The Pac-12 has officially announced its plan to part ways with Commissioner Larry Scott, further complicating the future of the recently troubled conference. Scott began his once-promising tenure at the helm of the Pac-12 in 2009, but struggled to implement functional new strategies, resulting in the stagnation of the Power-5 unit.
The Pac-12 executive committee, led by University of Oregon President Michael Schill, rightfully did not trust Scott to broker the league’s next media rights deal. Scott managed to establish a previously record-breaking 12-year $3 billion deal with FOX and ESPN. Despite his early success, the West Coast’s premier conference fell behind the likes of its Power-5 counterparts, in terms of media deals. The Pac-12 must act now to repair its image and to preserve the credibility it has left.
During the 2019 fiscal year, the BIG-10 brought in $250 million more than the Pac-12, further emphasizing the disparity between collegiate athletics’ top-tier leagues. Additionally, Scott pioneered the controversial Pac-12 network, a cable TV network established to feature wide varieties of conference athletics. The result was an underwhelming product that alienated local supporters due to its inaccessibility. Further, the network did not anticipate a post cable-world, and the channel is not even carried by certain prominent cable networks, like DirecTV. The conference is currently on a dangerous route to becoming nationally irrelevant, finding itself in a position reminiscent of 2009 when Scott took over.
The Pac-12’s next commissioner will take over an ailing conference, but one with the motivation and means to elevate its status in the near future. Scott certainly didn’t lack ambition, but the execution of his large-scale plans regularly fell short.
Name, image and likeness regulations are undoubtedly the next frontier of collegiate sports, and the Pac-12’s next boss cannot afford to miss a beat once their shoulder is tapped. UO is aptly preparing for the NIL revolution by instituting the EMERGE program which is designed to prepare athletes for the likelihood of endorsement deals and financial opportunities.
Related: “Opinion: UO EMERGEs as a leader in student-athlete brand management”
The future head of the league must be ready to tackle the issue on a multitude of fronts. NIL legislation differs state-to-state, but Scott’s successor must be ready to institute similar programs and protocols as soon as possible. The long overdue player empowerment movement, producing changes like NIL, will guide the next directions of the Pac-12 and the rest of the NCAA’s governed institutions. Scott’s successor must value the importance of the people that truly generate the league’s income, its unpaid student-athletes. If the new commissioner undervalues the athletes’ talent, the league will suffer the consequences.
The plethora of talent and tradition within the Pac-12 is enough to maintain a degree of national relevancy. But to match the likes of conference powerhouses, the Pac-12 must begin its evolution. This starts with a new media rights deal that must consider future earnings rather than only garnering positive attention in the present. Scott’s successor will be handed a conference on life-support, but can resuscitate its hopes and dreams by preparing for the next 10-20 years.
