Inevitable, maybe just by being mostly in the Pacific Time Zone in today's TV environment. Since that could not change, then expanding eastward was probably always called for. If only...
It's interesting that some conferences are keeping their "regional" names yet recruiting institutions that shatter the geographical concept to smithereens. (I often what or how big a "smithereen" was, anyhow?)
I hear that the ACC is recruiting Stanford and Cal(?) as well. Anyway, here's an interesting take on who's behind all this smash-and-grab:
"Seeing what Disney was up to years ago, the Big 10 conference took matters into its own hands, setting up their own profitable cable TV system and carefully building the most lucrative of all multi-outlet TV situations, independent of Disney. The dunces who run the PAC 12 though, were not so smart, doing nothing while the TV money dried up. UCLA and USC eagerly took refuge in the Big 10 last year, and with six more leaving, it is virtually defunct."
But it's less unsettling to we old guys who *attended* UCLA when it was in the AAWU, then the PAC8, then the PAC10, then the PAC12 (I was just getting acclimated to that), and now it's what? The Big B.O.? B.O.-10? What?
I think it's going to be a few years before any PAC 12 team is competitive in the new conference. We're just not built for a 7-3 slugfest in a driving blizzard or even a sunny day but it's like 15 degrees.
Kliavkoff made mistakes. But I think this entire mess can be laid at the feet of the university presidents. Kliavkoff took a $30 million per school offer from ESPN to the schools a year ago. They turned it down. Not him. They stupidly overvalued their own worth. The people who know this kind of stuff all said the $30 million offer was perfectly aligned with their value.
I forget if it was the Times or one of the North Cal newspapers, but a decade ago, I read an interview article with Larry Scott when he was putting his grandiose plans into effect. His arrogance was alarming and it was clear in his words that he was so committed to his vision, that his beliefs had become truths to him, while the rest of the world saw him as a fraud.
It was pretty clear then that he was taking the Pac-12 down a very slippery one-way road. His creation of the Pac-12 network was remarkably dumb. He poured billions into a network without first attempting to understand and identify the revenue ceiling the network would generate from carriage fees from cable and satellite providers. Who in their right mind would build a network before securing revenue contracts? Who in their right mind would build a network without first identifying the size of their subscriber base? While making himself one of, if not the highest paid commissioner in the country?
Duh.
As Einstein said, the only thing more dangerous than ignorance is arrogance. That pretty much sums up Larry Scott. He was brilliant in his arrogance to the point where he blinded himself and everyone else in the room who worked with him, including his team, university presidents, chancellors, and AD's.
The Pac-12 has nobody to blame but themselves by placing a child to do a man's job.
Totally agree, misterioso. Good point to note the ADs and Presidents who enabled him and never challenged him on his flawed vision and subsequent failures.
I'll give a shoutout to the people who actually ran the Pac-12 network. I thought they did a good job with production and Yogi Roth and the other on-air talent were excellent and very professional. It's unfortunate for them that they were hired on to drive to what was already a doomed mission, but I expect that most of them will find good alternatives. .
I actually had written most of that article over two years previously (maybe it was even for a once proud flagship, but sadly now defunct, Bruin fan blog) but never got around to polishing it and publishing it. The point of this is not to brag - much - but more so to point out that if some middle aged couch potato in Colorado could see this coming, surely the multi-million dollar salaried commissioners of the Pac-12 Conference and their staffs should have had an inkling that this was a possibility. What an enormous dumpster fire of incompetent and arrogant morons, and what an ignominious end to a storied conference that deserved a better fate.
But the SPTRs may soon be unemployed. So, every cloud does have a silver lining.
Very depressing, Dmitri. As a student those interschool rivalries were important - across all of our sports. I'm going to miss them. I hope the TV money makes it worth while.
Inevitable, maybe just by being mostly in the Pacific Time Zone in today's TV environment. Since that could not change, then expanding eastward was probably always called for. If only...
