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Tempe, Ariz. — Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott has said the conference is not actively seeking new members.
If fact, if it were up to him, Scott would keep the conference just the way it is.
Speaking to reporters before Friday night’s game between Arizona State and No. 21 Missouri, Scott said he would prefer the Pac-12 remain at 12 members instead of expanding to 16 teams. The conference expanded by two teams this year, adding Colorado and Utah, and Scott said he would like to see how the 12-team model will work before thinking about expanding.
Conference expansion talks have heated up in the past couple of weeks as numerous teams from the Big 12 expressed interest in moving to new conferences, including the Pac-12.
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Comments
jayhawkinmullen 1 year, 8 months ago
Is this Larry Scott's way of saying we tryed getting Oklahoma but now they are committed to the Big 12? Maybe a cryptic message?
PikesPeakSmitty 1 year, 8 months ago
In other words... "We are definitely not expanding until we decide to add more teams."
championhawks 1 year, 8 months ago
"Scott said he would like to see how the 12-team model will work before thinking about expanding."
Have there not been 12 team conferences before for him to look at to see how the 12-team model works?! It almost sounds like he is preparing his excuse if they don't expand this year.
mpann1818 1 year, 8 months ago
the rest of the pac 12 doesn't want to get whooped every year by OU football...
HighEliteMajor 1 year, 8 months ago
Scott's comments are made so they are not in the same position as the SEC -- that is, luring another league's team. The SEC is now getting hung up on Baylor's threat to sue them (essentially on an interference with contract claim). That's because the SEC obviously pursued A&M while they were under contract with the Big 12. So Jones puts up the front that he is against expansion, a "let them come to us" front. Make no mistake, the man wants a 16 team super-conference. But the guy is playing it the right way. Wish he were the Big 12 commissioner. We'd already be the first super-conference at 16 with Arizona, Arizona St., BYU and Utah, and Nebraska and Colorado would still be here.
ahpersecoachingexperience 1 year, 8 months ago
I can tell you the fans of Arizona quickly soured on the addition of adding big 12 teams after the back-to-back beat downs Osu put on u of a and the beat asu team in years needing everything it had to beat a down Mizzou team.
I might just be ready to believe him on this.
KUAlum2000 1 year, 8 months ago
Yeah, if you watched the MU-ASU game last night they interviewed him on the sideline and he was very cryptic. He clearly didn't want to be the antagonist during a matchup with a bigXII team. But the commentators said after the interview that he "was a power broker in college sports and got all this re-alignment started". I wouldn't say any of this is done yet by any stretch.
mustlehustle 1 year, 8 months ago
BYU earned a whopping $2M from TV revenue in the MWC. Baylor, Iowa State and whatever Kansas school any of the sensitive posters want to include, should be fighting tooth/nail to keep the Big 12 intact.
The television contract for the Big 12 will be more money than any of the schools have ever enjoyed. In some cases for the second tier schools in the Conference (insert whatever criteria you wish to measure) will experience a windfall like they never imagined. In a time when booster contributions, ticket and merchandise sales are down at a lot of schools,
NO school in the country, much less in the Big 12 Conference, would say "no thanks" to a $300M contract from ESPN. Cry foul, cry how unjust or damaging, or how entitled UT may feel, bottom line, ESPN came knocking and for $300M, UT gladly opened the door.
Larry Scott, whether posturing or simply providing distance from the mess created by the whole A&M to the SEC has said they're very content with 12 teams and not looking to expand. Kenneth Starr and the Baylor Bears standing up and demanding commitment and answers from Big 12 Conference members...All of the chatter about going to Big East, or the ACC or the PAC 12....is wasted energy. The best scenario for all schools is to fight and stengthen the Big 12 Conference.
."Its better to dance with the devil you know...than the devil you don't" - Anthony Trollope
utahjayhawk 1 year, 8 months ago
Simple legal posturing by Scott -- this is not over until OU say's it's over (until next year).
I still believe that UT is actively pursuing a B1G entry at a later date. Their arrogance on other message boards is astounding and they think they can muscle as the biggest fish in the biggest pond (not the Big 9).
jgkojak 1 year, 8 months ago
Yes I don't understand how you can leave a conference in the middle of a TV contract -- I see leaving at the end (if its up in 2016, saythe year before "this is our last year in the conference") -- but seems an obvious breach otherwise.
The more I think about it the more i see UT and Notre dme to the B10.
kennethterry92 1 year, 8 months ago
It's odd that pac 12 commissioner says he is not looking to expand and ESPN is reporting from the big12 administrator that two teams possibly leaving for pac12.
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