3 years ago
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Happy Week 0, assemblage shot fans! Taking questions. Fire away.
Given the reported Pac-12/Big Ten/ACC confederation expected to beryllium formally announced this week, is the Rocky Mountain Showdown successful superior trouble?
Serious trouble?
Nah.
Groovy.
Well, astir apt not.
Go on.
Here’s what we know: After COVID-19 enactment the kibosh connected what was expected to beryllium the series’ inaugural foray into Canvas Stadium past summer, the CU Buffs and CSU Rams are slated to resume pleasantries via 4 staggered home-and-home sets: ’23 (Boulder) and ’24 (Fort Collins); ’29 (Fort Collins) and ’30 (Boulder); ’33 (Boulder) and ’34 (Fort Collins); and ’37 (Boulder) and ’38 (Fort Collins).
Here’s what we’re hearing: Given that the SEC is gathering a assemblage shot Death Star with the additions of Texas and Oklahoma, there’s a bully accidental the Alliance whitethorn antagonistic with shared scheduling obligations among the Pac-12, Big Ten and ACC. For football, volition that mean astatine slightest 1 interleague crossover crippled per season? Two? More? Will it alteration by school? By conference?
Would CU beryllium mandated to play, say, 1 Big Ten squad and 1 ACC squad a year, each year, going forward?
Sounds … complicated.
It is, logistically, fixed that truthful galore programs — the Buffs, for example, person non-conference games contracted done 2038 — similar to capable their calendars up years successful advance.
So what bash the Buffs want?
They’d similar to support the bid as-is, but admit that it’s besides retired of their corporate mitts if the Pac-12 steps successful and orders a caller plan.
How overmuch wiggle country has CU got?
Not much. The Buffs already person 36 non-conference games scheduled from 2022-2038 retired of 51 imaginable slots (three per season), oregon 70.6% of disposable non-league dates, including the 8 with CSU. Of those 36, 17 (47.2%) are against Power 5 opponents.
On the positive side, retired of those 17, 7 slots enactment up against imaginable Alliance spouse schools specified arsenic Nebraska, (’23, ’24) Minnesota (’22), Northwestern (’26, ’27) and Georgia Tech (’25, ’26). As of aboriginal Saturday morning, CU had 2 oregon much unfastened non-conference dates successful ’32, ’34, ’35, ’36 and ’38. Every different play is two-thirds oregon much booked.
So what does CSU want?
Oh, to play. Are you kidding? The much games, the merrier.
“We’ve got a commitment, the 2 schools person played shot for decades, we’ve agreed that this was important to some of us,” Rams diversion manager Joe Parker told The Post erstwhile asked astir the Showdown. “The scenery is shifting, and that’s problematic and we’ll person to code that. I deliberation there’s astir apt immoderate fiscal (repercussions) if either 1 of america would unwind that and not play.”
And what are those?
Under paragraph 13 of the declaration for the 2029-’38 games, it states that either the Buffs oregon Rams tin propulsion retired of a crippled without punishment due to the fact that of — and we’re paraphrasing this archetypal portion — mitigating earthy oregon nationalist disasters, acts of God, or, arsenic we learned successful 2020, a pandemic.
It besides reads that if either programme is prohibited from participating by “any governing authority, including but not constricted to the Mountain West Conference, the Pac-12 Conference, oregon the (NCAA), making it intolerable oregon impractical to play the contest, some parties shall beryllium relieved of immoderate and each obligations nether this Agreement related to the contention impacted by specified an event.”
In the adjacent paragraph, for “Unexcused Non-Performance,” the declaration states that:
“Consequently, either enactment failing to comply with the conditions of paragraph 1, either by cancellation oregon nonaccomplishment to appear, shall wage liquidated damages successful the magnitude of $500,000 unless specified cancellation oregon nonaccomplishment to look shall beryllium by communal consent oregon for reasons illustrated successful paragraph 13 successful which lawsuit this statement shall beryllium null and void.”
So if the Pac-12 prohibits the crippled due to the fact that of Alliance obligations, does that get CU disconnected the hook for $500K?
CSU officials didn’t privation to speculate. But the Rams’ quality to cinch a day with Alliance schools — that’s 41 FBS programs, if we number Notre Dame arsenic portion of the ACC — could get hairier down the road.
“What I bash similar is the 3 leagues stepped guardant to truly (defend) the collegiate exemplary arsenic we cognize it,” Parker said. “I deliberation that’s a fantastic connection for them, to reaffirm that commitment. Because I deliberation that it’s important to sphere assemblage shot arsenic we cognize it.”
Buffs, Rams non-conference matchups, 2022-2030
2022: CU — TCU, astatine Air Force, astatine Minnesota; CSU — astatine Michigan, Mid. Tenn. St., astatine Washington St., Sacramento St.
2023: CU — astatine TCU, Nebraska, CSU; CSU — Washington St., astatine CU, astatine Midd. Tenn. St., Dixie St.
2024: CU — North Dakota St., astatine Nebraska, astatine CSU; CSU — astatine Texas, UNC, CU, UTEP
2025: CU — Georgia Tech, astatine Houston, Wyoming; CSU — astatine Washington, Texas Tech, UNC, astatine Vanderbilt
2026: CU — astatine Georgia Tech, Houston, astatine Northwestern; CSU — astatine Indiana, astatine Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, TBD
2027: CU — Colgate, Northwestern, Kansas St.; CSU — Arizona, TBD, astatine Wisconsin, TBD
2028: CU — UMass, astatine Florida, astatine Kansas St.; CSU — astatine Arizona, TBD, TBD, TBD
2029: CU — TBD, Florida, astatine CSU; CSU — TBD, TBD, CU, TBD
2030: CU — SMU, astatine Missouri, CSU; CSU — TBD, TBD, astatine CU, TBD
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