Under Scott, there was reportedly no sense among conference ADs of partnership or being a colleagueGETTY IMAGES
Outgoing Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott "seemed fresh and innovative" when he took over the then 10-team league in '09, "poised to invigorate a conference that had fallen behind its peers in pretty much every metric," according to Dan Wolken of USA TODAY. Within his first year on the job, Scott "pursued conference expansion and nearly pulled off a landscape-changing move" for Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Colorado. Instead, he "settled for Colorado and Utah, signed a market-setting television deal with ESPN and Fox and created the Pac-12 Networks." Scott then "simply ran out of goodwill," as, over the years, "complaints about his relationships -- or lack thereof -- with athletics directors in the Pac-12 were almost too numerous to count." With Scott at the helm, there was "no sense of partnership, of being a colleague" among conference ADs, who "didn’t feel he was truly engaged with their issues, their concerns" (USA TODAY, 1/23).
SCOTT'S HEAVY BURDEN: In San Jose, Jon Wilner listed Scott's "greatest hits and biggest misses" as Pac-12 Commissioner. Wilner also noted Scott, to a "far greater extent than any player, coach or team," has "been the Pac-12 for a dozen years." That is "not how it works in other conferences, where the commissioners prefer the shadows to the spotlight and let the schools take the lead." From this approach "came an unintended consequence: Scott has received blame for Pac-12 problems that aren’t his doing." The Pac-12’s "on-field regression starts with the teams, not Scott." But the blame "forever falls on Scott," and that is "his doing, even if he’s not primarily at fault" (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 1/23).
TOP CANDIDATES? In Boulder, Brian Howell wrote the Pac-12 "ought to give serious consideration" to Univ. of Colorado AD Rick George as Scott's replacement. George is "highly respected around the country." He "has worked in four of the Power-5 conferences," serves on the NCAA's D-I Council and "on the transfer working group." George also is "on an 18-member committee that is exploring name, image and likeness for student-athletes" and has spent two years as Chair of the LEAD1 Association. CU "would have a tough time replacing him," but George "could be the best person to replace Scott" (Boulder DAILY CAMERA, 1/24). Ohio State AD Gene Smith said that news reports "mentioning him as a possible leading candidate to become the Pac-12’s next commissioner were 'pure speculation.'" Smith said, "Honored to be mentioned, but I have not been contacted by anyone.” In Columbus, Joey Kaufman noted Smith had been "previously mentioned as a possible successor" to Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, who retired in '19 (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 1/23)
