May 20, 2025 • 17 mins
Jon Wilner of The San Jose Mercury News and Wilner Hotline joins Dick Fain and Hugh Millen to talk about lawsuits in college athletics right now, the Pac-12 conference trying to stay relevant, other conference rankings right now, and timing for football schedules.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's time for our weekly Pac twelve conversation with Sen
Jose Mercury News reporter John Wilner, brought to you by
Simply Seattle. Our friends at simply Seattle dot com have
the most amazing collection of all things Seattle Seahawks gear.
UW had some of the largest selection of Sonics gear
anywhere in the world. Learn more at simply Seattle dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Oh, you know, John, it doesn't seem like in your
profession covering college athletics that you have had a down
time in like four years maybe pre COVID. I mean,
didn't you used to have a job where you had
an on season and an off season, and now it
(00:46):
just doesn't seem like the offseason even exists in college
football and basketball anymore.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
I would, I would, You're totally spot on it.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
And certainly I've been carrying my computer with me pretty
much everywhere I've gone June thirtieth, twenty twenty two, and
we all remember what happened that.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Day with the LA schools.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
Since then, it has been NonStop. And I would actually
argue though, that the stuff that happens from say, April
first to September first, is in some ways more important
than the on field stuff.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
It certainly has.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
A huge impact on what the fans see from their teams.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
The offseason is when all the big decisions get made,
and it is You're right, it is non stop.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
Now, I'm not complaining because the content is great, not good.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Content is king, but it is not good for my
health at well being. I gotta be honest.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Well, there's so many directions we can go. Let's just
start with this PAC twelve versus Mountain West mediation. Where
we are and that where are we on that situation?
Speaker 4 (01:54):
My guess is right now they're still in mediation, and
it's multiple lawsuits. It's all being handled at one time
by one mediator. And I think what the deal is
the two suits, people who are representing each suit or
in their own rooms, and the mediator kind of goes
back and forth and is trying to come to a
(02:14):
resolution that will work for all entities in both cases.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
And it's complicated. They started yesterday.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
I think they went all day yesterday and my sense
is they're going all day today.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Now.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
Nobody's talking because there are very strict confidentiality requirements with
something like this, and if you talk to the press,
it can actually hurt your case and your leverage. But
my guess is, either this evening or maybe tomorrow, we're
going to get some kind of news that either they
have come to a resolution or they have not. And
(02:52):
if they don't, then I think we're headed toward a trial.
I just don't know how many months that'll be.
Speaker 5 (02:57):
Well, and John Wilner with us give us the synopsis
of the meat of the lawsuits, kind of just a
general overview for those not aware.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Yes, sure, well.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
One is the so called poaching penalty lawsuit, and that
is the PAC twelve has sued the Mountain West over
fifty five million dollars, but the Mountain West says is
owed to it by the PACK twelve for taking the
five schools Utah State, Colorado, Fresno, Boise, San Diego, right
fifty five million dollars. The Mountain West is trying to
(03:33):
get from the PAC twelve for poaching those schools. PACTOV says,
you can't do that. The other suit is called the
exit fee suit, and it was filed by Boise, Colorado,
and Utah States against the Mountain West over the conference's
exit fees.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
The big thing is Wellether. There's two big pieces. One
is the money involved. If you total up what's at.
Speaker 4 (03:54):
Stake, it's over one hundred million dollars, right, and they're
trying to everybody's trying to negotiate to get a better
deal on their own, but we're talking about at least
one hundred million dollars at stake in total.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
The other piece is.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
That the Mountain West has promised the UNLV and Air
Force a certain amount of money for remaining in the conference,
And if they lose this negotiation, or if they lose
court trials and they don't have as much money as
they thought, they won't be able to pay air Force
and UNLV what they promised. And at that point there
(04:28):
is some question as to whether UNOV and Air Force
will remain committed to the Mountain West or will look
elsewhere UNLV to the PAC twelve, Air Force, to the American.
Speaker 5 (04:39):
Well, John, if there's a case that the Mountain West
has following the departures of Boise State, Colorado State, present
state standing state, Utah State, would that not set a
precedent for the Big Ten to be liable for poaching
the PAC twelve schools?
