The Pac-12 hits keep coming, with the latest blow coming about an hour ago when ESPN reported that the Big Ten addition of Washington and Oregon might really happen, becoming feasible by way of the schools joining at a lower revenue rate than the rest of the league for the remainder of the Big Ten’s current TV contracts (Joe’s got more on that in his notes today, but the short version is that if Washington and Oregon were added as full-revenue members, it was probably dead on arrival, because everyone else would have to take a pay cut, and so Washington and Oregon are evidently agreeing to take what’ll have to be a major discount from FOX and the rest). If Washington and Oregon join the Big Ten, the thinking goes, Arizona and Arizona State and Utah will join the Big 12, and Stanford will either find a new home for all sports or figure out some independence situation, and Washington State and Oregon State and maybe Cal (Cal is a wildcard but not in a good way for Cal) are probably in the Mountain West.
It’s not really this neat and tidy, and The Barking Crow remains skeptical of the Big Ten deal with Washington and Oregon because the gulf in revenue between Oregon and Rutgers would be so wide and not in the direction it should be, but the news cadence is accelerating, and when news accelerates like this on the topic of conference realignment, it often comes to a decision point soon after. After a year of wondering, today could really be the last day of the Pac-12.
If the Pac-12 goes down, current commissioner George Kliavkoff will be the one at the wheel, but it’s former commissioner Larry Scott who’ll deserve and take most of the blame. Larry Scott took over what was then the Pac-10 job in 2009, right before Pete Carroll left USC but while Oregon was ascending as a nationally competitive football program, and he quickly led the league in an expansion campaign, adding Colorado and Utah and nearly landing Texas and three of its friends. He failed to secure Texas, however, and the Pac-12 Networks flopped, and his audacious and expensive pet project of the league’s San Francisco headquarters became an icon of mismanagement. Now, a 100–year–old conference is on its deathbed, with multiple founding members appearing likely to become mid-majors.
Last week, I looked up Larry Scott on Wikipedia, wondering what his full story is. Want to hear it? I assume so! You’re here, after all.
Larry Scott played tennis at Harvard, achieved All-American status, and went pro. He then won exactly one career singles match playing professionally. One! It’s not like he went 1–1, either. The man played 19 career professional singles matches, and he lost 18 of them. It’s not nice to make fun of people, but Larry Scott killed Wazzu and Oregon State, and I kinda like Wazzu and Oregon State. 1–18, Larry. (To be fair, he was better at doubles, going 20–39 in those, but he still kinda sucked.) Anyway, being a Harvard-educated failed professional tennis player, he naturally got into tennis leadership, serving as COO of ATP Properties before becoming the WTA’s CEO, the thing which set him up for the Pac-12 job. Cursory reports say he was pretty good at the WTA job and helped propel women’s tennis forward, but those reports don’t mention how lucky he was to run that show right after Serena Williams broke out and at a time when American sports media was in the perfect state to make that a big freaking deal. The Pac-10 should’ve hired King Richard.
So, if you’re a college sports fan wanting to rip on Larry Scott today, may I offer: He went 1–18 in his tennis career. 1–18! That is worse than every Cleveland Browns season but one.
Florida State Would Like to Be Taken Seriously
(Arrested Development magicians meme)
Florida State University president Rick McCullough, whose time at FSU has seen the Seminoles go 15–10 in football and win the Cheez-It Bowl, announced today at a board of trustees meeting that the Noles “are one of the best media-valued teams in the United States.”
(Ron Burgundy “I don’t believe you” meme)
The point McCullough was making was that being in the ACC is hurting FSU over the long term, because FSU is losing out on tons and tons of revenue by not being in the Big Ten or SEC. This is correct. FSU would make more money if it was in a league that makes more money. Good math, Rick. The thing McCullough did not make clear is what to do about it. The ACC’s media deal is said to be ironclad, making any buyout gargantuan in nature. That might not be a big problem, maybe FSU has the boosters to pay what might be hundreds of millions of dollars, plural, but FSU would then need to get the Big Ten or the SEC to invite them, and it’s unclear that either would at this point in their own TV deal timeline.
The Big Ten almost certainly wouldn’t invite Florida State at a full revenue share, especially with FSU still unable to prove to the American Association of Universities that it’s a reputable academic institution (there’s some hilarious coverage of this in the Tallahassee press). For the SEC, is Florida State more attractive than the average SEC brand? I don’t really know. It’s not going to draw the same eyes as Georgia or Alabama or LSU, because it’s not as likely to contend for national championships, and it’s not the media market giant Texas is. It hasn’t been as good as Oklahoma, especially lately, and I’m not sure it’s the premier brand over Florida within its own state. Texas A&M? Auburn? It’s close to the SEC median, we can give it that, but I don’t know if FSU is good enough to improve the overall SEC revenue per school, especially if the narrative is true that sports media rights aren’t as valuable this year as they were even three years ago, when the SEC signed its deal.
Anyway, Rick McCullough would like the ACC to know that Florida State is very valuable. Or maybe he just wants to show his bosses he can be just as nuts as they are.
What the NCAA State–of–Business Review Means for the NIT
The NCAA released a big review today it paid Bain & Co. to draw up, and the most pressing question is: What’s going to happen with the NIT? Honestly, it didn’t say much. Basically, the NCAA’s own media rights deal (media rights deals seem to be a big thing for college sports, who knew) has to be drawn up anew next year, which means different broadcasters are going to bid on different NCAA-run championships, which is to say, every championship other than the College Football Playoff. My impression is that the NIT is included in this, but I don’t even really know that. I think it was part of the package last time that gave ESPN every single championship except for the NCA* *********t and golf. So, I say we all just ignore this and hope for the best. It might not have worked for the Pac-12, but maybe it can work for us.
Should I Give Money to Marquette’s NIL Fund?
Shaka Smart said it’s important, and I take what Shaka Smart says seriously. I could help Marquette basketball! In more ways than one. Do I want to help Marquette basketball? Not particularly. Was Shaka Smart really nice to me once and mean to me zero times? Yes. It’s a conundrum.
Joe Kelly: Good Clubhouse Guy
Joe Kelly arrived at Dodger Stadium on Saturday morning, and he met the joyful throngs (the Dodgers’ clubhouse attendants) with a gift: In-N-Out.
Now.
I’m not particularly high on In-N-Out. I think it’s only as loved as it is because California lacks strength elsewhere in its regional chains (as demonstrated in their lackluster performance in America’s Backbone). But a lot of people love it, and I respect people, and the Dodgers’ clubhouse attendants and Joe Kelly are both near the top of the list of people I respect. Also, I read this story as saying Joe Kelly slept for four hours, flew across the country, ate burgers for breakfast, and then saved the game for the Dodgers on Saturday. Is there an alternate interpretation? Didn’t think so.
