Weekend Hot Clicks: What if the Power 5 Split From the FBS?

Power 5 Split

Six years after the NCAA Division-I Board of Directors voted to allow schools in the Power 5 conference to write many of their own rules (i.e. Power 5 autonomy), we're still asking the question: Would the Power 5 split from the rest of the FBS?

“Is there a potential out there for the top-tier Power 5 schools to break off and do their own thing, and what might be perceived as a lower-tier Power 5 group sustain with everybody else?” Louisiana athletics director Bryan Maggard asked himself last year. “I think anything’s possible."

What if that happened today? If Power 5 proker brokers announced the split today and unleashed a firestorm of realignment that resulted in three subdivisions: Power 5, Group of Six and the FCS.

I mapped it out with, among other things, Big 12 and Pac-12 expansion, and the creation of Jason Aldean’s Flyover States Conference, your new favorite cornucopia of MAC, Big Sky and Missouri Valley teams.

The Office

In Rolling Stone writer Andy Greene's new book, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s, he wrote about several unknown pieces from the show, including a plan to break up Jim and Pam in the final season:

“Writer Brent Forrester added that the plan was initially to have Jim and Pam split halfway through the season, later reuniting in the final episode of the series. ‘Greg really wanted to do something extremely risky and high-stakes, which was the documentary airs and we see what effect it has had on these characters,’ Forrester explained. "And there was going to be a reunion episode where you see that Jim and Pam have split up by this time, and they will have their reunion in the reunion episode."

Also, Greene writes that Steve Carrell didn’t want to leave after Season 7, and James Gandolfini was a top choice to replace Carrell as Regional Manager, a role that ultimately went to James Spader, aka Robert California. And why they promoted Andy over Dwight after Robert’s departure.

Pac-12’s Problems

John Canzano of The Oregonian has done a marvelous job of chronicling the Pac-12 financial problems over the last several years as the conference is left in the dust trails of other Power 5 conferences. And as conferences juggle revenue gaps from coronavirus cancellations, Canzano re-asked a confounding question: Why is the Pac-12 spending millions of dollars ($6.9 million in rent last year plus another $11.7 million in deferred rent) to rent 113,000 square feet of glitzy office space in downtown San Francisco?

“None of the Pac-12 Conference member institutions are located in downtown San Francisco. Staff at the Pac-12 offices have to be paid more because of the high cost of living. And the theoretical advantages of being located within blocks of some high-profile tech companies hasn’t manifested itself in a single lucrative partnership.

“That downtown San Francisco location is a vanity play for a conference that can’t afford one. Which is why I’ve long wondered why the Pac-12 doesn’t just relocate to Salt Lake City, Phoenix or perhaps move to a less expensive Bay Area suburb. You know, like Morgan Hill, Calif. or something?”

Odds & Ends

Jared Leto dressed as Joe Exotic and live tweeted a Tiger King streaming party … The greatest “What if?” scenarios in March Madness history … Watch every tourney buzzer beater of the last 40 years … 3D sidewalk chalk is unbelievable … NFL Draft: Team needs (and potential early-round fits) for each team … 30 stats for 30 NBA teams this season … Roman Reigns dropping out of WrestleMania has prompted many questions … The NCAA will vote on key spring and winter eligibility proposals … Jeff Gordon talks about broadcasting NASCAR’s iRacing events.

Ariel Meredith

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The Duck, Tha Gawd

‘The Scheme’

‘The Platform’

Stumbled across this Netflix trailer last night. Anyone watched it yet?

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