Pac-12 commissioner taking conference to new heights
May 5, 2011, 2:08 AM | Updated: 5:23 am
PHOENIX – The newly formed Pac-12 has a new television contract that is the richest in college sports.
Schools in the Pac-12 will be seeing the benefits for years to come.
Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott joined the Sports 620 KTAR’s Gambo and Ash show on Wednesday to talk about a “historic day for the conference.”
The commissioner talked about how it became possible to pull off such a landmark deal.
“We’ve been willing to make some dramatic changes like expanding the conference, adding a football championship and marketing the conference differently,” said Scott.
The Pac-12 will be creating their own network to go along with their partnership with ESPN and FOX which should allow for a much greater exposure.
“We hope to get a more national exposure. This notion that there is east coast bias and people aren’t paying attention to us will become a distant thought in the future,” said Scott.
One of the major changes as a result of the new deal will be more games played on additional days.
The conference had previously only played football games on Saturday and basketball games on Thursday and Saturdays.
“We’re going to be more flexible in terms of when we schedule,” said Scott.
The Pac-12 will now feature football games also on Thursday and Friday nights in addition to Saturdays and basketball games will be scheduled on Wednesdays and Sundays to go along with Thursdays and Saturdays.
Scott believes the conference schools will be able to use the money generated from this deal to make them competitive with the other big conferences.
“There are some very significant financial challenges that our schools are facing. Our facilities compared to other conferences are behind and that has to be a big priority going forward,” said Scott.
Scott believes this new deal will put the Pac-12, who just added Colorado and Utah this offseason, in prime position to entice big schools to join the conference in the future.
“With this new deal and the moves we’ve made, we’re going to be a coveted place to be. If there are future moves on the chess board, people are going to want to be with the Pac-12,” said Scott.
“We’ll be well placed if the chess pieces start moving again.”
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