So, being a blog and all that comes with it, it’s just about time to at least try to sort through it all, isn’t it? Let’s go over a few things, especially from a WSU point of view, as well as a roundup of what else is out there today on a pretty busy Wednesday. Read on for more….
First of all – breaking news – the Pac-16 didn’t happen. Didn’t you hear!?!? Experts and such are weighing on what happened, from all over the country. Some are labeling Larry Scott as someone who got played/burned/whatever, and it has some merit. Others are saying that Scott, the newcomer to this whole NCAA thing, was merely a puppet that the Texas program played out in the theater of the absurd.
Think about it for a second, when you compare what happened between the way the Big Ten expanded by adding Nebraska, while the Pac-10 has added Colorado and (soon enough) Utah.
1) Big Ten commish Jim Delaney plays things close to the chest, quietly going about his business. Meanwhile, the rumor mill is in full fury, with all sorts of reports about what the Big Ten is going to do. Notre Dame is the hot topic one day, the next it’s even Texas and other Big 12 schools who are talking expansion with the Big 10. Delaney barely reacts to any of the rumors, and just sits idly by while the waves crash around him. In the end, he grabs Nebraska, a perfect fit in so many ways and a program they wanted all along, giving him twelve schools to perfectly round out his conference with the championship game they can now add to the end of the season…..adding even more money to the Big 10’s bottom line. Perfect, that is, except when Nebraska plays Wisconsin?:
2) On the other side of the room, Larry Scott comes out firing. He makes no secret of his new-found power after the Pac-10 meetings, where he was given the keys to the car with one big goal – MAKE MORE MONEY FOR THE PAC-10! But with Scott’s public declaration, this action allows the backroom “chatter” to percolate among the powers-that-be. They use the Pac-10 expansion plan to their advantage, allowing Texas to cut a sweet deal, but also enough of an increase that the Big 12 is able to hold things together, at least for the time being.
At the end of the day, Scott ends up with an 11-team conference (for now), adding an average-at-best program in Colorado (but soon, Utah). Not to take a shot at our new friends in Boulder, but while this is all about football, and they bring the Denver TV market, they are lacking in some other areas where the Pac-10 has been strong – no baseball program, no softball program, just over 6,000 fans per game in hoops last year. Now Scott is backed into the corner and left for his ultimate plan B, hatched several months ago when Colorado and Utah were the logical choice to add to the mix.
I’d say that if the Super 16 was a dinger, the new Pac-12, well, I guess it could be a double into the gap…..or maybe just a hard-lined single up the middle? A base hit is nice and all, and it is certainly better than going down looking without taking the bat off your shoulder. But more than likely you don’t get your name in the paper with the base hit compared to what happens when you go yard. Quite a different feeling than it was compared to, say, a week ago, wouldn’t you agree? But even Jon Wilner of the Mercury News thinks that Scott did OK in all this:
Insta-reaction:
* Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott and deputy Kevin Weiberg deserve high marks — off-the-charts marks — for thinking big and aiming high.
But now we are back where we started, with a modest Pac-10 expansion: Colorado is locked up as the 11th team and sources have said Utah will be the 12th.
That said, the Pac-12 can still be a pretty good thing. I know that tired cliche’ of “rising tide lifts all boats” was out there on every nook and cranny of the Internet in regards to this story. But Sutra has been bringing this up, time and again in comments, as Coug fans it is important to remember where WSU fits in all this.
Remember, the Pac-10 is going to get a new TV deal for 2012. While the money isn’t going to be on par as it would have been with a Pac-16, still, a Pac-12 IS going to bring in more money per Pac-12 school. The numbers won’t be official until all the plans are known, but there has been some speculation that each school can expect to get anywhere from 25% to 50% more from TV alone compared to what is in place now. Not that we’ll be swimming in cash, but, doesn’t up to 50% more money from TV sound good from a WSU point-of-view?
Now add in the idea of a conference title game, and that would add in even more money to go around for the Pac-12. Some reports have speculated on anywhere from $12 to $15 million extra for said title game. In essence, a title game is like playing in another BCS bowl for the conference.
And, it’s also clear Scott isn’t sitting still with the new bowl agreements. For example, the Alamo Bowl was nabbed by Scott, and that bowl will pay out $3 million bucks. Even more money for the conference.
But lost in all this? For every Coug fan out there, keep it all in perspective. WSU is last in so many categories, outside of academics anyway, that it is vital to be appreciative of where the Cougs are today – IN THE PAC-12, and not going anywhere anytime soon! One can only imagine the angst around the WSU blogosphere, message boards, etc, if this thing went the other way?? Just imagine if the situation was somehow reversed, and the Big 12 decided they wanted to expand west, poaching six schools from the Pac-10? Where do you think we would have come out in all that? Let’s get real – the Mountain West or even the WAC would have been on speed dial for President Floyd and Bill Moos! How would that feel right about now??
So we can criticize Scott for the perceived failure in all this, which many of the blogs and boards are going to do…..but quietly, I know I am happy today that we still have a seat at the table. This new deal is definitely going to help a revenue-starved athletic program like Washington State!
Other things out there:
Bob Condotta at the Times had a winners-n-losers of this whole expansion ordeal. He sums things up pretty well, and has this on Larry Scott:
TOO SOON TO TELL: Larry Scott. The new Pac-10 commissioner deserves kudos for aggressively pursuing the wishes of the rest of the conference leaders to expand (the easiest way to add much-needed moola to each school’s coffers). That he didn’t pull off the Pac-16, however, mutes the excitement a bit (and worth remembering that his predecessor, Tom Hansen, also made an effort to get Texas the last time the Longhorns appeared available — that they hadn’t been since then wasn’t really Hansen’s fault). Expanding at all, however, only puts that much more pressure on Scott to fully maximize the TV dollars of the new alignment when he goes to negotiate new deals next year, and off-set any disgruntlement with some of the changes to scheduling that will inevitably occur. This expansion will undoubtedly define Scott’s Pac-10 commissioner-hood. Whether it was a success won’t really be known for years.
EA Sports has released the demo of NCAA ’11. And WOW, what an upgrade. If you have an XBox360 or PS3, do yourself a favor and go out and download it. It’s got eight teams, all with different offensive styles, and it really is an upgrade in almost every way from last year’s game. EA is also doing their Teambuilder again this year, where you can create your own team on the web and download them into the game. It’s a fun thing to do, as they have thousands of teams you can download, including classic Pac-10 teams, etc. But I noticed that they have upgraded many things about the game this year, including Butch as a mascot and adding the new Martin Stadium renovations.
That’s it for now. Enjoy your humpday, and as always, GO COUGS!
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