College of Arizona President Robby Robbins stated till Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff gave convention leaders exhausting numbers on a future media rights deal, any speak was of colleges leaving the league too quickly.
Robbins spoke to a small group of reporters Wednesday, the day earlier than the college is to host the Way forward for School Athletics Summit not removed from Capitol Hill.
Robbins was cautious to present a timetable for when the Pac-12 faculty can be awarded a brand new tv contract, saying solely he anticipated Kilavkoff to ship the deal “quickly”.
Excessive angle view of the Pac-12 emblem on the sector at Stanford Stadium in the course of the NCAA Pac-12 faculty soccer sport between the Stanford Cardinal and the UCLA Bruins on September 26, 2021 in Palo Alto, California. (Picture by David Madison/Getty Pictures)
The present Pac-12 deal expires after the 2023-24 faculty yr.
“We’ve not seen a deal but,” Robbins stated. “If we see a working doc that provides us a quantity, that is one we do not have. Till we’ve got it, no person can decide as a result of we can’t be notified.”
Robbins referred to as the regular drumbeat of speculative media experiences that had the Pac-12 on the point of collapse “propaganda”. He acknowledged that he had spoken to Huge 12 Commissioner Brett Yorkmark, not only recently.
Yorkmark stated he desires the Huge 12 to increase West and embody extra colleges within the Mountain and Pacific time zones.
“He is aggressive. He has massive plans for the Prime 12. I want him properly. All 10 of us are centered on the (media rights) deal,” Robbins stated.
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Detailed view of the PAC-12 emblem paint on the sector from an elevated place in the course of the Pac-12 Championship soccer sport between the Utah Utes and USC Trojans on December 2, 2022 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, NV. (Ric Tapia/Icon Sportswire by way of Getty Pictures)
The Huge 12 jumped forward of the Pac-12 and agreed to a six-year extension to his present contract with Fox and ESPN late final yr, although that hasn’t been formally introduced from both aspect both.
Earlier in 2022, the Huge Ten landed a sequence of landmark offers with three networks — CBS, NBC, and Fox — that will be valued at greater than $7 billion over seven years. The Southeastern Convention has a contract with ESPN that’s price greater than $7 billion over 10 years.
“We’re not going to get a Huge Ten deal. We’re not going to get an SEC deal,” Robbins stated. “But when we end third on this draw… I by no means thought that profitable the bronze medal is such an awesome aspirational objective. But when we win the bronze medal, I believe we are going to all declare victory.”
Robbins stated his desire, and the consensus amongst his Pac-12 teammates, is to maintain the present 10 colleges collectively.
Robbins stated he was “cautiously optimistic.”
Whether or not the Pac-12 progresses is determined by whether or not the brand new tv deal will cowl equal elements for potential new members and never minimize what present members obtain, Robbins stated.
October 01, 2016: UCLA Bruins helmet throughout sport towards Arizona Wildcats at Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. (Adam Davis/Icon Sportswire by way of Getty Pictures)
Robbins stated a Pac-12 presence in Southern California, following USC and UCLA’s exit to the Huge Ten in 2024, can be fascinating. He named San Diego State as a attainable match, together with the potential for increasing into Texas. Kilavkoff visited SMU, situated in Dallas, earlier this yr.
Latest experiences recommend Colorado may change into the primary Pac-12 faculty to leap right into a Huge 12 bid. However Robbins stated – taking a line from the film “Jerry Maguire” – till Kilavkoff can present the Pac-12 president the cash in a brand new tv deal, additional convention reordering on the prime tier of faculty soccer will probably be placed on maintain.
“Every of us will make our personal unbiased evaluation,” Robbins stated of the Pac-12 faculty. “My prediction is we are going to all keep collectively as Pac-12. There are 10 of us now. I hope the deal might be adequate to maintain us collectively.”