I don't like doing it this way, but the article that DouglasPoke just put a link to I feel explains better than I could if I tried to share it with you in my own words. This is a complicated arrangement that "very likely might be" the best route for the merger between the last two PAC schools and the MWC. When I mentioned earlier that there was "value" still remaining in the PAC logo/brand, this was one of the things that I was talking about. I read earlier where there were assets of the PAC that might very well be worth the time and effort to save. So the "reverse merger" might very well be so lucrative for Oregon State and Washington State AND the MWC (or AAC) that it would be too good to pass up. To simply state that there is no value left in the PAC logo fails to take into consideration the assets of the PAC. The real issue that people need to take into consideration is, having OSU and WSU coming into the MWC is a lot more than just leaving a dying conference. All of the other PAC schools that left, left the assets and liabilities of the PAC to the remaining schools, and there might be such a sizeable asset balance that it is worth saving instead of ignoring. This is a merger between two conferences in essence, and not just two schools merging into another conference. From the article:
"However, the Pac-12’s tax filings from the 2022 fiscal year show $43 million in net assets, and a portion of that total is considered emergency reserves. Exactly how much, we cannot say. But WSU and OSU would, in theory, control that pot of cash.
What’s more, the Pac-12 is expected to receive $65 million from NCAA Tournament units earned by the current 12 teams that will be paid out over the course of the decade, according to Hotline estimates.
The outbound schools don’t take the cash with them into their new leagues. It would stay with the Pac-12, with Washington State and Oregon State, if the conference remains a viable entity.
As for the Comcast overpayment scandal, we can only pass along what the Hotline has been told: The money is being withheld from revenue distributions to all 12 schools before the end of the current fiscal year.
In other words, it would not linger as a liability for WSU and OSU as the sole remaining members.
There could be value elsewhere (Pac-12 Networks infrastructure, bowl contracts, sponsorship deals, etc.), just as there could be liabilities hidden around various corners.
But the emergency reserve fund and the NCAA Tournament units should constitute a significant asset base from which the Cougars and Beavers can move forward.
Retired Fox Sports president Bob Thompson floated a “reverse merger” scenario between the Mountain West and the “Pac-2” that would allow the remaining schools to keep all the NCAA Tournament cash. A new Pac-12 could get a small media deal and emerge healthy. Thoughts? — @pfnnewmedia
Washington State and Oregon State cannot exist in a two-team conference, of course — they would need other members. And the “reverse merger” concept is much more than a “float.” It’s under serious discussion.
But the process would be massively complicated and require the Mountain West schools to vote to dissolve their league in order to move into the Pac-12.
(If the league isn’t dissolved, then any departing members seemingly would owe exit penalties to those left behind.)
And don’t forget about the media rights piece for the merged conference. Would Fox and CBS, which own the Mountain West’s broadcast rights until 2026, consent to switch their agreement to the reformed Pac-12? Or would the reformed conference seek a new partner? (Hello, Apple!)
There are loads of issues to sort through — the biggest winners in realignment, now and always, are billable hours — but the reverse merger makes sense because the Pac-12’s brand, although battered, would carry more long-haul value than the Mountain West brand.
In our view, it’s better for 12 schools to enter the former than for two schools to join the latter."
www.seehafernews.com
