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Pac-12 coaches express concerns regarding conference scheduling

Larry Scott

FILE - In this Nov. 1, 2012 file photo, Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott speaks during the NCAA college basketball Pac-12 media day in San Francisco. Scott’s expansion dreams aren’t finished. No, the conference isn’t looking to add another team. Scott is looking across the Pacific Ocean to China to help expand the conference’s brand. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

AP

With the rapid increase in the amount of money that conferences receive from television networks, leagues and their members have been able to benefit in a number of ways. There’s the exposure that comes with those deals, and there’s also the increased revenue that leads to better salaries and facilities for many programs.

However, as Pac-12 basketball coaches have learned in recent years, there’s also a cost to be considered. The cost that had some coaches up in arms this past season had to do with scheduling, as the league moved further away from the traditional “Thursday-Saturday” setup that had been a staple of Pac-12 hoops in years past.

During the conference’s meetings in Phoenix earlier this week the topic was discussed, and according to Doug Haller of AZCentral.com coaches are hopeful that commissioner Larry Scott will make some changes. But will the conference move back to the “old school” way of doing things with its conference schedule?

While there may be some wiggle room, turning back the clock from a scheduling standpoint seems unlikely given Scott’s thoughts on the matter.

Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said the conference’s television deals have brought in added revenue and exposure, but in doing so conference games have had to shift to different days.

“We’re not going to radically change our scheduling approach, but there is room for some tweaking here and there,” he said.


The 2013-14 season featured some peculiar weeks for teams within the Pac-12, with Arizona State’s final week of the regular season consisting of a game on a Tuesday night at Oregon (March 4), following by a game at Oregon State on Saturday (March 8). Other teams had to navigate a Wednesday-Sunday split, which presents the question of what to do in between games.

Do you fly back to campus, thus avoiding missing more class time than on a “usual” road trip? Or do you remain on the road, which would eliminate the possibility of players becoming too fatigued from flying back and forth? Should this be a question for programs? There are arguments on both sides, but ultimately in this era what the networks want tends to take precedence.

And given just how much is being paid to broadcast games, especially in the revenue sports, that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.

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