Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said he is excited about the conference’s push into Asia, adding he could see member schools playing more games out of the country. Speaking on Day 1 of the '16 Learfield Intercollegiate Athletics Forum, Scott referenced the game Cal played against Hawaii in Australia to open the ’16 football season. There also have been two men’s basketball games in China the last two years. Scott said. “I’ve spent a lot of time in Asia. I’ve seen the trajectory of the NBA, which started real small (there). It wouldn’t surprise me if it does become (an) important commercial contributor to what the conference is doing, but that was not the original motivation.” The Pac-12 has also had schools send non-revenue sports teams overseas, playing volleyball matches and soccer friendlies. Scott: “Our schools have come to see these are pretty cool educational, cultural experiences (that) are great for the brands and there could be some commercial opportunity down the road.”
NETWORKING: Scott was asked about the direction of Pac-12 Networks, which were established in ’12. The nets have signed distributor deals with the likes of Twitter and Sling TV, but are not carried by DirecTV, a point of frustration among fans. “Sitting here today, I can imagine a world where, on the one hand, all of our football games and basketball games are part of the Pac-12 Networks that we don’t license at all,” he began. “That we’re just doing business with platforms and distributors directly.” However, he added that he could also “imagine a world where it says there’s no reason to have a Pac-12 branded network, that we’re just going to slice and dice our rights and sell them all directly to intermediaries.” He finished up his point by saying, “We don’t know the answer to that question. It puts a premium in my view on having flexibility and optionality and we will be up to take advantage of our models that exist.”
GROWTH PROSPECTS: Conference expansion was a point of discussion for many speakers and panels, and Scott also addressed the issue. “For us, we’d like not to expand,” he said. “I don’t think there’ll be any discussion around our conference for the foreseeable future.” But, he said, “It’s likely you’ll see more expansion, more consolidation over time. As successful as college sports is, and as big as the media rights are, it’s still very undervalued from my perspective.” Scott also talked about the CFP, which saw a Pac-12 school make the final four for the second time in its three-year existence. “I wasn’t surprised,” he said of Washington earning the No. 4 seed despite a weak non-conference schedule, "despite ESPN’s attempts to create a lot of drama and uncertainty.”
