State of the conference: Scott has ‘empathy’ for Colorado

Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott provided a state- of-the- conference update Thursday, as he does each year prior to the championship game.

It was done one day early — and via Zoom — but all other aspects remained intact, including a question-andanswer session with media members that provided insight into the conference’s decision-making process on several issues.

Scott began the session with a summary of the COVID-19 testing results and said the Pac-12 has conducted 70,000 antigen tests and 50,000 PCR tests on student-athletes this fall.

The positivity rate is 1.2 percent.

Contrast that with the level of spread across campuses and communities, Scott added, and “it’s fair to say our student-athletes were safer being a part of our programs.”

He also said test results from USC and Oregon have been encouraging and that, as of Thursday morning, the teams were on track to play.

“I’m fully expecting the game is going to go forward as planned,” he said.

Here’s a summary of Scott’s comments on a variety of topics:

• No team has faced tougher luck than Colorado, which had three games canceled due to circumstances with its opponents:

Arizona State and USC had COVID-19 issues, while this week’s opponent, Oregon, was bumped into the title game this week.

Colorado is, once again, a healthy team without a game.

Scott said he had “a lot of empathy for Colorado.”

• Another hot topic in the conference this week: USC’S plight.

The Trojans are undefeated but only ranked 13th by the College Football Playoff selection committee.

Scott explained that the Pac-12 had less margin for error because of its late start and called USC “deserving” of a berth in the CFP.

“I certainly feel like we’re doing everything we can to advocate for them,” Scott said.

• When asked about the decision to play the championship game without a division winner ( Washington), Scott pointed to the North race, where the Huskies (3-1) held a onegame lead in the loss column over Oregon (3-2) entering the final weekend.

“Both Washington and Oregon were deprived the opportunity (to win the North) on the field,” he said.

This point requires clarification: Yes, the Ducks needed to beat UW last weekend in order to win the North, but that was not their only path to the division title.

The cancellation of the finale “deprived” them only because they blew fourth- quarter leads against Oregon State and Cal

Had they won either of those games, they would have been the North champs.

• Despite speculation that the College Football Playoff will move the semifinal out of the Rose Bowl to a state that would allow the players’ families to attend, Scott said he is “absolutely expecting the game to take place.”

• Asked about a possible contract extension — his deal expires in the spring of 2022 — Scott said he has not discussed his future with the presidents and chancellors.

He expects to begin that process in 2021.

• On the subject of budget shortfalls: Scott indicated the conference is ready to help athletic departments bridge the cur.rent squeeze with a loan program that would use future media rights as collateral.

However, the details have not been finalized.

• Scott expressed optimism about the Pac12’s media rights position in the aftermath of ESPN going all-in with the SEC.

The conference will hit the open market in late 2022 or early 2023.

“I’m absolutely delighted for the Pac-12,” he said of the SEC’S deal. “(It’s) another great data point supporting what our vision has been” — that the market for premium college sports rights will continue to climb.

“We’re sitting on a lot of untapped growth in our value ... When our rights come up, like we did in 2011, we’re going to catch up to the other leagues, maybe even leapfrog some leagues. Very confident in that.”