Jon Wilner Talks with Greg Byrne, 'Bama AD and former Arizona AD (his Dad was a U of O AD) on Demise of Pac 12

[Steven A]

It is a pay site, but here are some nuggets:

 

When did you first start to suspect the conference was headed down a troubling path? Which other athletic directors shared your concerns?

 

...initially, it was Utah’s Chris Hill, Oregon State’s Bob De Carolis, a couple of others and me.

 

One of the first surprises was when we found out that the ADs and presidents/chancellors would no longer meet together.

 

We finally pushed for time together at least once a year, but the narrative in the room was often controlled by only a few voices.

 

... spending on the conference office and the move to downtown San Francisco...When asked to review the expenses for the new conference offices, we were not given any pertinent information.

 

The other red flag was when we were given high, medium and low financial projections for the Pac-12 Networks — and none of them were ultimately met.

 

...were never given a clear answer on revenues vs. expenses, no matter how much we pushed.

 

What was your reaction to USC and UCLA announcing they were leaving for the Big Ten?

 

...disappointed but only slightly surprised.

 

 

... at Arizona, we were contacted twice by another conference, but we felt it was important to stay in the Pac-12 from an academic, recruiting and student-athlete experience standpoint.

However, I assumed that if we had been contacted, there were most likely others who were contacted, too.

 

The Bay Area Newsgroup/Pac12 hotline offers something like a $1 per month 6 month trial subscription.  If you get one, you have to cancel before the regular rate takes effect.  However, when you call to cancel, they will let you renew for the same rate. Rinse and repeat.

 

[Pennsylvania Duck]

Go to Jon Wilner Articles/Mailbag Questions and Answers. The whole Byrne interview is there and not on pay site.

[Mic]

Some one will write a book on this some day.  I just hope it isn't Klavikoff or his surrogate.