This week in the West: CFP tweaks benefit Big Ten and SEC, Pac-12 mediation continues, Trump commission on hold

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 four developments you might have missed College Football Playoff tweaks format for Nitty gritty CFP s management committee unanimously approved the move to a straight seeding model by which the teams will be seeded according to their position in the selection committee s final rankings No longer will the top four seeds be reserved for the highest-ranked conference champions Now anyone can claim a spot in the top four even a runner-up or third-place club Why it matters Because on the surface and several layers deep as well the move benefits the Big Ten and SEC while undermining the ACC Big and Group of Five schools It s easy to envision the Big Two loaded with blue blood programs gobbling up all four of the highest seeds and the accompanying byes into the quarterfinals while relegating the ACC and Big champions to lower-tier status Had the change been in place last season Arizona State would not have advanced straight to the quarterfinals and faced Texas in the Peach Bowl The th-seeded Sun Devils would have opened on the road at Ohio State Then again Boise State would have played Indiana on the road on equal rest instead of Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl following a long layoff The former is arguably an easier assignment Therein lies the nuance to the format change for The preferred seeds are not No and The preferred seeds the sweetest spots in the brackets are No and On that tier teams will play an immensely valuable home event in the opening round they won t have the three-and-a-half week layoff prior to the quarterfinals and crucially they will get paid like a quarterfinalist Yes there s a financial component to this Of unit there is The format change required unanimous approval from the conferences and Notre Dame In order to get what they wished the Big Ten and SEC had to negotiate on the money They agreed to allow the four highest-ranked conference champions to receive million each just as they did under the format even if they don t advance to the quarterfinals That concession makes us wonder what else was discussed in the long-game negotiations Remember the seeding change is just for The CFP begins a new contract cycle in and the SEC and Big Ten want to both expand the event to teams and implement multiple automatic bids for each power conference Did the ACC and Big extract any promises for and beyond Or will the Big Ten and SEC get everything they want The answer should become clear in the next limited months Trump s commission placed on pause Nitty gritty The much-anticipated presidential commission on college athletics has been halted temporarily if not permanently in order for Congress to pursue measure that could benefit college sports Why it matters The prime driver of likely rule is Sen Ted Cruz chair of the commerce committee and a proponent of saving college sports from itself Does the pause indicate Cruz has the bipartisan endorsement needed for action that could end the anarchy For peace across the land college sports requires either antitrust protection rules that are codified on Capitol Hill or both Otherwise the lawsuits will continue to undercut the system and individual states will write their own NIL laws Another factor to consider with the pause Oil-and-gas billionaire Cody Campbell was expected to be named a leader of the Trump commission He just happens to be a Texas Tech booster who believes the Big Ten and SEC have too much control over college football The two conferences were undoubtedly wary of Campbell acquiring too much authority over the future of the industry and using the commission as his van to level the playing field Whether they convinced the Trump Administration to pause the commission or the decision was entirely rooted in Cruz s desire to pursue act we cannot say Perhaps it was a little of both Mediation between the Pac- and Mountain West continues Nitty gritty The conferences met for several days and perhaps the entire week but did not resolve the poaching penalty and exit fee lawsuits that have more than million at stake Why it matters We should modify the report above to say the conferences apparently did not resolve the lawsuits Information is extremely scarce with the attorneys and officers involved in the negotiations under strict confidentiality agreements Any leaks to the media could jeopardize the process They might have come to terms or established the framework for a deal but nothing was disclosed But this much is clear It s complicated After all the conferences are attempting to resolve two lawsuits that have a single defendant the Mountain West and two plaintiffs The Pac- in the poaching penalty matter and three schools Colorado State Utah State and Boise State in the exit fee situation Commissioners university presidents athletic directors and general counsels are involved Also there s only one mediator who shuttles between the two groups It has become increasingly apparent that both conferences must resolve the litigation in order to move forward with their media rights negotiations for the contract cycle that begins in the summer of ESPN Fox CBS The CW Warner Bros Discovery any promising partner would want the lawsuits settled before signing a multi-year deal worth tens of millions of dollars Otherwise there s peril to the stake The outcome of the lawsuits could impact conference membership Related Articles Mailbag Big Ten revenue shares for Oregon and Washington new Pac- playoff cash Big baseball weather statement and more College football recruiting UCLA rolls BYU gets a flip WSU hits Idaho College Football Playoff changes format for after flex by SEC and Big Ten Arizona State AD Graham Rossini Progress in Year but major challenges remain USC-Notre Dame series in doubt as CFP selection process causes concern The stay of the poaching penalty lawsuit issued by a judge earlier this month expires July We suspect the mediation will conclude well before that point None of the parties involved wants trials House v NCAA settlement on hold Nitty gritty To the surprise of a multitude of Northern California District Judge Claudia Wilken did not issue a ruling on the groundbreaking antitrust lawsuit this week Why it matters Until Wilken rules college sports is effectively frozen From the move to revenue sharing to the payment of billion to former athletes to the controversial roster cuts to the formation of an NIL enforcement arm everything rides on Wilken s ruling If she approves schools will start sharing million with athletes on July and the power conferences will unveil a mechanism for policing NIL deals If she rejects the lawlessness of the past two years will look like amateur hour compared to what comes next Also a rejected settlement would likely mean a court trial that could bankrupt the NCAA It s also workable that Wilken will ask the attorneys for additional changes leaving college sports in limbo for an undetermined period Her ruling could come at any point in the next insufficient weeks Send suggestions comments and tips confidentiality guaranteed to wilnerhotline bayareanewsgroup com or call - - Follow me on the social media platform X WilnerHotline