Speaker 4 (05:01):
Well, in my I mean if the PAC twelve had
bothered to try to file a lawsuit, maybe it would have.
I you know, nobody that I know thinks the poaching
penalty is gonna stand up.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
I think that they're.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
Gonna end up coming to a negotiation. The PAC twelve
told chose, you know, two years ago, not to pursue
any legal action, either against the Big ten or against Fox.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
I know that there were some discussions about it, and
they chose not to. My sense with these.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
Lawsuits is that the PAC twelve has got a really
good case on the poaching penalty lawsuit, and the Mountain
West has got a good case on the exit fee lawsuit.
So I would say, if you kind of figure the
PAC twelve ends up paying twenty five cents on the
dollar and the departing in the poaching penalty and the
departing schools pay the Mountain West seventy five cents on
(05:54):
the dollar in the exit fee suit, that's kind of
where we're gonna end up.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
John Wilner joining us. John, you broke down the tax
filings of the PAC twelve. It wasn't good, and you
said in the mail bag this week that, simply put,
the PAC twelve is a secondary player in the CFP
structure actually make that a tertiary player and has been
relegated to the same tier of influence as the Mountain
West and the Sun Belt, et cetera. And I'm gonna
(06:20):
I made a comment this last week. I'll make it
to you. I said, the PAC twelve is basically minor
league football. Right now, what I'm reading from you in
that quote right there is that you agree that the
FACT twelve is minor league football. Now is that correct?
Speaker 5 (06:34):
Is that fair?
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Well?
Speaker 4 (06:36):
In terms of the CFP, Yeah, I mean, the PAC
twelve is basically part of the Group of six and
there along for the ride.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
They don't have much say.
Speaker 4 (06:47):
But I would hustle argue I'm not sure that the
ACC at Big twelve have all that much say either.
The CFP going forward is basically three entities in control.
It's the Big Ten, It's the SEC, and it's ESPN. Now,
the ACC and Big twelve are part of the negotiations
over the format for the twenty six season, but ultimately
(07:11):
the SEC and Big ten have the authority, and it's
written into the CFP governance structure. Those two conferences have
the authority to set the format. You know, ESPN's got
to basically sign off on it. But everybody else is
a secondary player or a tertiary player, and the PAC
twelve is it does not have any more influence than
(07:34):
the American or the Mountain West in this new CFP
governance structure.
Speaker 5 (07:41):
John Wilner with us. John, Okay, that's a lot of
legal stuff. Let's let's get to a story you wrote about.
You have your way too early Power four Conferences ranking
and you have SEC one, the Big Ten, two, Big twelve, three,
and the ACC number four. So I got two questions
for you. The SEC you have at one, they had
(08:04):
they had an off year, you know, primarily because of Alabama.
You don't think maybe the Big ten's right on the
heel or where are we on that? And then Man,
I studied a lot of Sudor Sanders and Travis Hunter
tape that you know, looked at a lot of Big
twelve tape. And then I turned around and I looked
at a lot of Jackson Dark tape. And the difference
(08:24):
between the Big twelve and the SEC is monstrous just
in terms of the talent on the field. It's like
watching two different leagues. So why is the Big twelve
ahead of the Accuh, did I see what I thought
I saw? Or just kind of from your perspective, give
us your thoughts on this ranking.
Speaker 4 (08:42):
Yeah, I think that the SEC, like coming out of
spring practice, I would say the SEC is substantially ahead,
and then the big headed Big twelve to me, are
pretty close at this point. And a lot of what
I'm basing it on is, you know, the depth, how
many good teams, how many top twenty five, top thirty
(09:02):
teams are there, and what's the quarterback play like? And
I thought that last year the SEC quarterback play was
kind of down in Alabama.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
And Georgia were two good examples of that.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
But I suspect, based on who they've got lined up,
that the SEC is gonna have really good quarterback play
this upcoming season. And I'm a little bit skeptical about
the Big Ten. A lot of Big Ten schools, you know,
including Washington and Origin and USC and UCLA for that matter,
have unproven quarterbacks.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Either it's a kid.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
Who was on on the roster like Williams and played sparingly,
or it's a transfer.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
Whereas to me, the SEC has got.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
More guys that are proven, and I think that's where
there's a difference, and the Big twelve, I think also
has pretty good quarterback play, which is why I think
it's fairly close to the Big ten.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
John, I'm taking the whole family on a trip to
Pullman on Saturday, September twentieth to exact a pound of
flesh on the Cougars after what they did at Lumenfield
last last year. So what time is that game gonna
be and when are we gonna get these tbds off
the time column on my Washington Huskies football schedule, Well,
(10:17):
I thought.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
They announced the time of that game. Maybe they haven't,
but I.
