Larry Scott On The Way Out As Pac 12 Commissioner?

Things aren’t looking so good for Larry Scott’s future as Pac 12 commissioner.

A major issue is the Pac 12 Network. Putting it kindly, the network has not been what it was anticipated to be. The Pac 12 went in alone without a major media partner (Big Ten has FOX, SEC has ESPN). Its payouts of $1-$1.5m per year have underwhelmed.

Distribution has been a challenge. The network looks set to enter its fourth season without a DirecTV deal. BTN and the SEC Network have more than five times the distribution. Per the Oregonian, Scott’s office ducked a question about the Pac 12 Network during the Men’s basketball tournament in March.

Scott said last year the Pac 12 would keep pace with other conferences for TV revenue. It looks like the Big Ten may bring in twice the Pac 12 revenue, and still get to renegotiate in six years (and have teams kicking off at normal times).

Tension flared up last night as Scott threw UCLA AD Dan Guerrero under the bus over satellite camps. He pointed out 11 of 12 Pac 12 members wanted the status quo. He suggested Guerrero violated conference rules. He intimated Guerrero had supported the policy because UCLA was the 12th school.

"Speaking to reporters after Wednesday’s annual College Football Playoff meetings, Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said that UCLA AD Dan Guerrero, the league’s representative on the NCAA Division I Council, “did not vote the way he was supposed to.” Echoing recent comments from outspoken Washington State coach Mike Leach, Scott said 11 of the league’s 12 schools “wanted this studied more comprehensively, but in the meantime, we prefer the status quo, which for us allows coaches to attend camps in other markets.” Scott said league rules required Guerrero to abide by a “directed vote” that reflected its members’ consensus. “It’s still not perfectly clear how that happened,” said Scott, who said he’s spoken with Guerrero. “… I don’t think anything like this has happened before.” "

Guerrero said he intended to vote down the satellite camps proposal in line with the conference wishes. When it became clear one proposal would pass, he supported the ACC proposal, more in line with Pac 12 rules. Much of the blowback was at Scott, not Guerrero.

Former Oregon State AD Bob De Carolis did not give a ringing endorsement of Scott to the Oregonian.

"Former Oregon State athletic director Bob De Carolis, now working at Michigan, told me earlier this month, “The sitting ADs can’t say anything because they’re not going to get the public support of their presidents yet. But people are frustrated.”"

University presidents aren’t the swiftest actors in college athletics. But, stay tuned…