is a great time for them to capitalize on this,” Kiffin said. “You can capitalize coming out of high school, you can capitalize on your one-time transfer  basically getting a new contract somewhere  and then as a grad transfer, so it’s really good for them. But it’s really a bad system of trying to manage things.” 

Kiffin said a number of factors have forced him to evolve as a head coach. In an era where student-athletes have a transfer to play immediately once in their careers, Kiffin said he’s seen one of the issues being that “we don’t have many kids that are dying to be here, like they didn’t grow up on and to go to Ole Miss.” 

Among the areas impacted is inside the team locker room, according to Kiffin. 

“I think kind of accepting that you’re going to not have phenomenal culture — doesn’t mean I don’t work on it,” Kiffin said. “But I think I have to realize like, ‘Hey, just is what it is.’” 

In today’s era of the one-time transfer and the transfer portal, Kiffin said the impact has also been seen in team schematics and dynamics. 

“Unfortunately, now it’s like plug and play,” Kiffin said. 

Kiffin said when he would get asked if he preferred coaching in the NFL or in college football that he’d respond by choosing the latter because “the players care so much about where they’re at.” 

Kiffin said he’s noticed the appreciation from those around him when he’s spoken and shined light on what life is like in the college football business. He’s noticed the sport has become more like a business similar to the professional ranks. 

Kiffin recalled when college student-athletes had a desire to play “where they wanted to play for when they grew up,” and he, like many coaches around the game, expressed his emotions in regard to the current state of college football. 

“It just makes for a very different dynamic, and we’re now moved towards that to where it is really business, and I would say the joy is not the same,” Kiffin said. 

The post Kiffin speaks on ‘a very different dynamic’ state of college football  appeared first on Saturday Glory.

And other programs are reportedly enlisting the “big guns” and voicing support for possible expansion moves. 

Not impacted by conference expansion despite the impending increases of the Big Ten to 18 programs in 2024 and the Big 12 and Southeastern conferences upping to 16 each, the ACC has a matter of addition and subtraction on its hands. 

According to Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated, Florida State has shown it likely is aiming for a departure from the ACC “as soon as feasible.” The Seminoles reportedly were among four to five ACC programs that voted against the additions of Pac-12 member schools Cal and Stanford, and also raised concern over revenue distribution when it comes to Florida State’s own possible expansion efforts to leave for another conference. 

Tuesday was the deadline for ACC programs to notify the conference of any departure decision for the 2024 season. The 2025 season, though, remains up in the air. 

According to Forde, it may not come as a surprise to anyone if Florida State formally notified the ACC of its departure ahead of the 2025 season “in a matter of days or weeks.” 

Connected well to Florida State is Clemson, according to Forde, which could follow the Seminoles in a number of directions. 

There “could be resistance” from SEC programs that rival Florida State and Clemson in-state that could stand in the way of the pair joining the conference, according to Forde. 

North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham “is a key administrator” among the programs opposed to adding schools near San Francisco such as Cal and Stanford, according to Forde. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has reached out to Cunningham in regards to discussing what “the diminishment of Stanford and Cal’s athletic programs would mean to the American Olympic movement.” 

In addition to Cal and Stanford’s efforts to join potentially the ACC or another conference, Southern Methodist University is also part of discussions. It was part of the ACC’s evaluations when it considered the potential membership of the three schools. 

According to Forde, the “big guns” being enlisted to help “lobby” the three programs to other conferences include Jerry Yang and Condoleezza Rice, who’s “making calls on behalf of Stanford,” and George W. Bush on behalf of SMU. 

A leadership call is scheduled for Wednesday among executives in the ACC, according to Forde. Expansion is sure to be a topic, just as it has been a persisting one across the Power 5 and all of college athletics during the past several years.

The post Reports: Condoleezza Rice, George W. Bush backing Stanford, SMU as ACC calculates expansion  appeared first on Saturday Glory.