February 24, 2023

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Front Office Sports Pro

Happy Friday! It’s FOS reporter Amanda Christovich. Since the summer of 2021, I’ve covered the whirlwind that’s been the latest round of conference realignment and gargantuan media rights deals in college sports.

But as the dust settles, there appears to be one Power 5 left holding the bag: the Pac-12. This week’s report explores how the conference went from a financial powerhouse to an afterthought for networks — and what it will take to survive.

The Pac-12 Is ‘On An Island’ Without A Media Deal

Chris Pietsch/The Register Guard

When Texas and Oklahoma announced in the summer of 2021 that they would leave the Big 12 for the mighty Southeastern Conference, they altered the Power 5 landscape.

At the time, the industry wondered whether the Big 12 would get picked apart. But then-commissioner Bob Bowlsby went on the offensive, roping in four new, good schools — and effectively saving the conference. He set up his successor, Brett Yormark, to negotiate a solid media rights extension with ESPN and FOX — a year earlier than required.

Now that the Big 12 jumped ahead, the Pac-12 is the only Power 5 conference without a deal.

The Big Ten has solidified the largest conference media rights deal in history. The ACC is locked into its package until 2036. The SEC signed a massive deal with Disney back in 2020.

The Pac-12 is now in a dire situation, given that a media package is a bellwether for a conference’s future.

Today, we’ll take you through the factors that led to the Pac-12’s precarious position — and explores what it needs to do to regain stability. Read the full report now.

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Written by Amanda Christovich
Edited by Peter Richman

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