tlongII
06-30-2011, 04:33 PM
http://www.oregonlive.com/pac-12/index.ssf/2011/06/as_pac-10_becomes_pac-12_cause_for_celebration.html
http://media.oregonlive.com/pac10/photo/9742803-large.jpg
Larry Scott
If you didn't know any better you'd think they were celebrating the 4th of July four days early in Salt Lake City. But the marching band and spirit squads filling the South Lawn of the State Capitol on Friday won't be applauding independence. Rather the state of Utah has issued a declaration commemorating Friday as "Pac-12 Day" throughout the state in honor of the Pac-10 Conference's official switchover to the Pac-12.
"It speaks volumes to the significance of this move for the conference," said Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott, who masterminded adding the Utah Utes and Colorado Buffaloes to the fold and will be in Utah to join in the festivities. "The conference hasn't expanded since 1978. It's a big day. It's a big moment."
It's a big moment that also means a big pay raise for the conference.
In May the Pac-10 signed a 12-year television deal with Fox and ESPN, the largest such deal in college sports. With the TV deal, the Pac-12 stands to make roughly $3 billion over 12 years with each school earning an average of $21 million a year.
The contract, which won't go into effect until 2012, will give Fox and ESPN the rights to 44 regular season football games and 68 regular season men's basketball games each year. The remaining men's football and basketball games will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.
Fox and ESPN will broadcast the Pac-12's men's basektball tournament. ESPN will also get the rights to five women's basketball games including the Pac-12 championship game, as well as 10 more Olympic sports events.
Each Pac-12 school will be awarded an equal share of the revenue from the TV deal. However, Utah will work its way up to a full share over three years. The Utes are joining the Pac-12 from the Mountain West Conference, where they earned only $1.2 million each year from television revenue. Therefore, Scott said it was decided that Utah would earn 50 percent of the revenue share in the first year, 75 percent in the second, and 100 percent from the third year on.
"Equal shares were a very important point for me," Scott said. "The cornerstone of being a successful conference is everyone being treated equally and really working in the same direction."
The revenue increases will be important for both Oregon and Oregon State as they strive to continue producing successful programs. Neither school is planning on spending the money on new ventures, but rather focusing on using the money to become financially sustainable and support existing initiatives.
Oregon already has a number of projects in the works, with the recent completion of the Matthew Knight Arena and the start of construction on a six-floor football operations center, a project that will also include the addition of a soccer and lacrosse complex.
"Needless to say its will be significant growth for us financially, which we need in order to maintain our position," Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens said. "We've been very competitive because we've invested in our programs, but the financial gains will help us build a sustainable financial model."
Oregon State athletic director Bob De Carolis could not be reached for comment.
The TV deal is not the only source of new revenue that the Pac-12 will generate.
The conference signed a deal earlier this year giving Fox the rights to air and market the inaugural Pac-12 football championship game, which will take place Dec. 2 at 5 p.m. at the stadium of the qualifying team with the best conference record. The deal is estimated to be worth about $25 million, $10 million of which is part of previous contracts.
"By having a championship game it will brings more focus to the teams during their season and more relevance to our conference," Scott said. "It's a great promotional platform. It will get them the exposure they deserve before the BCS Bowl selection."
With the TV deal and plans for the championship game in place, Scott and the Pac-12 are turning their attention to the formation of their own Pac-12 Network and Pac-12 Digital Network, which they hope to have up and running by August 2012.
The San Jose Mercury News, near the league's headquarters in Walnut Creek, Calif., has reported that the Pac-12 is exploring the possibility of partnering with Apple and Google to become the first conference to create an online-only network. The Pac-12 is also considering the options of partnering with an existing programmer to re-brand an existing channel or creating their own new channel.
Scott sees the Pac-12 network as an important resource for the conference to make every Pac-12 men's basketball and football game available on some network, as well as showcase the Pac-12's success in other nonrevenue sports. A portion of the network will also be dedicated to promoting academics, Scott said.
"We want to showcase the skill of our student-athletes and the potential of the conference," Scott said. "We have great Olympic sports and we're going to get an enormous amount of the Olympic sports on the Pac-12 network."
Scott expects the Pac-12 will generate additional revenue through its network by selling advertising space and subscriptions, but he could not yet estimate how much revenue the network will generate.
"We expect it to be successful and add economic revenue for the schools," Scott said.
Scott plans to have the Pac-12 Network available internationally, making it a crucial tool for creating interest in the Pac-12 worldwide. Scott also hopes the Pac-12 will be able to host competitions in the United States and abroad between Pac-12 teams and international competitors, including national teams from other countries.
"We want to promote the conference and generate interest overseas and this goal will be supported by the TV network," Scott said
The possibility for even more significant gains in revenue from the Pac-12 Network and Pac-12 Digital Network could bolster Oregon and Oregon State's athletic programs even further.