Speaker 4 (10:21):
Thought all of Washington State and Oregon State's home games
had times. I don't have it in front of me,
but they may have announced it, or they gave a
like a window like four or four thirty or three
or three thirty. But my understanding is most of, if
not all, of the Cougar's home games have times attached.
The rest of them, though we will find out on May.
(10:42):
I believe it's gonna be that next week eight twenty ninth,
thirtieth with that window is okay? They always announced the
kickoff times for the first three weeks of the season,
and all the Friday games. That's when we're gonna find
out all the Friday stuff. And I think Washington's going
to be involved in.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
A fair out of that.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Oh there you go. You know, I'm seeing a late
afternoon window. You're exactly right for the Apple Cup. They
don't have a time solidified yet, but it'll be the
late afternoon window on CBS. So that's a good.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
Yeah, CBS is good.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
The good one that that that is, That is good,
no question about it, Johnny Uh.
Speaker 4 (11:15):
I mean that's a big time game, you know that'll
that'll be a national game.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
It's good for good for the Apple Cup, and it's
nice like.
Speaker 4 (11:22):
I would imagine that late afternoon is Is that ideal
for Washington fans going over there?
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Yes, absolutely ideal because you don't really have to spend
the night if you don't want to. You could make
it a day trip if you wanted to.
Speaker 4 (11:35):
And when's the last flight out you what are you
gonna drive back to Pullman or to Spokane after the games?
Speaker 3 (11:39):
That can fly out.
Speaker 5 (11:41):
I'm staying there. I'm gonna stay there the whole weekend.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
I got I got lodging their in Pullmans, so I'm
I'm one of the few that that I got lodging
in the in Pullman, I got buddies there, So that's good.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Oh nice?
Speaker 4 (11:50):
Okay, Yeah, I mean it should be a good game,
and it'll be it'll feel like a big time atmosphere
because it's gonna be on CBS.
Speaker 5 (11:57):
Absolutely. Yeah, we're questioning Dix buddies that they would choose
to have.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
Yeah, that's red flags right now.
Speaker 5 (12:09):
But Johnny, what's the question we're not asking here? It
is late may, relatively slow period of time. There must
be some fire you got going. What's what's good content
that we haven't touched on?
Speaker 4 (12:21):
Well, I mean the big thing, and I know fans
don't like the legal stuff, right, but uh, that's where
it is. Everything is right now, waiting for the judge
to rule on the lawsuit and waiting for the power
for conferences to unveil their NIL enforcement entity. And I
don't know if you guys saw, but there was a
(12:42):
CIA who had a story yesterday where basically what's happening
is the SEC, Big ten, Big twelve and a SEC
are going to force the teams in each of their
conferences to sign a loyalty oath to this nil enforcement
agency and that means that you're going to accept what
it says about your NIL deals and.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
You can't sue them. And if you don't sign the oath,
your subject to potentially get kicked out of the conference. Now,
that is the threat. Do I think that will hold
up in court? I do not, But that's where things are.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
In other words, Washington is going to be required by
the Big Ten to sign a form that says, yes,
we will abide by whatever ruling the NIL Enforcement Agency
says about Demand Williams nil deal, and even if we
disagree with it, we will accept the ruling and will
not file a lawsuit. And if Washington doesn't agree to
(13:44):
those terms, in theory, they would be liable to be
getting kicked out of the Big Ten.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
That is where we are right now. Folks.
Speaker 5 (13:52):
That sounds like an anti trust Uh, yes, it does that.
That just doesn't sound American to me. You know, pledges
of both for future rulings that have economic impact. I
don't know that. Just that my antennas go up when
what you just described, John.
Speaker 4 (14:12):
Well, that's why the NCLBA is in the situation. It
is because of all these anti trust lawsuits and and
I know it's it's not very sexy for fans and
all that, like talking about quarterbacks and power rankings.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
And the CFP.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
But it is a huge deal and it is going
to affect the on field product across the country for
many years to come. We'll see how the whole thing
plays out in the next few weeks. The judge could
rule on that House lawsuit any day, and it's going
to have a huge impact on college football for a
long time.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
John, if you were made college football czar and and
you had carte blanche to run it, like Roger Goodell
runs the NFL, what would be your primary tenants both
for for NIL and just the state of college football?
What are the things that that you see as paramount
like this, this, and this absolutely have to change and
(15:06):
they have to be like.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
This, well, I think the transfer portal has to change.
It's just absolute madness and they the problem. What I
first do is I force the university presence. There's best
I could to agree to have the athletes declared employees,
because if you do that, you can then collectively bargain
(15:31):
a deal that will solve the transfer portal, that will
solve anil, that will solve revenue share.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
Everything would be solved if they could just collectively bargain.
Speaker 4 (15:42):
But they can't do it unless there's a union, and
there can't be a union unless they're employees. Now here's
what I would say to you, guys. There's probably a
student assistant working in the UDUB football office for twenty
hours a week, making twenty five bucks an hour. Right,
that student is technically an employee. But there's still a
(16:04):
student of the University of Washington. So what's the problem
with making Demand Williams an employee.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
He's still going to be a student.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
But the university president's fear that designation of employment for
the athletes, and that is the problem at the root
of all of this madness.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Great stuff, John, we appreciate it. We will talk to
you next week. I'm sure we'll have eighteen different things
that happen in college sports, even though no games are
being played between now and then.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
Thanks man, Thanks black guys.
Speaker 5 (16:38):
You bet Sean.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
That's John Willner joining us on a weekly basis. Sor right,
more humillan coming up. Textimonials at four forty five. Brian
Schmetzer at five point forty five, after what Jackson called
an okay tie fine a fine tie against the Portland
Bastards and Monte Kohler has tied sid Otten as the
winningest high school football coach in the state of Washington's history.
(17:02):
He needs one more game, as we assume he'll win
game number one in September. We're going to talk to
him at six o'clock on ninety three point three kJ RFM.
It's time for our weekly Pac twelve conversation with Sen
Jose Mercury News reporter John Wilner, brought to you by
Simply Seattle. Our friends at simply Seattle dot com have
the most amazing collection of all things Seattle Seahawks gear.
UW had some of the largest selection of Sonics gear
anywhere in the world. Learn more at simply Seattle dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Oh, you know, John, it doesn't seem like in your
profession covering college athletics that you have had a down
time in like four years maybe pre COVID. I mean,
didn't you used to have a job where you had
an on season and an off season, and now it
(00:46):
just doesn't seem like the offseason even exists in college
football and basketball anymore.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
I would, I would, You're totally spot on it.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
And certainly I've been carrying my computer with me pretty
much everywhere I've gone June thirtieth, twenty twenty two, and
we all remember what happened that.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Day with the LA schools.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
Since then, it has been NonStop. And I would actually
argue though, that the stuff that happens from say, April
first to September first, is in some ways more important
than the on field stuff.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
It certainly has.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
A huge impact on what the fans see from their teams.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
The offseason is when all the big decisions get made,
and it is You're right, it is non stop.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
Now, I'm not complaining because the content is great, not good.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Content is king, but it is not good for my
health at well being. I gotta be honest.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Well, there's so many directions we can go. Let's just
start with this PAC twelve versus Mountain West mediation. Where
we are and that where are we on that situation?
Speaker 4 (01:54):
My guess is right now they're still in mediation, and
it's multiple lawsuits. It's all being handled at one time
by one mediator. And I think what the deal is
the two suits, people who are representing each suit or
in their own rooms, and the mediator kind of goes
back and forth and is trying to come to a
(02:14):
resolution that will work for all entities in both cases.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
And it's complicated. They started yesterday.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
I think they went all day yesterday and my sense
is they're going all day today.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Now.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
Nobody's talking because there are very strict confidentiality requirements with
something like this, and if you talk to the press,
it can actually hurt your case and your leverage. But
my guess is, either this evening or maybe tomorrow, we're
going to get some kind of news that either they
have come to a resolution or they have not. And
(02:52):
if they don't, then I think we're headed toward a trial.
I just don't know how many months that'll be.
Speaker 5 (02:57):
Well, and John Wilner with us give us the synopsis
of the meat of the lawsuits, kind of just a
general overview for those not aware.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Yes, sure, well.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
One is the so called poaching penalty lawsuit, and that
is the PAC twelve has sued the Mountain West over
fifty five million dollars, but the Mountain West says is
owed to it by the PACK twelve for taking the
five schools Utah State, Colorado, Fresno, Boise, San Diego, right
fifty five million dollars. The Mountain West is trying to
(03:33):
get from the PAC twelve for poaching those schools. PACTOV says,
you can't do that. The other suit is called the
exit fee suit, and it was filed by Boise, Colorado,
and Utah States against the Mountain West over the conference's
exit fees.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
The big thing is Wellether. There's two big pieces. One
is the money involved. If you total up what's at.
Speaker 4 (03:54):
Stake, it's over one hundred million dollars, right, and they're
trying to everybody's trying to negotiate to get a better
deal on their own, but we're talking about at least
one hundred million dollars at stake in total.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
The other piece is.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
That the Mountain West has promised the UNLV and Air
Force a certain amount of money for remaining in the conference,
And if they lose this negotiation, or if they lose
court trials and they don't have as much money as
they thought, they won't be able to pay air Force
and UNLV what they promised. And at that point there
(04:28):
is some question as to whether UNOV and Air Force
will remain committed to the Mountain West or will look
elsewhere UNLV to the PAC twelve, Air Force, to the American.
Speaker 5 (04:39):
Well, John, if there's a case that the Mountain West
has following the departures of Boise State, Colorado State, present
state standing state, Utah State, would that not set a
precedent for the Big Ten to be liable for poaching
the PAC twelve schools?
Speaker 4 (05:01):
Well, in my I mean if the PAC twelve had
bothered to try to file a lawsuit, maybe it would have.
I you know, nobody that I know thinks the poaching
penalty is gonna stand up.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
I think that they're.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
Gonna end up coming to a negotiation. The PAC twelve
told chose, you know, two years ago, not to pursue
any legal action, either against the Big ten or against Fox.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
I know that there were some discussions about it, and
they chose not to. My sense with these.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
Lawsuits is that the PAC twelve has got a really
good case on the poaching penalty lawsuit, and the Mountain
West has got a good case on the exit fee lawsuit.
So I would say, if you kind of figure the
PAC twelve ends up paying twenty five cents on the
dollar and the departing in the poaching penalty and the
departing schools pay the Mountain West seventy five cents on
(05:54):
the dollar in the exit fee suit, that's kind of
where we're gonna end up.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
John Wilner joining us. John, you broke down the tax
filings of the PAC twelve. It wasn't good, and you
said in the mail bag this week that, simply put,
the PAC twelve is a secondary player in the CFP
structure actually make that a tertiary player and has been
relegated to the same tier of influence as the Mountain
West and the Sun Belt, et cetera. And I'm gonna
(06:20):
I made a comment this last week. I'll make it
to you. I said, the PAC twelve is basically minor
league football. Right now, what I'm reading from you in
that quote right there is that you agree that the
FACT twelve is minor league football. Now is that correct?
Speaker 5 (06:34):
Is that fair?
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Well?
Speaker 4 (06:36):
In terms of the CFP, Yeah, I mean, the PAC
twelve is basically part of the Group of six and
there along for the ride.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
They don't have much say.
Speaker 4 (06:47):
But I would hustle argue I'm not sure that the
ACC at Big twelve have all that much say either.
The CFP going forward is basically three entities in control.
It's the Big Ten, It's the SEC, and it's ESPN. Now,
the ACC and Big twelve are part of the negotiations
over the format for the twenty six season, but ultimately
(07:11):
the SEC and Big ten have the authority, and it's
written into the CFP governance structure. Those two conferences have
the authority to set the format. You know, ESPN's got
to basically sign off on it. But everybody else is
a secondary player or a tertiary player, and the PAC
twelve is it does not have any more influence than
(07:34):
the American or the Mountain West in this new CFP
governance structure.
Speaker 5 (07:41):
John Wilner with us. John, Okay, that's a lot of
legal stuff. Let's let's get to a story you wrote about.
You have your way too early Power four Conferences ranking
and you have SEC one, the Big Ten, two, Big twelve, three,
and the ACC number four. So I got two questions
for you. The SEC you have at one, they had
(08:04):
they had an off year, you know, primarily because of Alabama.
You don't think maybe the Big ten's right on the
heel or where are we on that? And then Man,
I studied a lot of Sudor Sanders and Travis Hunter
tape that you know, looked at a lot of Big
twelve tape. And then I turned around and I looked
at a lot of Jackson Dark tape. And the difference
(08:24):
between the Big twelve and the SEC is monstrous just
in terms of the talent on the field. It's like
watching two different leagues. So why is the Big twelve
ahead of the Accuh, did I see what I thought
I saw? Or just kind of from your perspective, give
us your thoughts on this ranking.
Speaker 4 (08:42):
Yeah, I think that the SEC, like coming out of
spring practice, I would say the SEC is substantially ahead,
and then the big headed Big twelve to me, are
pretty close at this point. And a lot of what
I'm basing it on is, you know, the depth, how
many good teams, how many top twenty five, top thirty
(09:02):
teams are there, and what's the quarterback play like? And
I thought that last year the SEC quarterback play was
kind of down in Alabama.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
And Georgia were two good examples of that.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
But I suspect, based on who they've got lined up,
that the SEC is gonna have really good quarterback play
this upcoming season. And I'm a little bit skeptical about
the Big Ten. A lot of Big Ten schools, you know,
including Washington and Origin and USC and UCLA for that matter,
have unproven quarterbacks.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Either it's a kid.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
Who was on on the roster like Williams and played sparingly,
or it's a transfer.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
Whereas to me, the SEC has got.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
More guys that are proven, and I think that's where
there's a difference, and the Big twelve, I think also
has pretty good quarterback play, which is why I think
it's fairly close to the Big ten.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
John, I'm taking the whole family on a trip to
Pullman on Saturday, September twentieth to exact a pound of
flesh on the Cougars after what they did at Lumenfield
last last year. So what time is that game gonna
be and when are we gonna get these tbds off
the time column on my Washington Huskies football schedule, Well,
(10:17):
I thought.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
They announced the time of that game. Maybe they haven't,
but I.
Speaker 4 (10:21):
Thought all of Washington State and Oregon State's home games
had times. I don't have it in front of me,
but they may have announced it, or they gave a
like a window like four or four thirty or three
or three thirty. But my understanding is most of, if
not all, of the Cougar's home games have times attached.
The rest of them, though we will find out on May.
(10:42):
I believe it's gonna be that next week eight twenty ninth,
thirtieth with that window is okay? They always announced the
kickoff times for the first three weeks of the season,
and all the Friday games. That's when we're gonna find
out all the Friday stuff. And I think Washington's going
to be involved in.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
A fair out of that.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Oh there you go. You know, I'm seeing a late
afternoon window. You're exactly right for the Apple Cup. They
don't have a time solidified yet, but it'll be the
late afternoon window on CBS. So that's a good.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
Yeah, CBS is good.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
The good one that that that is, That is good,
no question about it, Johnny Uh.
Speaker 4 (11:15):
I mean that's a big time game, you know that'll
that'll be a national game.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
It's good for good for the Apple Cup, and it's
nice like.
Speaker 4 (11:22):
I would imagine that late afternoon is Is that ideal
for Washington fans going over there?
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Yes, absolutely ideal because you don't really have to spend
the night if you don't want to. You could make
it a day trip if you wanted to.
Speaker 4 (11:35):
And when's the last flight out you what are you
gonna drive back to Pullman or to Spokane after the games?
Speaker 3 (11:39):
That can fly out.
Speaker 5 (11:41):
I'm staying there. I'm gonna stay there the whole weekend.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
I got I got lodging their in Pullmans, so I'm
I'm one of the few that that I got lodging
in the in Pullman, I got buddies there, So that's good.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Oh nice?
Speaker 4 (11:50):
Okay, Yeah, I mean it should be a good game,
and it'll be it'll feel like a big time atmosphere
because it's gonna be on CBS.
Speaker 5 (11:57):
Absolutely. Yeah, we're questioning Dix buddies that they would choose
to have.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
Yeah, that's red flags right now.
Speaker 5 (12:09):
But Johnny, what's the question we're not asking here? It
is late may, relatively slow period of time. There must
be some fire you got going. What's what's good content
that we haven't touched on?
Speaker 4 (12:21):
Well, I mean the big thing, and I know fans
don't like the legal stuff, right, but uh, that's where
it is. Everything is right now, waiting for the judge
to rule on the lawsuit and waiting for the power
for conferences to unveil their NIL enforcement entity. And I
don't know if you guys saw, but there was a
(12:42):
CIA who had a story yesterday where basically what's happening
is the SEC, Big ten, Big twelve and a SEC
are going to force the teams in each of their
conferences to sign a loyalty oath to this nil enforcement
agency and that means that you're going to accept what
it says about your NIL deals and.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
You can't sue them. And if you don't sign the oath,
your subject to potentially get kicked out of the conference. Now,
that is the threat. Do I think that will hold
up in court? I do not, But that's where things are.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
In other words, Washington is going to be required by
the Big Ten to sign a form that says, yes,
we will abide by whatever ruling the NIL Enforcement Agency
says about Demand Williams nil deal, and even if we
disagree with it, we will accept the ruling and will
not file a lawsuit. And if Washington doesn't agree to
(13:44):
those terms, in theory, they would be liable to be
getting kicked out of the Big Ten.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
That is where we are right now. Folks.
Speaker 5 (13:52):
That sounds like an anti trust Uh, yes, it does that.
That just doesn't sound American to me. You know, pledges
of both for future rulings that have economic impact. I
don't know that. Just that my antennas go up when
what you just described, John.
Speaker 4 (14:12):
Well, that's why the NCLBA is in the situation. It
is because of all these anti trust lawsuits and and
I know it's it's not very sexy for fans and
all that, like talking about quarterbacks and power rankings.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
And the CFP.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
But it is a huge deal and it is going
to affect the on field product across the country for
many years to come. We'll see how the whole thing
plays out in the next few weeks. The judge could
rule on that House lawsuit any day, and it's going
to have a huge impact on college football for a
long time.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
John, if you were made college football czar and and
you had carte blanche to run it, like Roger Goodell
runs the NFL, what would be your primary tenants both
for for NIL and just the state of college football?
What are the things that that you see as paramount
like this, this, and this absolutely have to change and
(15:06):
they have to be like.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
This, well, I think the transfer portal has to change.
It's just absolute madness and they the problem. What I
first do is I force the university presence. There's best
I could to agree to have the athletes declared employees,
because if you do that, you can then collectively bargain
(15:31):
a deal that will solve the transfer portal, that will
solve anil, that will solve revenue share.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
Everything would be solved if they could just collectively bargain.
Speaker 4 (15:42):
But they can't do it unless there's a union, and
there can't be a union unless they're employees. Now here's
what I would say to you, guys. There's probably a
student assistant working in the UDUB football office for twenty
hours a week, making twenty five bucks an hour. Right,
that student is technically an employee. But there's still a
(16:04):
student of the University of Washington. So what's the problem
with making Demand Williams an employee.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
He's still going to be a student.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
But the university president's fear that designation of employment for
the athletes, and that is the problem at the root
of all of this madness.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Great stuff, John, we appreciate it. We will talk to
you next week. I'm sure we'll have eighteen different things
that happen in college sports, even though no games are
being played between now and then.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
Thanks man, Thanks black guys.
Speaker 5 (16:38):
You bet Sean.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
That's John Willner joining us on a weekly basis. Sor right,
more humillan coming up. Textimonials at four forty five. Brian
Schmetzer at five point forty five, after what Jackson called
an okay tie fine a fine tie against the Portland
Bastards and Monte Kohler has tied sid Otten as the
winningest high school football coach in the state of Washington's history.
(17:02):
He needs one more game, as we assume he'll win
game number one in September. We're going to talk to
him at six o'clock on ninety three point three kJ RFM.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.