I couldn’t help noticing the number of armbands used during the Alamo Bowl victory on Tuesday night by Texas linebacker DeMarvion Overshown. In fact, the smiling linebacker was asked about this after the Longhorns played in Colorado, representative of the Pac-12 Conference, 55-23.
Overshown said, “It’s just me being me. I have to build my brand, you know. I have to build my brand. “
Tuesday was also another sad brand identity night for the Pac-12 Conference. Colorado, considered by some to be an unlucky case left out of the conference tile game, was roasted by the fourth-placed team on Big 12. One who lost his starting quarterback in the second half and still managed to score 55 points.
“We still have a long way to go,” said Colorado coach Karl Dorrell.
It was another missed opportunity for Pac-12. The conference is 0-1 in this postseason. Pac-12 had an 8-15 combination in the previous three seasons. And so what we have now is the only other team at the bowl conference this season – Oregon – tasked with changing the narrative.
A dream victory on January 2?
Fixing a decade-old mess?
Winning the state of Iowa at the Fiesta Bowl may help the brand, but changing the trajectory of the Pac-12 will mean a dramatic shift in the commitment of the presidents and chancellors of the conference. They need to give Pac-12’s athletic directors a fighting chance through visionary leadership, keen focus and enhanced revenue.
The Ducks can help the cause of the conference by defeating Iowa State No. 10 on Saturday. The Pac-12 is in desperate need of a performance to save appearances that would leave doubts as to whether it should have been waved throughout the season by the College Football Playoff selection committee. But if we’re keeping it real, what the Pac-12 should be doing today is studying what SEC commissioner Greg Sankey did for his men’s basketball conference several years ago.
In 2017, Sankey saw his conference win over just three teams at the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four seasons. It must have bothered him because Sankey set the stage for a course correction by hiring former college coach Dan Leibovitz as his associate commissioner in charge of men’s basketball. In addition, he hired former Big East commissioner (Mike Tranghese) as a consultant and charged another new hire, Mark Whitehead, to fix the conference arbitration.
There was also an immediate emphasis on non-conference programming. Sankey has already held the best football conference in America. He saw the biggest growth opportunity for the SEC and pursued it. Two seasons later, the SEC managed seven teams in the 68-team NCAA tournament field.
What the Pac-12 needs now is a similar pivot point in football.
Next season, Oregon plays Ohio State and Washington plays Michigan. USC and Stanford play Notre Dame and UCLA hosts LSU. We all know that the Pac-12 needs to win some of these games to avoid being left out of the playoff for the fifth consecutive year. But success in the field doesn’t just happen by talking about it while wishing and waiting.
In the last fiscal year of the report, each Pac-12 athletic department received $ 11 million less from the conference media rights compared to SEC members. Each Big Ten athletic department received $ 20 million more than Pac-12. Those numbers will get uglier soon with the new television deals, especially with the windfall created by the SEC’s partnership with the ESPN family. But if you use conservative numbers, projected over a decade, I’m not sure how anyone would see the financial disadvantage that the Pac-12 finds itself anything less than impressive.
The short-term plan for Pac-12:
♦ Release Commissioner Larry Scott from his duties and begin the search for his replacement;
♦ Hire an outside agency to immediately start negotiating media rights for the conference;
♦ Identify the best consultant to assist in the non-conference scheduling strategy;
♦ Clean the house and completely reformulate the Pac-12 football referee.
Basically, empower sports departments by solving for football. Not just for one season, but with a long-term focus that would make the Pac-12 relevant again. As much as I want to say that Oregon’s victory over Iowa on Saturday would be great for the conference brand, if the Ducks win, it won’t change what the world thinks of the Pac-12.
Oregon has some influence. It is branded as Nike U. Mario Cristobal was previously an assistant in Alabama. He knows what it’s like to win big. But to charge the Ducks to rescue the image of the Pac-12 in four quarters is asking too much.
A line of Pac-12 programs opted out of the 2020 postseason. This included the USC, a traditional pillar of support. I am with those who believe that seeing the Trojans resume their pace would be wonderful for the perception of the conference. It would be great for any other member to win big as well. But I think the Pac-12 headquarters has long been guilty of sitting, ignoring the key role it plays in building the conference’s brand.
That smiling Texas linebacker with those armbands knows how to build it.
In the worst case, put him in charge.
—
Email: [email protected]
Subscribe to the weekly John Canzano email newsletter.
Tweet me: @JohnCanzanoBFT and find me on Facebook: BaldFacedTruth and Instagram: @JohnCanzano