I agree that Cal and Stanford haven’t been particularly revant lately.

What is spectacular athletically, especially about Stanford is the donor support. For example, the head women’s basketball coach, as well as 4 of the 5 assistant coach positions are endowed positions, which means that position is funded in perpetuity. Costs the university/athletic department nothing. The head FB coach and 2 assistants as well. More in other sports. And few of those funding the various endowments have names that I associate with Stanford athletics.

That’s financial resources on a scale far beyond anything UCD can hope to compete with now, or in any foreseeable future. Not even the TOP Big10 or SEC schools have that. I don’t think Stanford has scratched the surface of what they could do. I expect that Andrew Luck will be a far more active and effective presence than Shaq has been. So I’d hesitate to be dismissive of the potential there.

Oops,

The actual term was “no conference disbursements“. To me that would include $0 from any NCAA distribution for the performance of a MAC team in March Madness. Conceivably, the CSUS men’s or women’s team could make the tournament and win a game or two (admittedly unlikely), earning a distribution for the conference, and Sac wouldn’t receive a dime.

Yeah, I don’t think the MO is going to change.

“ If they had a plan, we’d know. ”

Like we knew ahead of time about the move to the Mountain West?

I think Plough signing the extension is very much like Polasek signing his. It keeps a crucial asset in place to make the move up. That's not a move I would want to make without a coach of my choice running the program.

And, "...Allow the university to plan for that move once they have moved all other sports into the conference later this year."

Actually playing in the MW for other sports for a year. experiencing that environment and seeing how we do in football next year or maybe 2, will be a better time for a definitive announcement? From an AD perspective.

I agree that Sac State sees the MAC as a stepping stone. But they have to sign a grant of rights to join a conference. So for the duration of the next media deal the MAC will be making for 2028 and beyond, Sac has a buyout - another chunk of money out the door.

And to be a desirable addition to another conference, Sac will need to be successful on the field and court. That's never a guaranteed outcome.

And N. Illinois is now a football only member of the MW. So that's an indictor that 1 MAC school felt the change would be a step up.

Touche! :grin:

The distinction being that Gary May is a UC Chancellor who seems to pay attention to the whole university; your categorization of Luke Wood as a "D1 university president" seems to indicate he's more like an NFL Director ion Football Operations. I think you'd get quite a bit of pushback from CSUS faculty, staff, students and alumni about his stewardship of the whole university. Our youngest son and his wife (alums) certainly think he's a bust.

Agreed.

There's a reason why Plough is a D! HC, Delucca is a D! AD and Gary May is a UC chancellor, while we're all blogging and second-guessing them on AST. :rofl:

Like everyone, they'll make mistakes that provide grist for our word mill, but overall I think they do an excellent job.

Ain't it fun spending other people's money.

Good start to the season!

Some things I left out, due to length:

When the news about UCD being invited to join the Mountain West, broke, it surprised everyone - to put it mildly. But conference commissioners, university chancellors and athletic directors don't do this kind of thing spontaneously - especially in the current realignment-driven environment of college athletics. These are lengthy, give and take discussions. We all, or most of us, thought joining the MW for all spots it sponsored, except football was a great move. And the option for football, as explained then, was also seen as a great move. One we all agreed was played exceedingly close to the vest by Rocko DeLucca and Gary May.

The MW announcement was followed by the unveiling of a five-year facilities plan designed to boost several sports. Again, it seems well-thought out, and was well-received on this site.

Since then, Sac State continued to look for a way into FBS, and they finally found a will buyer. Not a big surprise, since Dr. Wood was committed to living or dying (Keeping or losing his job?) on fulfilling that promise. NDSU is also making the jump to FBS by joining the same conference we're soon to be a member of. Not really surprised after Coach Polasek signed a lengthy contract extension, and then explained his decisions he did. Then Tim Plough ALSO signed an extension here at UCD.

Do we really think Plough signs that extension if he was unhappy with the decision-making or the university's commitment to his vision for the football program? I don't.

Do we think that Plough is excluded from the room when those decisions are going down? I don't.

Do we think that Plough, DeLucca and May were all clueless about either the Sac State - MAC negotiations or the NDSU - MW negotiations? I don't. Certainly, there were legalities that ensured UCD was in the loop about NDSU - MW.

The Sacramento media has always favored Sac State. I was a student in the late 60'-early 70"s. The then Sports Information Director, Jim Doan kept track of coverage in the Bee, the now-defunct Union, and the TV stations. Even through the run of Joe Carlson/Bob Hamilton basketball championships/small college tournament appearances and the first few years of the Jim Sochor era, Sac State had a consistent 2-1 or more advantage (number of articles or TV features, length of articles, etc)>. This during a times UCD not only beat the Hornets head to head, but while Sac St finished no higher than mid-conference.

