A slew of critical issues are on the agenda this week as Pac-12 executives and campus administrators gather in Scottsdale for the annual spring meets.
Well, not all the campus administrators.
The university presidents won’t be there — they never attend the Scottsdale meeting — so the conference won’t resolve the two issues that matter most: The Pac-12’s media rights negotiations and a decision on expansion.
Those interconnected topics remain weeks from the finish line if not months.
And without knowing the conference’s fundamental structure, other strategic details cannot be finalized.
For example, the Pac-12 has been examining options to maximize opportunities for College Football Playoff bids once the event expands to 12 teams in the 2024 season:
— Should it return to the division format or play as a single entity, with the first- and second-place teams meeting for the championship?
— Should it move to an eight-game conference schedule or stick with nine?
— Should it implement a pod-scheduling model in which each team has two or three permanent opponents and faces everyone else on a rotation basis?
Conference executives can discuss and debate options for each issue. But until the presidents approve or reject expansion, there can be a resolution.
And because the expansion decision is wrapped up in the media rights calculation, progress on relevant football matters is limited this week.
The meetings are scheduled through Thursday and will feature the athletic directors, football coaches, women’s basketball coaches, senior women’s administrators, faculty athletic representatives and student-athlete leadership team — but not the men’s basketball coaches, who met recently.
Conference executives will update campus officials on financial and legal matters and developments within the NCAA.
Additionally, the association’s new president, Charlie Baker, will attend the meetings and address campus leaders.
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Jon Wilner
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