Stanford, Cal Left Out Following Pac-12 Collapse; Solution Needed for Top-Tier Olympic Sports Programs

Torri Huske -- Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Stanford, Cal Left Out Following Pac-12 Collapse; Solution Needed for Top-Tier Olympic Sports Programs

The conference that has been one of swimming’s best over the past decade, the Pac-12, will either cease to exist or become a shell of itself after the 2023-24 academic year. Revenue from football is the primary driving force behind decisions in college athletics, and the failure of the Pac-12 to secure a television deal to its universities’ liking led to an exodus. USC and UCLA announced their pending departures more than a year ago, and more recently, Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah have all defected to the Big-12, with the latter three of those schools officially switching conferences Friday.

Now, the conference is left with just four members: Stanford, Cal, Oregon State and Washington State. None of those programs are considered needle-movers in terms of revenue, and with that singular focus, the four schools have yet to be seriously courted by the Big 12, Big Ten or any other revenue-heavy leagues. However, the Cardinal and the Golden Bears each have become premier institutions in Olympic sports, and the potentially enormous drop of football money could seriously hamper those universities’ abilities to be competitive in sports across the board.

Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde opined that Stanford and Cal’s departure from Power-Five status could diminish the performances of U.S. Olympic teams. Forde added that the possibility such a drop-off (and not the Bay Area rivals’ pristine academic reputations) could help both schools find homes or at least solutions to address their financial shortfall. Forde wrote:

“But here is the looming downside to downsizing Stanford and Cal: the impact on the American Olympic movement. These are two of the most vital feeder schools for Team USA.

“Does that matter to Mr. and Mrs. America? Seemingly so. Outside of the almighty NFL, the biggest tribe in American sports convenes for the Olympics. Average viewership for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2021 was 15.6 million per night. That’s like having an Ohio State-Michigan football game for 17 straight nights—and the ratings from Tokyo were far lower than most Summer Games.”

Forde wrote that 32 members of the U.S. Olympic team in Tokyo were current or former Stanford students and 16 were current or former Cal Bears. Forde, of course, would know that phenomenon well considering that his daughter, Brooke Forde, was a Stanford-trained Olympian in Tokyo, helping the U.S. women to silver in the 800 freestyle relay.

In total, nine of those Tokyo-bound athletes were swimmers: the younger Forde plus Katie Ledecky and Simone Manuel from Stanford; Katie McLaughlin, Abbey Weitzeil, Ryan Murphy, Andrew Seliskar, Tom Shields and Bryce Mefford from Cal.

In the column, Forde listed several possible pathways forward for Stanford and Cal after the fall of the Pac-12:

Joining the Mountain West conference, which would provide good competition in football and men’s basketball but fail to reach Stanford and Cal’s level in most Olympic sports.
Trying to join the Atlantic Coast Conference, despite the overwhelming travel issues that would emerge.
Playing football either as an FBS independent school or FCS school, deemphasizing that sport to compensate for the revenue drop while committing resources to Olympic sports.
Find other sources of income, including possible direct funding from the U.S. Olympic or Paralympic Committee.

It’s unclear how this situation will develop and whether the Cardinal and Golden Bears can find desirable new conferences for their athletic programs. But across college sports, the placement of these two schools has become a priority even for rivals. One anonymous administrator told Forde, “We must find a home for Stanford and Cal… This is shameful.” Another said, “My respect for what they achieve is off the charts. Cannot imagine them without a legit home.”

Read the full piece from Sports Illustrated here.

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Richard Riopelle

9 months ago

NCAA is not the solution for elite swim training, period.

Richard Riopelle

9 months ago

Australia does not do ncaa swimming !

Aaron K

9 months ago

Reply to Richard Riopelle

Australia also has more government support (funding) for sport and sport initiatives. There is no such support in the US.

Verena

9 months ago

Reply to Aaron K

OSU cut their swimming program a few years back, so (as sad as that is/was) they are swimming-wise not affected.

Pete

9 months ago

Does anyone have any concern for Washington State and Oregon State? Anyone? Hello?

Coach

9 months ago

College Conferences needs fixing.