Pac-12 CEO group enters Friday morning meeting with survival on the line
It’s come to this.
With the very survival of their 108-year-old conference flapping wildly in the realignment winds, the Pac-12’s presidents entered an emergency meeting Friday morning, according to reports by Yahoo! Sports and ESPN.
The meeting’s intention, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger, was for Pac-12 members to sign a grant of rights — thus (temporarily) salvaging the embattled conference’s future.
But an ESPN report later stated “the Pac-12 is unlikely to land the plane this morning and get its media rights deal signed on this call today. Multiple variables at play here, including 11th hour Big Ten push for Oregon and Washington. Everything remains fluid.”
ESPN’s Pete Thamel added in a tweet at 9 a.m., per sources: “Washington and Oregon are ‘fully engaged’ with the Big Ten. Things remain fluid, but are trending in that direction.”
John Canzano reported Friday that all nine Pac-12 presidents/chancellors were present at the meeting, including Arizona president Robert Robbins. Canzano added that the conference is discussing potential expansion as well.
This comes a day after reports surfaced that Big 12 executives had met to approve Arizona’s application to become its 14th member, though that move has yet to be finalized.
Washington and Oregon, meanwhile, have been discussed as expansion options for the Big Ten Conference — though a formal invitation has not followed. The University of Washington Board of Regents held a hastily scheduled “special meeting” at 9 p.m. Thursday that lasted an hour and 35 minutes, as Big Ten rumors swirled.
On Friday morning, ESPN reported that the Ducks “are expected to stay in the Pac-12, barring an eleventh hour change.” It appears that change may have occurred. It’s unlikely that UW would make such a leap without its Pacific Northwest rival.
Granted, that decision doesn’t rest solely with Washington and Oregon. Yahoo! Sports reported Friday that “pushback from the Big Ten’s powerhouse programs in further expansion, something they have been against,” is also a factor. Big Ten presidents are expected to meet on a call this morning, according to The Associated Press, though it’s unclear whether that will include a vote on UW and Oregon’s prospective membership.
It’s also unclear, in the short term, which situation is financially favorable for UW. Yahoo! indicated Wednesday that revenue numbers tied to the Pac-12’s primary streaming deal with Apple+ may be as low as $20 million annually per school, with additional revenue tied to subscription incentives. That number would be dwarfed by deals recently struck by the Big Ten ($50 to $70 million annually per school) and Big 12 ($31.7 million per school).
However, Yahoo! Sports added a day later that the Big Ten’s invitation to UW and Oregon would include discounted media-rights revenue — $35-40 million annually per team — for a multiyear period. Given the increased cross-country travel, would those numbers work for Washington?
Don’t forget, either, that UW finds itself in a sticky financial position — projecting a $7.8 million deficit in the current financial year. There’s also the matter of paying off a loan that financed Husky Stadium’s renovation in 2012, a prospect that will become more challenging in the years to come.
After the university sold 30-year bonds to pay for the project, UW Athletics must make annual payments back to the school throughout the life of the loan. That debt service has been restructured into interest-only payments in FY23, FY24 and FY25.
However …
“Debt service will increase from $9.8 million per year to $17.7 million per year in FY26 due to the resumption of principal payments on ICA loans,” a university document stated in June. “Prior to this increase in debt service, efforts are underway campus-wide to develop a solution that offers longer-term stability to Athletics.”
One obvious solution: increased media rights revenue.
If only it was all that easy.
This story will be updated.