Canzano: Oregon State and Washington State explore 'table for two' in 2024
Scheduling mastermind: "It can be done."
Oregon State and Washington State will meet Saturday in what some are billing as the first-ever “Pac-2” championship game.
Two ranked teams.
FOX television audience.
So why does the name “Dave Brown” keep coming up as I talk with people about what might come next for the Beavers and Cougars?
Brown, 65, lives in Austin, Tex. He worked at ESPN for 28 years. Part of his job included sorting through schedules, managing the weekly game selection, looking for open dates and playing matchmaker. ESPN loves big football matchups and for years Brown worked to create and deliver them.
He eventually left ESPN and went out on his own. He developed scheduling software, created a subscription-based service for schools, and has emerged as one of the most influential behind-the-scenes people in college football.
The Beavers and Cougars are suing the Pac-12 Conference and Commissioner George Kliavkoff. The left-behind schools want clarity on the conference’s governance structure. Beyond that, they’d like to gain control of the conference’s remaining assets and formulate a plan to rebuild.
If the Beavers and Cougars decide to become a two-team conference and throw together a 2024 football schedule, Brown will be in the middle of it.
“It’s not the easiest thing in the world,” Brown told me on Wednesday, “but it can be done. We’d fully expect to be able to do this successfully.”