Two Pac-12 ADs said that most fans "misunderstand how much new money is being infused" into member schools via the conference TV deal, "in part, because there are costs and also, the notion that you're giving up old money to get new money," according to John Canzano of the Portland OREGONIAN. Canzano noted the conference TV deal was "originally reported as a windfall for conference members." He "pieced together an estimation of what the average Pac-12 institution might net on the new TV deal this year vs. old deal" based on data provided by the two ADs. The new ESPN/Fox contract alone "results in $17.3 million per school this year, but there are some costs here that reduce the bottom line." With costs factored in, each school's haul comes to around $4.3M "in new money for the average Joe Pac-12," not $21M or $30M that some reports speculate each school would receive (Portland OREGONIAN, 3/22).
QUACK, QUACK, MR. DUCKSWORTH: The OREGONIAN's Canzano noted the TV deal's immediate impact on Pac-12 schools "isn't as fruitful as the casual observer thinks," which "makes the ADs job harder as fans think all new departments should just break ground and build new shrines." The "bottom line" from the TV deal for the Univ. of Oregon is in the $2-3M ballpark, which is "not exactly a windfall" in the department's $95M budget. UO and other Pac-12 programs are "fighting the perception that they have a boatload of new money under the deal" (Portland OREGONIAN, 3/23).
