The offseason is definitely not the slow season as yet another week delivered news impacting both the Pac-12 legacy schools and other universities across the region.
Here are four developments you might have missed.
1. CFP negotiations stall
Nitty gritty: The Big Ten and SEC control the model for the College Football Playoff starting in the 2026 season and have not found common ground. The former wants a 16-team field based on automatic bids for the power conferences (the so-called 4-4-2-2-1 model) while the latter favored the 5+11 format that’s heavy on at-large bids.
During a meeting this week in Asheville, N.C., commissioners Tony Petitti of the Big Ten and Greg Sankey of the SEC decided a restart is in order.
“I wouldn’t say there’s a leading contender right now,” CFP executive director Rich Clark told reporters, “but they’re taking a fresh look at it.”
Why it matters: The CFP impacts everything in college football, and the model for 2026 has been the hottest topic in the sport for months. The impasse at the top of the governance structure creates the possibility, however remote, that the event won’t expand (to 14 or 16 teams) and, instead, will remain at 12. (That’s our preference, by the way.)
The commissioners are facing a Dec. 1 deadline to notify ESPN of any adjustments for 2026, when a new contract cycle begins. That might seem like plenty of time, but Petitti and Sankey, along with Jim Phillips of the ACC and Brett Yormark of the Big 12, have been discussing possible alterations for months and gotten nowhere.
Whatever format the Big Ten and SEC ultimately select will have sweeping implications for every major college conference, from the Big 12 and ACC to the Pac-12 and Sun Belt.
A model based on automatic qualifiers, for example, would free up the SEC and Big Ten to create a regular-season crossover series. That, in turn, would limit their opportunities to schedule non-conference matchups with teams in other leagues, particularly the ACC and Big 12.
There are other ramifications — too many to detail here, in fact.
Just know that distrust of the selection committee is rampant and common ground will continue to be elusive for the Big Ten and SEC. And they have the only votes that matter.
2. Commissioners mull new start date for football
Nitty gritty: Commissioners from the Football Bowl Subdivision conferences discussed moving the official start of the season up one week, to what is commonly referred to as Week 0: the Saturday before Labor Day weekend.
(If the change had been in place for the 2025 season, for example, everyone would start play Aug. 23. Instead, the season begins in full force Aug. 30.)
Why it matters: The Week 0 discussion has received little attention over the years but is one of the most important issues in the sport. In fact, it’s the key to unlocking the jammed postseason calendar.
College Football Playoff expansion to 12 teams created substantial overlap with the final weeks of the NFL season and playoffs. Last year, for instance, two CFP opening-round games (on Dec. 21) were up against a mammoth NFL doubleheader (Chiefs-Texans and Steelers-Ravens).
That’s a fight college football cannot win and should avoid at all costs.
(Another issue: Playing the semifinals on a random Thursday and Friday to get out from under the NFL’s wild card weekend.)
Starting the season earlier would reduce the frequency of CFP conflicts with the NFL’s stretch run. It would create an earlier date for the national championship. (The title game for the 2026 season is scheduled for Jan. 25, 2027.) And it would allow more mid-December flexibility for additional opening-round games if the CFP expands to 14 or 16 teams.
The move to Week 0 needs to happen for the betterment of the postseason — August is the key to December — which means the change will take years to implement, if it happens at all.
3. Washington State downsizes track and field
Nitty gritty: The Cougars announced Monday a competitive shift “to a distance-focused approach,” meaning they will no longer sponsor field events and will reduce the “number of sprint and hurdle opportunities.”
Why it matters: The canary is chirping, except it’s not in a coal mine — it’s trapped in a financial vise brought about by the revenue-sharing era in college sports.
With a maximum of $20.5 million being shared with athletes, schools must make hard choices about sponsoring the dozens of Olympic sports programs that lose money. (Only football and men’s basketball generate a profit.)
Washington State isn’t the first Division I school to announce a reduction in sponsored sports — Utah is cutting beach volleyball; UTEP has eliminated women’s tennis — and assuredly won’t be the last.
In other instances, Olympic sports could have funding reduced to the point they essentially become club teams.
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The situation is deeply unfortunate and the result of a broken model in which football and men’s basketball players were supporting everything else and not getting compensated for their services.
4. Cal AD Jim Knowlton retires
Nitty gritty: Knowlton, who was deeply unpopular with the Cal football community, announced his retirement on Monday, effective July 1. The Bears appointed deputies Jay Larson and Jenny Simon-O’Neill to serve as co-athletic directors for the next year.
Why it matters: Just as the track and field downsizing at WSU is a harbinger of reductions nationally, so, too, is Cal’s decision to replace Knowlton with co-athletic directors elevated from the executive staff.
For decades, major college ADs have devoted the majority of their time to football-related issues and oversight. But the Bears have someone in that position: Ron Rivera, who was named general manager of Cal football this spring and reports directly to chancellor Rich Lyons.
(Stanford has a comparable situation with Andrew Luck.)
With Rivera running football, there’s far less need for a traditional athletic director. Larson and Simon-O’Neill will handle administrative oversight of the other 29 sports, in conjunction with the head coaches.
If the arrangement works, Lyons could adopt it permanently.
Don’t be surprised if other schools with ineffective athletic directors and strong football general managers implement similar organizational structures.
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