November 14, 2024 | Read Online

Who wants to see San Diego State's term sheet with the Pac-12?

What we can learn about conference realignment from snooping through emails

Good morning, and thanks for your continued support of Extra Points.

Way back in early September, which I know feels like roughly seven years ago at this point, I filed an Open Records Request with San Diego State, Boise State, Colorado State and Fresno State. I wanted to see what sort of pitch decks and data they provided to Pac-12 presidents as part of their bid to eventually join the conference. I wanted to see what Pac-12 officials and university presidents shared with San Diego State.

These conversations increasingly happen in person, or over the phone, or outside the scope of public records laws in a variety of ways…some legitimate, some less so. But sometimes, there actually is a paper trail that can shed useful information on how the conference realignment process actually works.

On Tuesday night, I finally got my response back from San Diego State (requests at the other institutions are either in various states of appeal, waiting, or denial). I wasn’t able to obtain any copies of specific marketing pitch deck data on either side, but I was able to get copies of other interesting documentation, like a Pac-12 term sheet.

Here’s a verrrrry initial Pac-12 Contract

On September 11, 2024, the Pac-12 conference office sent the following letter to the presidents of what would be become the six Pac-12 institutions: Washington State, Oregon State, Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Colorado State. Future Pac-12 members Gonzaga and Utah State would not be invited until later.

This letter, in so many words, explained that the Pac-12 would prepare a longer, more formal document within 30 days, that would go over some of the very specific governance protocols for the conference and its new members. The initial letter also states that upon the execution of this agreement, each of the Pac-12 schools will grant the league a five year grant-of-rights, starting in 2026, or “a different duration as mutually agreed to amongst the New Members and the Current Members based on good faith discussions prior to the execution of the Long-Form Agreements, as described in the Membership Terms.” It also lays out what happens to any of the new members if, for whatever reason, they decide to not join the Pac-12 by 2026.