Pac-12 Football

Pac-12 athletes will have a new revenue stream in 2022-23, with the conference allowing players to monetize their name, image and likeness through game highlights.

According to Paolo Uggetti of ESPN, the Pac-12 announced an initiative with technology startup Tempus Ex Machina that will create customized highlights for football, men's basketball and women's basketball players after games. The student-athletes can tweet out their highlights, with Twitter's Amplify selling advertising.

The athletes will then be paid based on the advertising money, which could be determined by the amount of views and retweets.

Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff discussed the new initiative in a statement:

The Pac-12 is committed to providing our student-athletes with best-in-class technology, tools and promotional platforms that support their individual brands. Our partnership with Tempus Ex is focused on enhancing our student-athlete and fan experiences, and today's announcement is another important step in positioning the Pac-12 as a leader when it comes to student-athlete promotion and brand building.

These efforts could further help Pac-12 programs in recruiting after the league has fallen short in recent years.

No Pac-12 team finished in the top 10 in the 2022 football recruiting rankings, per 247Sports, while only USC landed in the top 10 in men's basketball recruiting rankings.

There are several elite Pac-12 players who should be able to capitalize on their highlights.

Utah quarterback Cameron Rising could be a first-round draft pick in 2023, while USC's Caleb Williams is considered a Heisman Trophy contender after transferring from Oklahoma. Williams also has over 59,000 followers on Twitter.

In men's basketball, the conference returns some proven players like UCLA's Jaime Jaquez Jr., Arizona's Azuolas Tubelis and Oregon's Will Richardson while adding high-upside freshmen in UCLA's Amari Bailey, Oregon's Kel'el Ware and USC's Vince Iwuchukwu.

Stanford's Haley Jones returns as one of the top players in women's basketball next season.

It could lead to big returns for the elite talent in the conference.

Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff had some fun at the expense of his Big 12 counterpart during the conference's media day session.

Speaking to reporters Friday, Kliavkoff said: "With respect to the Big 12 being open for business, I appreciate that. We haven't decided if we're going shopping there yet or not."

Kliavkoff was referencing Brett Yormark's comment July 13 about the Big 12 being "open for business," which was intended to make it clear the conference was exploring all of its options with Oklahoma and Texas set to leave for the SEC, possibly as soon as the 2024-25 academic year.

The Big 12 reacted to Oklahoma and Texas' announcement by voting to accept BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston into the conference. All four programs will be added to the fold in 2023.

Barring any changes with the Sooners and Longhorns, the Big 12 will have 14 teams for the 2023-24 academic year.

The long-term viability of the Pac-12 is uncertain after USC and UCLA were approved to join the Big Ten starting in 2024.

The announcement that the two Pac-12 schools were leaving for the Big Ten came 10 months after commissioners for the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 said in a joint video conference they formed an alliance in response to realignment and ongoing expansion of the SEC.

Per Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports, the Big 12 has been "involved in deep discussions" with multiple Pac-12 programs to help shore up its membership.

Dodd cited Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah as being on the Big 12's radar, while Oregon and Washington also received consideration.

Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports noted the Pac-12 could lose "hundreds of millions in rights fees" on its next television contract with two high-profile programs leaving.

The Pac-12 has broadcast deals with ESPN and Fox that expire in the summer of 2024. McCarthy noted the conference was hoping to double its annual rights fees from the $250 million it currently makes to roughly $500 million.

This iteration of the Pac-12 has been in place since 2011 when Colorado and Utah joined. The conference dates back to 1915 when it was known as the Pacific Coast Conference.

Kliavkoff is entering his second year as the conference's commissioner. He replaced Larry Scott, who served in the role from 2009 to 2021.

Utah quarterback Cameron Rising was listed as an under-the-radar prospect for the 2023 NFL draft by multiple scouts, according to ESPN's Matt Miller.

"Dude can spin it and has a toughness to him you love to see," one scout said. "I heard he wowed people at the Manning camp. He could be this year's Zach Wilson."

The 6'2" passer totaled 2,493 yards with 20 touchdowns and just five interceptions last season, although his showing at the Manning Passing Academy might have done even more to help his stock.

