Charles Fischer Administrator No. 1 Share Posted August 12, 2023 As we have learned more after the disaster, which element surprised you the most? For me--quite a few items....ESPN giving one bid and walking....Pac-12 blowing it off....Apple trying to get it all on the cheap...and now today I learn from Canzano that Amazon never even submitted a bid? All our excitement--and Amazon was not interested at all? Whew. 1 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 2 Share Posted August 12, 2023 (edited) I'm going back to the decision to not allow B12 orphans into The Elite Club. Cannot overcome this kind of HUBRIS. Edited August 12, 2023 by Jon Joseph 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haywarduck Moderator No. 3 Share Posted August 12, 2023 That the Pac-12, Conference of Champions, is for all intents and purposes gone. Much like a historic building no one thought at the time was worth saving, I think in hindsight this is a sad day. When you have something that historic, and worth saving, extraordinary steps should have been taken. I put this on Larry, then the presidents, and then George. I might even put the presidents at number 1. You l always have to watch out for the smartest guys in the room, because they are morons! Sorry, but I have seen this scenario too many times. 2 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Ducker1 No. 4 Share Posted August 12, 2023 If ESPN offered 30 mill after USC and UCLA departed then the PAC Presidents are all dummies. 1 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanLduck No. 5 Share Posted August 12, 2023 My biggest surprise is that we on the left coast, Pac12 leadership included, did not realize just how little value we held for the rest of the country. Espn apparently is content to let Fox and others control the media here. I've heard it called "east coast bias", but it seems now to be more disdain. I would have thought someone like Kliakoff should have been able to "read the room" better. I'm also impressed that Canzano's inside guy, Bob Thompson, was so spot on with his analysis. His comments make the Pac leadership seem really inadequate. 1 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 6 Share Posted August 12, 2023 Presidents - We Are #1! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
latracey No. 7 Share Posted August 12, 2023 (edited) My biggest surprise was the revelation that the PAC 12 presidents turned down an offer of 30 million per school by ESPN after USC and UCLA left. Instead of countering with something reasonable, they countered with the ridiculous price of 50 million per school. Their ignorance regarding the media value of The PAC 12 without USC and UCLA is a real head scratcher. Another surprise was not making league expansion a priority immediately after USC and UCLA left. Adding San Diego State and SMU, for instance, increases the overall media value of the league. Deciding to do this after a media rights deal was signed seems like it was a huge mistake. Edited August 12, 2023 by latracey 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woundedknees No. 8 Share Posted August 12, 2023 On 8/12/2023 at 11:23 AM, Haywarduck said: That the Pac-12, Conference of Champions, is for all intents and purposes gone. Much like a historic building no one thought at the time was worth saving, I think in hindsight this is a sad day. When you have something that historic, and worth saving, extraordinary steps should have been taken. I put this on Larry, then the presidents, and then George. I might even put the presidents at number 1. You l always have to watch out for the smartest guys in the room, because they are morons! Sorry, but I have seen this scenario too many times. I envision Bill Walton, crying himself to sleep, while curled in the fetal position, in some dark, dusty, cobweb festooned corner of Mac Court... the Dirge goes on, and on, and on, ad infinitum. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Duck No. 9 Share Posted August 12, 2023 I'd have to say that I'm still rather amazed that 12 university presidents, and their apparent sycophants, never noticed that the former PAC-12 Emperor/Commissioner, Larry Scott, wandered around the conference for more than a decade without wearing any clothes. And, from what I can tell so far, they replace one naked guy and immediately followed up with another. We like to think that those in positions of leadership know more than we do. Sadly, rarely is that true. These university 'leaders' stood by while a Lahina type wildfire was rapidly bearing down on us, and they were offered 30 million gallons of water, and yet they told the fire department to go pound sand. Given the situation, our Duck's flight out to the B1G took off just as the flames were were nipping at our tails. We were damn fortunate. 1 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duckhart No. 10 Share Posted August 12, 2023 I think there University Presidents and AD's should all take a big pay cut for not getting the biggest job of all (with regards to athletics) done. Monumental failure that has historical implications. These guys sit back and get their annual pay raises and pensions bumps on a regular basis, time to take reduction and zero bonus. 2 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Author Administrator No. 11 Share Posted August 12, 2023 On 8/12/2023 at 1:09 PM, DanLduck said: I've heard it called "east coast bias", but it seems now to be more disdain. 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