"I think it's a great time to be a member of the Pac-12," Mullens said. "Larry Scott and the Pac-12 have done a great job to put us in a position where the sky is the limit."
http://media.oregonlive.com/pac10/photo/9742803-large.jpg
Larry Scott
If you didn't know any better you'd think they were celebrating the 4th of July four days early in Salt Lake City. But the marching band and spirit squads filling the South Lawn of the State Capitol on Friday won't be applauding independence. Rather the state of Utah has issued a declaration commemorating Friday as "Pac-12 Day" throughout the state in honor of the Pac-10 Conference's official switchover to the Pac-12.
"It speaks volumes to the significance of this move for the conference," said Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott, who masterminded adding the Utah Utes and Colorado Buffaloes to the fold and will be in Utah to join in the festivities. "The conference hasn't expanded since 1978. It's a big day. It's a big moment."
It's a big moment that also means a big pay raise for the conference.
In May the Pac-10 signed a 12-year television deal with Fox and ESPN, the largest such deal in college sports. With the TV deal, the Pac-12 stands to make roughly $3 billion over 12 years with each school earning an average of $21 million a year.
The contract, which won't go into effect until 2012, will give Fox and ESPN the rights to 44 regular season football games and 68 regular season men's basketball games each year. The remaining men's football and basketball games will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.
Fox and ESPN will broadcast the Pac-12's men's basektball tournament. ESPN will also get the rights to five women's basketball games including the Pac-12 championship game, as well as 10 more Olympic sports events.
Each Pac-12 school will be awarded an equal share of the revenue from the TV deal. However, Utah will work its way up to a full share over three years. The Utes are joining the Pac-12 from the Mountain West Conference, where they earned only $1.2 million each year from television revenue. Therefore, Scott said it was decided that Utah would earn 50 percent of the revenue share in the first year, 75 percent in the second, and 100 percent from the third year on.
"Equal shares were a very important point for me," Scott said. "The cornerstone of being a successful conference is everyone being treated equally and really working in the same direction."
The revenue increases will be important for both Oregon and Oregon State as they strive to continue producing successful programs. Neither school is planning on spending the money on new ventures, but rather focusing on using the money to become financially sustainable and support existing initiatives.
Oregon already has a number of projects in the works, with the recent completion of the Matthew Knight Arena and the start of construction on a six-floor football operations center, a project that will also include the addition of a soccer and lacrosse complex.
"Needless to say its will be significant growth for us financially, which we need in order to maintain our position," Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens said. "We've been very competitive because we've invested in our programs, but the financial gains will help us build a sustainable financial model."
Oregon State athletic director Bob De Carolis could not be reached for comment.
The TV deal is not the only source of new revenue that the Pac-12 will generate.
The conference signed a deal earlier this year giving Fox the rights to air and market the inaugural Pac-12 football championship game, which will take place Dec. 2 at 5 p.m. at the stadium of the qualifying team with the best conference record. The deal is estimated to be worth about $25 million, $10 million of which is part of previous contracts.
"By having a championship game it will brings more focus to the teams during their season and more relevance to our conference," Scott said. "It's a great promotional platform. It will get them the exposure they deserve before the BCS Bowl selection."
With the TV deal and plans for the championship game in place, Scott and the Pac-12 are turning their attention to the formation of their own Pac-12 Network and Pac-12 Digital Network, which they hope to have up and running by August 2012.
The San Jose Mercury News, near the league's headquarters in Walnut Creek, Calif., has reported that the Pac-12 is exploring the possibility of partnering with Apple and Google to become the first conference to create an online-only network. The Pac-12 is also considering the options of partnering with an existing programmer to re-brand an existing channel or creating their own new channel.
Scott sees the Pac-12 network as an important resource for the conference to make every Pac-12 men's basketball and football game available on some network, as well as showcase the Pac-12's success in other nonrevenue sports. A portion of the network will also be dedicated to promoting academics, Scott said.
"We want to showcase the skill of our student-athletes and the potential of the conference," Scott said. "We have great Olympic sports and we're going to get an enormous amount of the Olympic sports on the Pac-12 network."
Scott expects the Pac-12 will generate additional revenue through its network by selling advertising space and subscriptions, but he could not yet estimate how much revenue the network will generate.
"We expect it to be successful and add economic revenue for the schools," Scott said.
Scott plans to have the Pac-12 Network available internationally, making it a crucial tool for creating interest in the Pac-12 worldwide. Scott also hopes the Pac-12 will be able to host competitions in the United States and abroad between Pac-12 teams and international competitors, including national teams from other countries.
"We want to promote the conference and generate interest overseas and this goal will be supported by the TV network," Scott said
The possibility for even more significant gains in revenue from the Pac-12 Network and Pac-12 Digital Network could bolster Oregon and Oregon State's athletic programs even further.
"I think it's a great time to be a member of the Pac-12," Mullens said. "Larry Scott and the Pac-12 have done a great job to put us in a position where the sky is the limit."