Scott Eyes Greater Revenues, Exposure For Pac-10 Conference

Scott Looking Forward To Bringing Professional Sports Experience To College Sports, Pac-10

New Pac-10 Commissioner Larry Scott attributed his hiring, despite having no collegiate experience, to his "track record as a commissioner in professional sports." Scott said the university presidents "were looking for someone with a different kind of experience, someone to come with a professional sports background and particularly a track record in television, marketing." Scott: "I'm really looking forward to bringing to bear some of that experience from the professional sports world to college sports." ESPN's Jim Rome asked, "Do you think that conference has as big a TV profile and a national profile as it should have?" Scott replied, "One of the things that there's a consensus opinion about is that the Pac-10's not boxing at its appropriate weight level, that we have an opportunity and there's a big untapped potential for greater revenues, greater national exposure than we're enjoying today." Scott: "I saw the blockbuster deal the SEC did for their television rights, saw the success that the Big Ten has had with their network, and I really admire what those conferences have done. I generally come to this with a point-of-view that college sports is undervalued and the Pac-10 is well undervalued from where it should be. When our rights come up after the 2011-2012 academic year, hopefully it's something we can improve upon." Scott said of a new television deal for the conference, "It's probably the biggest strategic issue we'll deal with in that in college sports the television deal that you do is important on a few different levels." He added he hopes with "whatever TV deals we do going forward, we'll have greater opportunity" to promote women's and Olympic sports ("Jim Rome Is Burning," ESPN, 8/6).

GOING TO THE FRIDGE: Univ. of Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen noted the SEC's new television deal and the Big Ten's success with its network and said, "When the next TV contracts come up, that’s something the ACC is going to want to do and want to get a part of that." Friedgen: "We feel like we have some real quality teams in our league and the parity that we have is incredible. We’ll have to see when that comes about” (“Washington Post Live,” CSN Mid-Atlantic, 8/6).