VegasDuck No. 12 Share Posted August 12, 2023 Colorado left the conference before the Ducks and the ESPN deal. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woundedknees No. 13 Share Posted August 12, 2023 On 8/12/2023 at 11:40 AM, 1Ducker1 said: If ESPN offered 30 mill after USC and UCLA departed then the PAC Presidents are all dummies. That would be a compliment to te dummies... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woundedknees No. 14 Share Posted August 12, 2023 On 8/12/2023 at 1:46 PM, Desert Duck said: I'd have to say that I'm still rather amazed that 12 university presidents, and their apparent sycophants, never noticed that the former PAC-12 Emperor/Commissioner, Larry Scott, wandered around the conference for more than a decade without wearing any clothes. And, from what I can tell so far, they replace one naked guy and immediately followed up with another. We like to think that those in positions of leadership know more than we do. Sadly, rarely is that true. These university 'leaders' stood by while a Lahina type wildfire was rapidly bearing down on us, and they were offered 30 million gallons of water, and yet they told the fire department to go pound sand. Given the situation, our Duck's flight out to the B1G took off just as the flames were were nipping at our tails. We were damn fortunate. Methinks Kliavcough was issued blinders... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haywarduck Moderator No. 15 Share Posted August 12, 2023 It takes many talents to become an elite head coach. Those talents have been discussed here many times. The talent to become a university president are many too. The one talent they don't have is knowing how to manage an athletic department and their conference affiliation. Sadly the job of managing the athletic department and this whole mess was probably one of their biggest decisions, and they blew it. The whole power structure which made decisions was over matched by the heads of the media companies. These guys negotiate this type of stuff all the time. The presidents seemed to think they knew better, buffoons! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
2002duck No. 16 Share Posted August 12, 2023 (edited) On 8/12/2023 at 3:07 PM, VegasDuck said: ESPN deal. The ESPN offer was last offseason, right after UCLA & USC left, and just before the BIG 12 got the deal instead. The only offer presented in the past year was from Apple TV for $25M with impossible escalators to get bonus money for the regular season. No chance in a million years that 1M would sign up for the Pac-10 package if it were not free for football season ticket holders (like all MLS season ticket holder accounts get) or if it were free via T-Mobile/Verizon/AT&T. Edited August 12, 2023 by 2002duck 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kamikaze Kid Moderator No. 17 Share Posted August 12, 2023 The biggest surprise for me is how not surprised I am by the epic incompetence of Pac leadership at every step of the way towards implosion.It's as if they were writing a how to book on destroying your own conference. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
2002duck No. 18 Share Posted August 12, 2023 (edited) The biggest surprise for me, and one that I think borders on "malpractice", is that apparently Oregon was "50/50" on whether to accept $30M plus free loans from future payouts from the B1G, or stay in a doomed Pac conference. What??? I would have been fine if Phil Knight paid the B1G $10M to let us in the conference, with us then receiving partial shares of $30M starting in year two until we got full shares in 2031. Edited August 12, 2023 by 2002duck 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDuck No. 19 Share Posted August 12, 2023 (1) the incompetence of the Presidents/Chancellors in letting Commissioner K string them along for so long...real executives would not have allowed that, and as a result, at the end, 6 programs acted without reservation to save their hides, and 4 got screwed over. It should not have come to a life rafts moment. (2) ASU's late reluctance to leave. I would have thought they would have been on the first boat out. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 20 Share Posted August 12, 2023 On 8/12/2023 at 4:17 PM, latracey said: My biggest surprise was the revelation that the PAC 12 presidents turned down an offer of 30 million per school by ESPN after USC and UCLA left. Instead of countering with something reasonable, they countered with the ridiculous price of 50 million per school. Their ignorance regarding the media value of The PAC 12 without USC and UCLA is a real head scratcher. Another surprise was not making league expansion a priority immediately after USC and UCLA left. Adding San Diego State and SMU, for instance, increases the overall media value of the league. Deciding to do this after a media rights deal was signed seems like it was a huge mistake. Considering that ESPN is only paying half of the B12 new media deal that was a very fair offer. And no way that Fox was coming to the rescue of any other Pac-12 team with a full cut before 2031. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 21 Share Posted August 12, 2023 On 8/12/2023 at 4:09 PM, DanLduck said: My biggest surprise is that we on the left coast, Pac12 leadership included, did not realize just how little value we held for the rest of the country. Espn apparently is content to let Fox and others control the media here. I've heard it called "east coast bias", but it seems now to be more disdain. I would have thought someone like Kliakoff should have been able to "read the room" better. I'm also impressed that Canzano's inside guy, Bob Thompson, was so spot on with his analysis. His comments make the Pac leadership seem really inadequate. The good news? Come 2024 Puddles will rest in an East Coast Bias nest and come 2031, Puddles will be munching on an entire share of the B1G seeds. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
2002duck No. 22 Share Posted August 12, 2023 On 8/12/2023 at 4:02 PM, HDuck said: string them along for so long This is one that I find interesting. If GK was honest with the Presidents about the type of deal(s) that were coming in then the Pac 10 would have simply collapsed earlier. Seeing that the Ducks got to go to the B1G, I would change absolutely nothing about anything that happened ever since the ESPN deal was turned down and the Big 12 took that money away. Seems to me that the Apple TV deal presented at the end was Apple being "nice", and that all other offers or brainstorming ideas (CW, Bravo, PBS?) were simply terrible. So, I kind of don't know what people want when there were literally no other options... I kind of blame George for turning down the $30M ESPN offer, though I bet it had a lot of ESPN+ streaming in the contract. Fans and Presidents would have had a conniption fit if Kliakoff accepted that off the bat. And to think, George wanted to be my conference expansion salesman. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuckFan33 No. 23 Share Posted August 12, 2023 On 8/12/2023 at 11:23 AM, Haywarduck said: That the Pac-12, Conference of Champions, is for all intents and purposes gone. Much like a historic building no one thought at the time was worth saving, I think in hindsight this is a sad day. When you have something that historic, and worth saving, extraordinary steps should have been taken. I put this on Larry, then the presidents, and then George. I might even put the presidents at number 1. You l always have to watch out for the smartest guys in the room, because they are morons! Sorry, but I have seen this scenario too many times. Extraordinary steps is what happened in order to keep the Ducks relevant. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
idontrollonshobbas No. 24 Share Posted August 13, 2023 I'm with Haywarduck on this.....the blame lies with the Presidents in the main. They made the decisions. Particularly, Crow at ASU seems to have been the most clueless. They didn't realize they were out of their element in the negotiations and overplayed their hand time and time again. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kamikaze Kid Moderator No. 25 Share Posted August 13, 2023 On 8/12/2023 at 5:32 PM, idontrollonshobbas said: They didn't realize they were out of their element in the negotiations and overplayed their hand time and time again. In the end, the only thing that tied the room together was the rug. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyToBeADuck No. 26 Share Posted August 13, 2023 Biggest suprise(s) That inspite of all the president/chancellors and LS, GK et al, blunders/poor decisions; 1. The Ducks & huskies landed in the BIG. That was a very fortunate outcome. Not much more net money than the espn offer ($30 mil) until 2030. But much better future! 2. The other 4 schools took a huge step backwards to an upscale G5 conference. For about 1.7 million dollars increase. Really never expected this outcome. GO DUCKS...... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 27 Share Posted August 13, 2023 On 8/12/2023 at 8:32 PM, idontrollonshobbas said: I'm with Haywarduck on this.....the blame lies with the Presidents in the main. They made the decisions. Particularly, Crow at ASU seems to have been the most clueless. They didn't realize they were out of their element in the negotiations and overplayed their hand time and time again. Over the line! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 28 Share Posted August 13, 2023 Surprised ESPN walked away after their one bid in honesty. The pac-12 representatives over playing their hand by countering with 50 doesn't surprise me... But basically ESPN did to the PAC-12 what Knight did to Cristobal. One bid... Take it or leave it... And the walks away. There was no bidding war that I believe was anticipated. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
idontrollonshobbas No. 29 Share Posted August 13, 2023 On 8/12/2023 at 6:11 PM, Jon Joseph said: Over the line! It's a League game, Smokey. Mark it zero, dude! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
