Good article from the Athletic about the PAC, its woes and what it will take to fix things. With a new commissioner coming on board they have an opportunity to shift course, but will they? It's going to take some serious changes and attitude realignments from the presidents to get it done. The B12 needs to be paying attention as well... this could be them if they slip off the national map. Very glad we are in the SEC... there are excesses and some unnecessary shenanigans'... but overall it is a better landing spot than any other conference.
theathletic.com
It is a long and packed article, but worth the read.... some highlights from the article for those who can't read it...
You have to want to win... But a new commissioner alone cannot make the necessary changes. Ultimately, that person reports to the league’s 12 presidents and chancellors, whose collective apathy or disdain for big-time football is holding the conference back. “They have to want to win,” said a Pac-12 athletic director.
Embrace the west coast advantages...
Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and TikTok are all based in California. Los Angeles in particular is teeming with young “influencers.” Players who build the largest social media followings stand to make five or even six figures a year through endorsements.
“An athlete who lives down the street from a bunch of influencers, just by proximity, is going to be able to grow their online audience faster than an athlete who lives down the street from a car dealership in the South,” said Opendorse CEO Blake Lawrence, whose company helps athletes grow their digital brands. “Every Pac-12 coach and recruiter should be telling them that. Come here and you’ll become an internet star.”
Personal aside, at what point does the player aim at making money by being aa TikTok star versus his play on the field? Where are you putting your energy and creativity? I could be very wrong, I am not even close to being part of that generation... but divided priorities seems like a problem to me.
Get into and expand the playoff
“One of the first things I’d do (as commissioner) is push as hard as I could to gain a consensus among commissioners to expand the Playoff,” Fox analyst Klatt said. “As currently constructed, the Playoff has rendered the vast majority of college football programs second tier, and made it increasingly difficult for programs and conferences to define success apart from success as it relates to the Playoff. The Pac-12 must find a way to become more relevant in Playoff conversations.”
“I would offer to the new commissioner, you’ve got to either change the regular season or expand the Playoff so we’ve got a champion in there every year,” Neuheisel said. “That will help keep West Coast kids home.”
Get into more households
The most viable solution: Embrace the TV industry’s larger shift to streaming. Shut down the linear Pac-12 Network and package those Tier 2 games with the league’s Tier 1 rights. Whatever media company or companies land the next deal would show most of the conference’s football games on traditional network and cable TV while airing the lower-tier games on their respective streaming services.
“The Pac-12 would get paid a lot of money for it,” said a source familiar with the league’s TV strategy. “The (media companies) will overpay to build up their streaming services.”
‘They have to want to win’: How to save the Pac-12 for the sake of college football
Five ways to restoring the relevance league enjoyed when USC reigned, Chip Kelly's Oregon was must-see TV, Stanford's Andrew Luck was a star
theathletic.com
It is a long and packed article, but worth the read.... some highlights from the article for those who can't read it...
You have to want to win... But a new commissioner alone cannot make the necessary changes. Ultimately, that person reports to the league’s 12 presidents and chancellors, whose collective apathy or disdain for big-time football is holding the conference back. “They have to want to win,” said a Pac-12 athletic director.
Embrace the west coast advantages...
Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and TikTok are all based in California. Los Angeles in particular is teeming with young “influencers.” Players who build the largest social media followings stand to make five or even six figures a year through endorsements.
“An athlete who lives down the street from a bunch of influencers, just by proximity, is going to be able to grow their online audience faster than an athlete who lives down the street from a car dealership in the South,” said Opendorse CEO Blake Lawrence, whose company helps athletes grow their digital brands. “Every Pac-12 coach and recruiter should be telling them that. Come here and you’ll become an internet star.”
Personal aside, at what point does the player aim at making money by being aa TikTok star versus his play on the field? Where are you putting your energy and creativity? I could be very wrong, I am not even close to being part of that generation... but divided priorities seems like a problem to me.
Get into and expand the playoff
“One of the first things I’d do (as commissioner) is push as hard as I could to gain a consensus among commissioners to expand the Playoff,” Fox analyst Klatt said. “As currently constructed, the Playoff has rendered the vast majority of college football programs second tier, and made it increasingly difficult for programs and conferences to define success apart from success as it relates to the Playoff. The Pac-12 must find a way to become more relevant in Playoff conversations.”
“I would offer to the new commissioner, you’ve got to either change the regular season or expand the Playoff so we’ve got a champion in there every year,” Neuheisel said. “That will help keep West Coast kids home.”
Get into more households
The most viable solution: Embrace the TV industry’s larger shift to streaming. Shut down the linear Pac-12 Network and package those Tier 2 games with the league’s Tier 1 rights. Whatever media company or companies land the next deal would show most of the conference’s football games on traditional network and cable TV while airing the lower-tier games on their respective streaming services.
“The Pac-12 would get paid a lot of money for it,” said a source familiar with the league’s TV strategy. “The (media companies) will overpay to build up their streaming services.”
