Things Change - Part 4 (Hints on what the Regents Discussed)

The San Francisco Chronicle carries a story about the closed-door meeting of the Regents dealing with the collapsing Pac-12 and its impact on UC-Berkeley:

UC Regents take no action as Cal mulls the future of its athletics

Steve Kroner, Aug. 9, 2023  Updated: Aug. 10, 2023 

Tuesday’s closed meeting of the UC Regents talking with Cal Chancellor Carol Christ and UC President Michael Drake about the future of Cal Athletics was a discussion about how they got here and what the options are going forward, a source confirmed to The Chronicle on Wednesday.

The teleconference lasted approximately an hour. No actions were taken as Cal tries to find a conference home beginning with the 2024-25 school year. Cal, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State are the lone Pac-12 schools that don’t have a conference affiliation set for next year. UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington will move to the Big Ten. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah will join the Big 12.

The source confirmed that the four main options discussed in general terms for Cal are joining the ACC, the Big Ten or the Mountain West or, as a distant last resort, becoming an independent.

The notion of Cal and Stanford joining the ACC took a hit Wednesday night when both the Associated Press and ESPN reported that ACC presidents opted not to vote on whether to invite the Bay Area schools, apparently because it was clear there weren’t enough votes (12 of 15 were needed) for the additions of Cal and Stanford. 

Earlier on Wednesday, there were reports that Notre Dame — which is an ACC member in all sports but football — was pushing for the conference to make an offer to Cal and Stanford, but that wasn’t enough, at least on Wednesday night. The ACC reportedly also is considering SMU.

In December, when the UC Regents approved UCLA’s move to the Big Ten, they forced UCLA to pay Cal anywhere from $2 million to $10 million per year beginning in 2024. The thought being that because the departures of UCLA and USC from the Pac-12 would cost the conference a significant amount of money in its next media-rights deal, UCLA should compensate Cal. The source said that during Tuesday’s Regents meeting, there was no discussion of whether to adjust UCLA’s payments to Cal.

And the source believes there will not be another Regents meeting regarding Cal Athletics’ future until the Bears get more clarity on what their next step will be.

Source: https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/college/article/uc-regents-take-no-action-cal-mulls-future-18286513.php.