Dammit.
It's interesting that some conferences are keeping their "regional" names yet recruiting institutions that shatter the geographical concept to smithereens. (I often what or how big a "smithereen" was, anyhow?)
I hear that the ACC is recruiting Stanford and Cal(?) as well. Anyway, here's an interesting take on who's behind all this smash-and-grab:
"Seeing what Disney was up to years ago, the Big 10 conference took matters into its own hands, setting up their own profitable cable TV system and carefully building the most lucrative of all multi-outlet TV situations, independent of Disney. The dunces who run the PAC 12 though, were not so smart, doing nothing while the TV money dried up. UCLA and USC eagerly took refuge in the Big 10 last year, and with six more leaving, it is virtually defunct."
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/08/disney_wrecks_college_football.html
But it's less unsettling to we old guys who *attended* UCLA when it was in the AAWU, then the PAC8, then the PAC10, then the PAC12 (I was just getting acclimated to that), and now it's what? The Big B.O.? B.O.-10? What?
..senility's a b*tch!
I think it's going to be a few years before any PAC 12 team is competitive in the new conference. We're just not built for a 7-3 slugfest in a driving blizzard or even a sunny day but it's like 15 degrees.
Kliavkoff made mistakes. But I think this entire mess can be laid at the feet of the university presidents. Kliavkoff took a $30 million per school offer from ESPN to the schools a year ago. They turned it down. Not him. They stupidly overvalued their own worth. The people who know this kind of stuff all said the $30 million offer was perfectly aligned with their value.
I forget if it was the Times or one of the North Cal newspapers, but a decade ago, I read an interview article with Larry Scott when he was putting his grandiose plans into effect. His arrogance was alarming and it was clear in his words that he was so committed to his vision, that his beliefs had become truths to him, while the rest of the world saw him as a fraud.
It was pretty clear then that he was taking the Pac-12 down a very slippery one-way road. His creation of the Pac-12 network was remarkably dumb. He poured billions into a network without first attempting to understand and identify the revenue ceiling the network would generate from carriage fees from cable and satellite providers. Who in their right mind would build a network before securing revenue contracts? Who in their right mind would build a network without first identifying the size of their subscriber base? While making himself one of, if not the highest paid commissioner in the country?
Duh.
As Einstein said, the only thing more dangerous than ignorance is arrogance. That pretty much sums up Larry Scott. He was brilliant in his arrogance to the point where he blinded himself and everyone else in the room who worked with him, including his team, university presidents, chancellors, and AD's.
The Pac-12 has nobody to blame but themselves by placing a child to do a man's job.
Totally agree, misterioso. Good point to note the ADs and Presidents who enabled him and never challenged him on his flawed vision and subsequent failures.
I'll give a shoutout to the people who actually ran the Pac-12 network. I thought they did a good job with production and Yogi Roth and the other on-air talent were excellent and very professional. It's unfortunate for them that they were hired on to drive to what was already a doomed mission, but I expect that most of them will find good alternatives. .
Happy Fall acoming, Greg! Go Bruins!
Not to say I told you so, but...
https://www.themightybruin.com/p/the-physics-of-college-football-expansion
I actually had written most of that article over two years previously (maybe it was even for a once proud flagship, but sadly now defunct, Bruin fan blog) but never got around to polishing it and publishing it. The point of this is not to brag - much - but more so to point out that if some middle aged couch potato in Colorado could see this coming, surely the multi-million dollar salaried commissioners of the Pac-12 Conference and their staffs should have had an inkling that this was a possibility. What an enormous dumpster fire of incompetent and arrogant morons, and what an ignominious end to a storied conference that deserved a better fate.
But the SPTRs may soon be unemployed. So, every cloud does have a silver lining.
Thanks for the smile!
Very depressing, Dmitri. As a student those interschool rivalries were important - across all of our sports. I'm going to miss them. I hope the TV money makes it worth while.