The Mountain West's Middle Finger, NIL for Weddings & SEC Shorts

1) The Mountain West’s Middle Finger

If you’ve read this newsletter over the last couple months, you’re well aware of the ongoing turmoil with the Pac-12 negotiating its next media deal. For those of us on the outside, it’s mostly been an exercise in figuring out which articles were ghost-written by Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark, and which were legit. Regardless, the latest signs don’t seem positive.

But like all great plots, a new spin-off has emerged with its own element of intrigue. Enter San Diego State. The Aztecs have long been rumored as an expansion option for the Pac-12, should the conference decide to bulk up in time for 2024. The caveat, though, is that the Aztecs need to officially resign from the Mountain West by June 30th to avoid paying a stiff $34 million exit fee. To be clear, it’ll still cost San Diego State about $17 million if they make the move before the deadline, but their 50% off coupon essentially expires a week from tomorrow.

I hope you’re still with me, because this is where it gets fun. Sensing that the Pac-12 media deal might take longer to finalize, the Aztecs sent a letter to the Mountain West, requesting an extension on the June 30th deadline, stating that they intend to resign from the conference. Sources were adamant that this was not the actual resignation letter, but instead a transparent attempt at weaseling out of the full exit fee.

Well, the Mountain West ain’t playing. In addition to denying an extension, the conference is also treating SDSU’s hypothetical resignation letter as the real thing!

Yes, there’s a distinct possibility that San Diego State just got itself booted from the Mountain West and will be on the hook for a $17 million exit fee. In theory, this is… kind of what it wanted? Though, I’m sure the Aztecs would’ve preferred to know the exact status of the Pac-12 before burning its bridges.

Long story short, the beef between San Diego State and the Mountain West has big George Costanza vs. Play Now energy and it’s the exact kind of offseason tomfoolery that means big bucks for an army of business lawyers. More to come on this one. In the meantime, here’s a full explainer on what’s happening.

2) To Hyphen or Not to Hyphen?

In other, more important conference news, Conference USA made headlines this week by removing the hypen from its abbreviated name. For years, the shorthand for the conference has been “C-USA.” Apparently, that wasn’t tickling the inners the way it used to. Hence, the rebrand to “CUSA.” There will also be a new logo.

I have no idea what the future holds for Conference USA as it starts life in a post-hyphen universe with nine — and soon, ten — teams, but this is precisely the kind of glorious college football nonsense that happens in mid-June, and I’m here for it.

3) Bill Hancock Stepping Down in 2025

It’s the end of an era in college football. Bill Hancock, the first and only executive director of the College Football Playoff, plans to step aside at the end of the 2023-24 season and fully retire on February 1, 2025. In his official capacity, Hancock worked on a range of issues, from securing media deals to picking host cities for playoff games to working with conference commissioners. Above all else, Hancock has been a reliable mouthpiece for the CFP and often offered a positive spin in response to criticism.

I met Hancock in 2013 at BCS National Championship between Oregon and Auburn. He’s genuinely one of the nicest people I’ve met since I started this college football journey back in 2008. We bonded over a bottomless bowl of Tostitos in the media hotel as he asked a million questions about podcasting and told me of his love for classical music. I’m not näive to think that Hancock has been college football’s secret puppetmaster for the last decade — that’s simply not the case — but he’s certainly had a lasting impact on the sport and helped usher in the playoff era. I’m still a little better about there being playoff games on New Year’s Eve, but hey, nobody’s perfect. Congrats, Bill!

4) Florida’s Recruiting Roller Coaster

The narrative surrounding the Florida Gators has been anything but positive over the last 18 months or so. First, it was the disastrous end to the Dan Mullen experience. Next it was a 6-7 season in Billy Napier’s first season in Gainesville. And lately, it’s been a combination of “wait, they’re gonna start Graham Mertz?” with lackluster recruiting.

Well, if the last week is any indication, the recruiting bit has been way overblown. Despite missing out on two top targets (QB Austin Simmons and RB Chauncey Bowens), the Gators went on a heater this past week, landing six impact prospects in the span of 72 hours and vaulting up to No. 3 in the updated 247Sports team recruiting rankings for 2024. Here’s the chronology of events that flipped the script for Florida.

For now, the Gators still have to negotiate a brutal SEC schedule and are still rolling with Graham Mertz as their quarterback for 2023, but a supercharged recruiting class will go a long ways towards fixing the woes of the Mullen years and taking the pressure off Napier.

5) The NIL Wedding Strategy

As a veteran of the wedding planning process, I’ve long been bitter over the unfair leverage that the wedding industrial complex has over the average couple. It can basically charge whatever it wants without any fear of losing business. That’s why this story rules.

Oklahoma lineman Ethan Downs flexed his NIL muscles this week and signed a deal to promote Precious Hunnie Beez Florals on his socials in exchange for free flowers at his upcoming wedding. This, my friends, is a guy who knows how to work the system.

The real American dream is not about getting crazy rich, it’s about scoring free stuff when you need it. I salute you, Mr. Downs.

Others Receiving Votes

This week, as a special shout out to the Verballers that power our wonderful Patreon community, I put a call out for suggestions for time-killing video content. As expected, the Verballerhood did not disappoint…

As LawHog, an esteemed member of our Verballer Discord pointed out, the first SEC Shorts video of the year is the annual indicator that college football is getting closer

I’m not much of a car guy, but this suggestion from BlessedElua, another valued member of our Verballer Discord, is super interesting

Erin from our Verballer Discord sent in this suggestion and, welp, I’m a sucker for almost anytime clunky technology intersects with sports.

WHAT'S GOOD IN THE VERBALLERHOOD?

This week, we caught up on all the news we missed over the last two weeks and also trotted out the Shark Thank-themed episode we’ve secretly been constructing on our lab for close to a year. Thanks to our friend Andy Staples for stopping by and appearing as a guest shark, errr, Sark.

Listen to the podcast by clicking here or check out this week’s episodes below. You can also view full episode videos and smaller clips on our YouTube channel. If you’re already a subscriber, I’d kindly emplore you to tell as many of your friends as possible about The Solid Verbal College Football Podcast.

THIS WEEK'S PODCAST EPISODES: