This Week in the West: NCAA Tournament expansion nears, NBA Draft aftermath and the Pac-12 eyes Texas (State)

The offseason is definitely not the slow season as yet another week delivered news impacting both the Pac- legacy schools and other universities across the region Here are three developments you might have missed NCAA nears decision on tournament expansion Nitty gritty The NCAA is expected to determine in the coming weeks whether to expand March Madness according to ESPN with both the men s and women s events potentially growing to either or teams for the - season Why it matters The tournament is a national treasure that generates revenue for every school in Division I and delights fans in every state The men s version hasn t changed an iota since the First Four was added in and hasn t changed in any material way since growing to teams from four decades ago There is no citizens swell of advocacy for expansion Only the folks in charge it seems want to mess with a good thing To that end Pac- commissioner Teresa Gould joined her peers on the pro-expansion bus In March Big commissioner Brett Yormark indicated he was in favor of expansion to I think that s the right number In May SEC commissioner Greg Sankey arguably the the bulk influential person in college sports suggested he would assistance expansion If it works from a presentation standpoint if it works from a financial standpoint and it works from the teams involved standpoint my interest is high And earlier this week Gould added her voice to the chorus I am percent supportive of expansion Gould advised the Hotline The devil s in the details What does the bracket look like When and where do you play the games What s the impact on conference tournaments But assuming it s fiscally responsible I m inevitably in favor of more postseason access for the student-athletes The comments all came with essentially the same caveat The money requirements to be right In other words expansion hinges on more cash from the tournament s broadcast partners CBS and Turner Presently each meeting played except the championship is worth about to the participating teams conferences paid out annually for six years The commissioners don t want the unit value to decrease with the additional teams so the networks need to ante up Gould suggested the NCAA would not have waded this deep into the negotiations unless it had good reason to believe an agreement was within reach If that s the affair March Madness is on the brink of expansion whether we want it or not NBA Draft comes goes barely registers Nitty gritty It was not a productive draft for the Pac- legacy schools with only two players Washington State s Cedric Coward and Arizona s Carter Bryant selected in the first round Why it matters It s not the worst performance in up-to-date memory from the collection of basketball programs but it s close In both and the Pac- produced a single first-round pick and they mustered just two selections a sparse times But typically the conference sent three or four players into the first round What s more the legacy schools produced only one second-round pick this week Stanford s Maxime Raynaud That s it folks schools total draft slots over two rounds and only three selections To a certain extent it doesn t matter The schools are scattered across four conferences three of which are based on the other side of the country But the paucity of high-level talent across those programs reflects the second-rate state of college basketball in the West Only one Pac- legacy school Arizona reached the Sweet this spring That was the event in as well Yes Brigham Young had a terrific season Gonzaga remains highly relevant on the national scene and San Diego State has performed well in March over the years But the Pac- legacy schools which play a vital role in the quality of play across the region are struggling USC UCLA and Oregon have regressed Washington has been bad for years The Bay Area schools are irrelevant Colorado and Arizona State offer little more than an occasional flash The Pac- wasn t a very good basketball league in the final years of its previous existence realignment didn t spark newfound success and for that reason the sport is worse off along the West Coast Pac- offers membership to Texas State Nitty gritty The conference extended an invitation to Texas State on Thursday and expects the Bobcats to accept on Monday following a meeting of the university s governing board Why it matters To reach certification requirements the rebuilt Pac- needed an eighth all-sports member before it officially comes online next July That critical threshold has been met with the Bobcats assuming they accept joining newcomers Boise State Colorado State Fresno State San Diego State and Utah State plus Gonzaga which doesn t play football The improvement allows the Pac- to begin piecing together an operational plan for the - competition season Atop the to-do list Create a football schedule and determine whether the conference will stage a championship challenge Related Articles Mailbag Pac- invites Texas St the CBS deal the X factor MW moves CFB recruiting BYU lands Ryder Lyons Colorado awakens Oregon grabs a QB Pac- invites Texas State as critical th all-sports member Utah vs BYU Competitive imbalance in the era of unchecked NIL Cal s plan for the revenue-sharing era Will football receive the necessary sponsorship The Pac- must complete its media rights negotiations as well On Monday it communicated CBS will become the primary partner starting in But at least one and perhaps three more networks could purchase rights to the remaining inventory Yes sure Commissioner Teresa Gould could engage in further football expansion But our hunch is that she pumps the brakes and moves forward with eight There isn t an obvious easy option UTSA North Texas UNLV Memphis they all carry legal logistical or financial complications Also UNLV already rebuffed the Pac- s overtures last fall A gigantic mistake on the Rebels part in our estimation That doesn t mean the Pac- is finished with its reboot however The Hotline views an eventual basketball-only addition as a reasonable possibility Send suggestions comments and tips confidentiality guaranteed to wilnerhotline bayareanewsgroup com or call - - Follow me on the social media platform X WilnerHotline