I'm confident that Canzano and I are talking to different invduslas on this topic, yet we are hearing the same talking points:
Conference teams not in a hurry at all to venture elsewhere and (for now) are keeping a unified front
ESPN will be the one calling the shots on any moves since they are the ones writing the checks to these conference teams
Canzano: Pac-12 athletic directors celebrated 'quiet weekend'
It sure was quiet over the weekend, wasn’t it? The Pac-12 Conference athletic directors spent last week participating in daily — and sometimes, twice daily — video meetings regarding the future of the conference.
“The fact that we had a really quiet weekend says a lot,” said one sitting AD.
Two other Pac-12 ADs told me late last week that they were confident the remaining 10 members of the conference would stick together. Said a third on Monday morning, “I would agree with those other two ADs. The dialogue has been candid, productive and forward thinking — the numbers point to the remaining 10 sticking together.”
The ADs were on standby over the weekend. But the silence was greeted by athletic department leaders as a positive sign. The Pac-12 entered into an exclusive 30-day negotiating period with ESPN and Fox last week. It appears television will play kingmaker here in determining what happens, but the prevailing sentiment is that the Pac-12 members are currently unified.
Still, there are a lot of rumors, whispers, reports and questions, aren’t there?
“I’m telling my coaches ‘don’t believe everything you read,’” said one sitting conference AD. “We’re doing our best to stabilize the conference and make moves that make us sustainable.”
Oregon, Stanford and Washington are viewed as the most attractive potential candidates as additions to the Big Ten or SEC, but none have been formally invited. Their respective media-revenue numbers don’t come close to penciling out without Notre Dame involved.
Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State were initially thought to be poachable by the Big 12, but I’m now told by multiple Pac-12 sources that those “four corners” universities wouldn’t leave unless the conference splintered apart first.
That makes sense. If those four ditched, they’d be trading the TV markets in Seattle, Portland and the Bay Area for ones in Dallas, Houston and Orlando. The west coast television market matters to ESPN, in particular. It already has the ACC and SEC under contract. From a television-strategy standpoint, the Pac-12’s foothold in the Pacific Time Zone is advantageous.
I didn’t think much of the quiet weekend. I made calls and poked around. But apparently the ADs who had been summoned for meetings every day last week celebrated the break. They’re scheduled to meet again today and get an update from Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff.
“The waters have settled,” said one. “How long it will last, who knows?”
Conference teams not in a hurry at all to venture elsewhere and (for now) are keeping a unified front
ESPN will be the one calling the shots on any moves since they are the ones writing the checks to these conference teams
Canzano: Pac-12 athletic directors celebrated 'quiet weekend'
It sure was quiet over the weekend, wasn’t it? The Pac-12 Conference athletic directors spent last week participating in daily — and sometimes, twice daily — video meetings regarding the future of the conference.
“The fact that we had a really quiet weekend says a lot,” said one sitting AD.
Two other Pac-12 ADs told me late last week that they were confident the remaining 10 members of the conference would stick together. Said a third on Monday morning, “I would agree with those other two ADs. The dialogue has been candid, productive and forward thinking — the numbers point to the remaining 10 sticking together.”
The ADs were on standby over the weekend. But the silence was greeted by athletic department leaders as a positive sign. The Pac-12 entered into an exclusive 30-day negotiating period with ESPN and Fox last week. It appears television will play kingmaker here in determining what happens, but the prevailing sentiment is that the Pac-12 members are currently unified.
Still, there are a lot of rumors, whispers, reports and questions, aren’t there?
“I’m telling my coaches ‘don’t believe everything you read,’” said one sitting conference AD. “We’re doing our best to stabilize the conference and make moves that make us sustainable.”
Oregon, Stanford and Washington are viewed as the most attractive potential candidates as additions to the Big Ten or SEC, but none have been formally invited. Their respective media-revenue numbers don’t come close to penciling out without Notre Dame involved.
Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State were initially thought to be poachable by the Big 12, but I’m now told by multiple Pac-12 sources that those “four corners” universities wouldn’t leave unless the conference splintered apart first.
That makes sense. If those four ditched, they’d be trading the TV markets in Seattle, Portland and the Bay Area for ones in Dallas, Houston and Orlando. The west coast television market matters to ESPN, in particular. It already has the ACC and SEC under contract. From a television-strategy standpoint, the Pac-12’s foothold in the Pacific Time Zone is advantageous.
I didn’t think much of the quiet weekend. I made calls and poked around. But apparently the ADs who had been summoned for meetings every day last week celebrated the break. They’re scheduled to meet again today and get an update from Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff.
“The waters have settled,” said one. “How long it will last, who knows?”
