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Pac-12 and commissioner Larry Scott have agreed to part ways

By Scott Rogust

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 06: Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott at the pre-game press conference before the Pac-12 Championship football game between the Oregon Ducks and the Utah Utes at Levi's Stadium on December 6, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. The Oregon Ducks won 37-15. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 06: Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott at the pre-game press conference before the Pac-12 Championship football game between the Oregon Ducks and the Utah Utes at Levi's Stadium on December 6, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. The Oregon Ducks won 37-15. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images) /
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The Pac-12 and commissioner Larry Scott agreed to mutually part ways at the end of June.

With the college football season reaching its conclusion, the majority of news is coming from NFL Draft declarations and transfer announcements. However, some rather big news dropped on the west coast of the United States.

On Wednesday, the Pac-12 conference announced that the league and commissioner Larry Scott have agreed to part ways on June 30, a full year before his contract was set to expire. The Pac-12 says in their statement that the decision was made in order for his successor to negotiate a new television deal.

Scott helped create the disastrous Pac-12 Network

“We appreciate Larry’s pioneering efforts in growing the conference by adding new competitive university programs and accelerating the Pac-12 to television network parity with the other conferences,” said University of Oregon Michael Schill in the Pac-12’s press release. “At one point, our television agreement was the most lucrative in the nation and the debut of the Pac-12 Network helped deliver our championship brand to US and global markets on traditional and digital platforms. That said, the intercollegiate athletics marketplace doesn’t remain static and now is a good time to bring in a new leader who will help us develop our go-forward strategy.”

Hired back in 2009, Scott led the expansion effort in the Pac-12, which saw the additions of Colorado and Utah. In 2011, Scott signed onto their current television deal worth $3 billion over 12 years and created the Pac-12 Network. It was the richest deal at the time, but the other Power 5 conferences surpassed the Pac-12 due to their distribution problems.

After signing a contract extension back in 2017, Scott and the conference agreed to part ways with one-year remaining. That means Scott’s replacement will arrive around June 30, and will allow that individual to negotiate a new television deal within the next three years. Their current contract is set to expire in 2024.

As for who will replace him, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg says the names he has heard linked to the position are former XFL commissioner Oliver Luck, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith, Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne and Stanford athletic director Bernard Muir.

Scott’s era will reach its end in five months time and the Pac-12’s sixth commissioner will be hired, with the hope they can bring the conference back to prominence.

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