"All the hype coming out of Manning was Rising's arm talent and mobility," another scout said. "He's not the biggest guy, but I heard he outperformed a lot of the name quarterbacks there."

The 2023 quarterback class already has significant hype thanks to reigning Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young and Ohio State star C.J. Stroud. There are also several high-upside options like Miami's Tyler Van Dyke, Florida's Anthony Richardson and Kentucky's Will Levis.

Rising wasn't even listed among the top 10 players at the position in the initial big board by ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr.

There are still often first-round picks who seemingly come out of nowhere.

Pittsburgh's Kenny Pickett was the only quarterback taken in the first round after throwing 42 touchdowns in 2021, a huge jump after totaling 38 passing touchdowns in the three previous seasons. Wilson went from 11 passing touchdowns in 2019 to 33 in 2020, helping the BYU star become the No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft.

Joe Burrow made arguably the biggest leap of anyone in recent memory, becoming the first overall pick in 2020 after throwing 60 touchdown passes for LSU on the way to a national title. He threw 16 TDs in 2019.

Rising could be the next in line, following Wilson as a West Coast quarterback who can move up draft board with a big college season.

After reaching the Rose Bowl with Utah last season, the sky is the limit for Rising in 2022.

UCLA football player Thomas Cole announced on social media Saturday that he is retiring from football after attempting suicide earlier in 2022:

"After many months of thorough consideration I have come to the conclusion that football is not conducive for my mental health, and there is more to my life than the game of football," Cole wrote.

Cole said he spent time at the UCLA hospital and in residential treatment at the Paradigm Treatment Center while also seeing a therapist, which helped him have a "much brighter outlook" on his future.

The offensive tackle enrolled at UCLA in January 2021, although he did not see action during his first year with the team.

Cole was a 3-star recruit out of San Luis Obispo High School in California, rated the No. 31 overall offensive tackle in the 2021 class by 247Sports composite rankings.

The news comes about a month after fellow UCLA football player Martell Irby retired from football amid mental health struggles.

The Big Ten is reportedly in a holding pattern as it waits to see if Notre Dame intends to join the conference.

According to Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports, Big Ten officials have told Oregon and Washington the conference is "standing pat for now" as it awaits Notre Dame's decision.

On Thursday, USC and UCLA officials notified ESPN's Pete Thamel and Heather Dinich that their respective applications to move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten had been accepted and that they would begin Big Ten play in 2024.

In the wake of the decisions by USC and UCLA, the Pac-12 released the following statement, noting that it intends to explore expansion options:

With the departure of USC and UCLA putting the Pac-12 in dire straits, it has been speculated that other top Pac-12 programs such as Oregon, Washington and Utah might consider leaving as well.

Given the Big Ten's expansion into a superconference rivaling the SEC, speculation has ramped up regarding Notre Dame moving to the Big Ten as well.

While Notre Dame officials haven't said anything publicly about interest in the Big Ten, it may prove too much to resist joining the conference given where realignment is heading.

USC and UCLA are about to join the Big Ten, while Texas and Oklahoma have already committed to moving from the Big 12 to the SEC.

Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic reported on Thursday that a source told her to expect the Big Ten and SEC to become megaconferences with 20 or more teams each.

If that happens, it would perhaps spell the end of the Pac-12, ACC and Big 12, or place them well down in the pecking order at the very least.

With the exception of the 2020 season, Notre Dame has always been an independent program in football, and it has worked out well to the tune of 11 national championships and two trips to the College Football Playoff.

In 2020, Notre Dame played in the ACC for one season due to the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. While it was uncommon for the football program, many of Notre Dame's other athletic programs are in the ACC, including men's and women's basketball.

If Notre Dame wishes to move all of its programs to the Big Ten, including football, there could be some massive ramifications for the school.

Per ESPN's David M. Hale, there is a television contract in place through 2036 that requires Notre Dame to play in the ACC if the football program decides to join a conference.

Should Notre Dame try to play elsewhere, it would face financial penalties worth $150 million or more.

Even so, from Notre Dame's perspective, there is likely great appeal in sharing a football conference with the likes of Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and USC.

The next big domino in college football realignment has fallen, as USC and UCLA will leave the Pac-12 and join the Big Ten in 2024.

