Larry Scott
The term “conference expansion” has been a trendy buzzword over the past couple of years in college athletics. It has been a chess match played out among athletic directors, conference commissioners and TV executives, to name just a few.
And if you’re keeping score at home, it’s very hard to tell who has really won and lost.
Rutgers and Maryland continued with this ever-evolving storyline, deciding a move to the Big Ten would provide them each with more security and future financial success.
“I guess I would say I was not surprised,” Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said about the move on the 110 Sports Podcast. “We had certainly been anticipating for sometime this movement — the 14 and ultimately 16-team conferences.”
Scott also added that his conference has no plans to expand, but will continue to monitor the situation.
The idea of “mega-conferences” may nearly be a foregone conclusion, but if it is done at the cost of losing tradition and rivalry, it most likely will not be worth it.
College football has been so popular due to its decade upon decade history and legacy. Losing any part of that could damage the sport and ultimately affect the revenue it gains, which is obviously a large part in these conference moves.
“It’s a very delicate balancing act, and I think you have to mindful of it,” Scott said. “Traditions are one of the great differentiating factors of college football vs. the NFL. These great rivalries — some of the ceremony and pomp and circumstance around our game, so it’s something we are particularly mindful of.
“We have natural rivals in each market. One of the reasons we keep playing nine conference games is that our schools enjoy playing each other, their fans enjoy playing other Pac-12 schools. So, it is definitely something to keep in mind, I think when you lose traditional rivalry games, you lose something of importance, but it is a balancing act.”
With all of this movement, the landscape could dramatically look different and slightly ridiculous. Starting next year, San Diego State will be playing conference games on the East Coast and West Virginia will continue to make trips out to West Texas. It has been a balancing act that clearly has got off track.
Even with lingering issues, it has not yet effected the popularity of college football. Ratings for this last season are largely up in key metrics, and that is something Scott says he sees as a continuing trend regardless of the new conference moves.
“I see the value of college football and basketball continuing to grow. I think it has been under-leveraged up until now.” he said.
“I see it continuing to go up, there is a lot of long-term TV deals that are just entered into, so I don’t think you’ll see as much activity, but there is no question that college football in particular is right there after the NFL in terms of the most interesting, the most attractive and the highest-rated sports program out there.”
Arizona native Matt Minkus is the host of the 110 Sports Podcast, a show that pays homage to one of the most repeated cliches in sports: “Giving 110 percent.” Excerpts of new shows will be available at LindysSports.com every week.
