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Robin Richardson's avatar

John: I have gotten to know former coach Jackie Sherrill. In addition to him being a hall of famer in Alabama, Texas A&M, Pitt and Mississippi, he is a wealth of stories and is still heavily involved in football in the South. I had dinner with him last night in Houston and we were discussing College Football and the PAC 12. He told me something that makes the PAC 12 President’s/Chancellors turning down the ESPN offer and requesting more money, even more outrageous/ridiculous. He said that the West, in general, for TV purposes, approximately 17% of the population is considered to be “Football Fans”. He then rattled off the “Football Fan” statistics for Birmingham, Texas and other major football locations in the SEC and in the Big 10. All of which made the West’s statistics pale in comparison. The institutional leaders of the PAC 12 should be more than embarrassed at their lack of understanding their own markets and TV value in negotiating a TV deal and for letting 108 years of incredible sports and traditions simply blow away in the wind. How likely do you think it is that some of the soon to be former PAC 12 members will come back to rebuild the Conference?

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Dwight Lilly's avatar

I follow Alabama, the number of fan sites and Youtube fan sites overwhelms what the West has to offer. Oregon is the best the West has to offer and that's due to Nike influence.

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John-Henry Cottrell's avatar

USC probably has a larger national footprint

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