Jon Wilner of the Mercury News initially reported that the schools were planning on switching conferences.

The Pac-12 said in a statement that it was "extremely surprised and disappointed" by the news:

The Athletic's Bruce Feldman added USC and UCLA broached the idea with the Big Ten and not the other way around. Brett McMurphy of Action Network reported the Big Ten conference may not stop at 16 teams.

College football has always featured a gap between the haves and have-nots. The stratification has widened in recent years to the point where a "super league" made up of the elite programs feels inevitable.

In the case of USC and UCLA, the schools' administrators seem to feel they're getting left behind.

Under the stewardship of former commissioner Larry Scott, Pac-12 football fell noticeably behind its Power Five rivals.

USA Today's Steve Berkowitz also wrote in May how the most recent payouts to the Pac-12 member schools, which fell from $33.6 million in 2020 to $19.8 million in 2021, "were the lowest among the Power Five by a significant margin."

For USC and UCLA, the motivations to join the Big Ten are the same ones that led Oklahoma and Texas to bolt the Big 12 for the SEC. There's more money and prestige to be had from playing in the Big Ten.

By expanding their footprint, the Trojans and Bruins might also more easily attract recruits from outside their traditional pipelines.

Losing USC and UCLA deals a major blow to the Pac-12, and the conference might struggle to recover even if it works quickly to line up programs to take their places.

Beyond watching Southern California become Big Ten territory and suffering the consequences of that, the Pac-12 might see the likes of Oregon, Washington and Utah question their futures. The Ducks have become the best school on the West Coast over the last four years under Mario Cristobal and might not want to be the big fish in a small pond.

However, Ryan Kartje of the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday night that no other Pac-12 schools are expected to join the Big Ten "at this time":

When the commissioners for the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 announced their "historic alliance" last August—a direct response to the SEC's poaching of Oklahoma and Texas—many questioned how long the strategic partnership would last.

Less than a year later, the venture is dead in the water.

One of the most notable transfer portal sagas to date will end with former Pittsburgh wide receiver Jordan Addison at USC.

The 20-year-old announced he will transfer to the Trojans on Thursday:

ESPN's Pete Thamel reported on May 3 that Addison officially entered the transfer portal, although a source at the time said, "A return to Pittsburgh remains a very viable option."

The decision to potentially switch schools made headlines for more than the fact that he is one of the best wide receivers in the country.

USC was quickly linked as a potential destination, with Johnny McGonigal and Craig Meyer of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporting the pass-catcher was "offered a multi-million-dollar deal to suit up for the Trojans."

Thamel noted Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi even directly reached out to his USC counterpart, Lincoln Riley, on multiple occasions to "express his displeasure." Officials with the ACC school also believed the Trojans tampered with Addison before he was officially in the portal.

Yet Thamel also reported someone close to Addison said this would not be a bidding war in the new era of name, image and likeness opportunities and instead was about finding the school that would best prepare him for the NFL.

Considering the Panthers will have a new offensive coordinator, wide receivers coach and quarterback in 2022, they apparently weren't the team to do that.

USC was no stranger to the transfer portal this offseason, with Riley coming to the program in November and getting a late start in the recruiting process. He added former Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Mario Williams via the portal, so the quick connections with Addison followed.

Yet USC wasn't the only powerhouse that was linked, as The Athletic reported "it wouldn't be shocking if the Crimson Tide became a factor" after Addison was working out with Alabama quarterback Bryce Young.

Few players in the country could make such an immediate impact for any team as Addison considering he was a consensus All-American and the Biletnikoff Award winner last year with 100 catches for 1,593 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Bleacher Report's Brent Sobleski projected him as the No. 8 overall pick and second wide receiver behind Ohio State's Jaxon Smith-Njigba in a 2023 mock draft.

With that type of talent on board bolstering the aerial attack, the Trojans figure to be even bigger factors in the Pac-12 title chase.

Riley's maneuvering with the transfer portal this offseason has positioned the program to again return to glory after a disappointing stretch.

While USC won double-digit games and regularly competed for championships in seven straight years from 2002 through 2008 under head coach Pete Carroll, it is coming off a 4-8 campaign and hasn't finished with double-digit wins since 2017.

