An Arizona State victory over Stanford in Saturday's Pac-12 Championship Game at Sun Devil Stadium would provide the ASU football program with "more good publicity than it could ever afford, and probably more than it can handle," according to Dan Bickley of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. Bickley: "Doors would open. So would wallets." A win would also be "a powerful victory" for ASU President Michael Crow, whose administration in recent years has been "under a form of athletic siege." The Univ. of Arizona has "tried to expand its presence in the Valley, from billboards in Phoenix to football games that will be staged at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale." But "just as it appeared ASU might be in jeopardy of losing market share" to UA, "here comes a football program that's suddenly playing with the big boys" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 12/6). Crow said that he will "never pay the kind of exorbitant coaching contracts that many major universities pay." He believes that the "way to go is to offer a reasonable contract loaded with incentives." In Phoenix, Bob Young writes incentive-laden contracts are a "smart and fair way to do business for ASU." But if "another school comes knocking" on the door of ASU football coach Todd Graham, he "might be tempted to take the sure thing" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 12/6).