If I remember correctly, Sac's initial offer to the Mac was $10 million buy-in, and no media money for 2 years (the Mac's current media deal with ESPN+ expires in 2027). The reports are now $18 million buy-in, and we don't yet know if there's a longer wait for media money, or a restriction on competing for conference championships, etc. At this point it could be a very conference friendly deal (pretty much take it or leave it). We also don't know what it may cost Sac State to buy-out of their already scheduled games. Knowing Sac's ambitions and desperate need for a football schedule, I bet the other schools all demanded a financial guarantee

The current MAC media deal gives each current FULL conference member just south of $700,000 a year for rights to ALL sports. The MAC needs to start negotiating a new deal soon. As a football-only member, Sac will only get a reduced share, whatever the may be. As Sailorgabe has pointed out, the media landscape is also changing. The MAC may potentially be able to get a relatively better deal than now, but perhaps not. Potential, as someone once said, means you haven't done it yet. Regardless, Sac State will also be giving up a grant of rights to the MAC for the duration of the new deal. So, if the MAC is the Hornets' stepping stone, they're going to have a hefty buyout to switch conferences.

Sac will only be able to switch conferences if someone wants them. That means they need to be VERY successful. A few months ago, some people on this forum were predicting that the Marion-led football team and the Bibby-led basketball team would lay waste to the Big Sky, and in football challenge for the national championship. There was also worry by some that Sac was now the local/national media darling, and that would cause huge problems for UCD (recruiting, etc.). How'd that work out?

Yes, this may work out for Sac State. Yes, it may make our task more challenging. But that doesn't mean that the way UCD is proceeding is incorrect.

Unfortunately, no help from Fullerton - going down at home by 15 to UCI.

UCSD actually has three players - Ma, Condren & Maxie - among the top 8 in the Big West in minutes per game.

I feel good about where we are, and the direction we're headed.

When the news broke about UCD joining the MW in all sports but football (except those the MW doesn't sponsor) and with an option to join the MW in football, my memory is that most of the contributors to this site were positive, regardless of what Sac State was doing, or attempting to do at the time..

That was followed by a facilities plan designed to benefit several sports in addition to football. Again, my memory is that most everyone here on AST were pretty pleased. Critiques were mostly quibbles about things in the concept drawings that posters felt could be improved.

Rocko DeLucca and Gary May were pretty universally lauded for moving in the right direction and in a well thought out manner to elevate the whole athletic program.

What's changed? Sac State moving to the MAC? NDSU moving to the MW?

Sac State seems that maybe, after shooting themselves in the foot for several months, they MIGHT actually get to FBS. Which is no more than they said they wanted from the get go. Few of us here at AST thought the Hornets going FBS was a bad thing for them or us. We mostly questioned their approach, as contrasted with ours. Additionally, Sac State is paying a lot more for a whole lot less, all things considered. Few of us here seem to think the MAC is on a level with the MW or PAC 2.0, which were Sac's original "sure things". For another, UCD will be receiving media money for a few years while Sac won't. And, if the MAC doesn't work, they'll probably have a hefty exit fee to move somewhere else. Finally, Sac will have the same problem with the Big West that UCD had. DeLucca talked about it at one point and a couple of people here have mentioned it. Except for Cal Poly, Sac will be the only BW school that has to support a football program. And an FBS program eats even more resources than an FCS program. At all the other schools, resources that Sac devotes to football can support basketball, soccer, baseball, etc. Worse, the other schools AND the conference don't consider football and its need in their decision making. Are we really envious?

NDSU going FBS is a shoe that has been waiting to drop for a long time. In addition to winning 10 of the last 15 FCS championships, the Bison have 5 D2 championships and 3 "small college" national titles. NDSU has been a big dog forever; the surprise is that it's taken them so long to go FBS. Doing so, as many here have noted helps our chances for a national championship in the short term. Longterm, it likely improves the MW as a football conference, which may make the conference more viable, and more desirable, if and when UCD goes FBS.

As Sailorgabe keeps pointing out, the world of college athletics isn't done changing. There's obviously plan in place, one that probably was well considered, and which I assume will be under continual review as the changes keep taking place.

So, yeah, I still feel good.

I've gotten increasingly concerned as the season's progressed about the effect of the big minutes all the starers are playing. Tired legs really affect shooting, which is why I think Ryann and Avery, particularly, have struggled with consistency since we've gotten into the middle portion of conference play. Megan, in addition to the minutes, has been wearing theraputic tape one one or both hamstrings all season - and more recently a leg sleeve. So her legs have never been 100%. It's amazing that she's having the season she is.

Nya's grown into a scoring role this year and has the advantage of having played in the upper 20 minutes for the previous 2 seasons. Her shooting has always been a little streaky, and that hasn't changed. I'm wondering if Vic will get more time on the court after last night. Tegan Young has improved her stats from her time at Manhattan, in what she's admitted is a faster-paced league that she's still adjusting to. But she hasn't impacted games the way Vic has.

Not that Gross has many options for minutes off the bench: due injuries and inexperience, she's got a short 2nd unit to work with. I don't want to say "...and weak 2nd unit" as Lentfer, Ersdala, and Davis are all freshmen, and Tsami might as well be. There's only so much most freshmen can contribute; they've all had moments, particularly Lentfer and Ersdala. The upside is that at least Lentfer and Ersdala should be more prepared for next year. Tagging onto that, 2026 recruit Anna Bassett has beeb on campus since the start of Winter quarter, so she's also getting a head start on next season, which is all to the good.