Williams throwing passes to Addison is an ideal formula to become national factors in 2022.

The Pac-12 is taking steps to make sure its two best teams compete in its conference championship game.

Starting with the 2022 season, the two teams with the highest conference winning percentage will face off for the championship. This news comes after the NCAA loosened its rules on how to determine a conference champion, allowing autonomy to the conferences.

In previous years, the winners of each Pac-12 division would play one another for the title. The Pac-12, which proposed the NCAA rule change, says the new format would have altered the matchup in five of its last 11 title games. 

It's unclear whether any other conferences plan to follow suit at this time. The proposal had full support of other conferences, which are now free to determine their champion how they prefer.

The Pac-12 says it will continue utilizing divisions for at least the 2022 campaign but plans to review its scheduling for future seasons.

"Our goal is to place our two best teams in our Pac-12 Football Championship Game, which we believe will provide our conference with the best opportunity to optimize CFP invitations and ultimately win national championships," Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff said.  "Today's decision is an important step towards that goal and immediately increases both fan interest in, and the media value of, our Football Championship Game."

The Pac-12 has not had a College Football Playoff representative since the 2016-17 season.

Former Oregon offensive lineman Doug Brenner will not receive any of the $100 million he was seeking in a lawsuit against the NCAA despite a jury finding the college athletics governing body guilty of negligence, according to ESPN's Heather Dinich.

Brenner was seeking damages for injuries he suffered during a 2017 workout while playing college football at Oregon. According to his attorneys, the injuries occurred because the NCAA doesn't have any rules about overworking players. 

That said, the jury didn't believe the NCAA's negligence contributed to Brenner's injuries, per Dinich. 

One of Brenner's attorney's, Jason Kafoury, said they will appeal the decision: 

We hope this case is a shot across the bow to the NCAA, and that it will further the effort to protect student-athletes from preventable injuries and deaths. To have a case of this magnitude decided on such a technicality is a tragedy.

If the NCAA doesn't change rules, they're looking at a lot of future lawsuits because we've shown in the case that they were on notice and that if they don't act now, then they really are reckless.

In the original lawsuit, Brenner claimed former Ducks head coach Willie Taggart and former strength coach Irele Oderinde had players participate in excessive workouts in 2017. Brenner and two of his teammates were hospitalized with rhabdomyolysis as a result of the workouts.

Rhabdomyolysis "occurs when damaged muscle tissue releases its proteins and electrolytes into the blood," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The substances can result in damage to the heart and kidneys and even death. 

According to the lawsuits, the excessive workouts lasted between 60 and 90 minutes, and players didn't have water available "for at least the first day."

Brenner claimed the injuries he suffered during the workouts prevented him from having a career in the NFL. However, a judge ruled there was no evidence indicating Brenner would have played professionally. 

Brenner has since reached a $500,000 settlement with Oregon in relation to his hospitalization. He dismissed claims against Taggart and Oderinde as part of the agreement.

Oregon said in a statement, according to KMTR:

The University of Oregon is grateful to have reached a resolution with Doug Brenner, who had a career at the UO that anyone would be proud of. The health and safety of our students is our top priority. The trial testimony showed that no one at the UO intended harm to any student, and that our response and care of our students after the accident was the best we could provide, which we believe enabled the students to make a full recovery.

Brenner played for the Ducks from 2013-17. 

Five-star offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. announced Friday his intention to attend Oregon. 

Conerly chose the Ducks over Miami, Michigan, USC and Oklahoma, among others. 

247Sports' composite ranks Conerly as the No. 15 prospect in the 2022 high school class and second at the offensive tackle spot.

Already 6'5" and 283 pounds, Conerly is one of the most Saturday-ready players in the entire 2022 class. He's a mauler ready-made to play left tackle at the collegiate level, equipped with a wingspan that is apparently 6'10". 

247Sports compared Conerly to Charles Leno Jr. of the Washington Football team and said he's already projecting as a second-day NFL draft selection.

We're a long way away from that, however. Conerly realizing his NFL potential will be somewhat situation-dependent, and Oregon hopes Dan Lanning can coach up Conerly's physical skills and translate them into dominance on Saturdays.