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Gary Cavalli's avatar

I'm already tired of Yormark's act. Can't believe anything he says. I also think it's unseemly to take some subtle swipes at his predecessor, Bob Bowslby, by always talking about how he wants to re-energize the conference, how it had grown static or stale, how he's going to rebuild the Big 12's image. As if media tours are going to make a difference. Bob Bowlsby was one of the most knowledgable, capable and classy people in college athletics. So far, all Yormark has done is play P.T. Barnum.

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sancho's avatar

In the end, he's selling a conference anchored by Oklahoma State, Baylor, and TCU. He's selling a conference that lives in states already owned by the Big10, SEC, or Pac-12 (West Virginia and Kansas are the only Big12 states not overlapping with major conferences). It's a conference with no football blue bloods and no notable success in the modern era. It seems inevitable that TV ratings for this group will dwindle significantly when UT and OU are gone.

All the flashy lights and music in the world can't change the actual product here.

Of course, Kliavkoff is selling a flawed product as well. But the Pac-12 has two things in its favor: (1) late night inventory and (2) untapped potential in large markets. If Houston is ever top 10 good, they will still be playing 3rd fiddle to A&M and UT in Texas markets. If UW is ever top 10 good, they will deliver all of Seattle, which is a large market. Ditto for ASU, CU, and Cal with Phoenix, Denver, and San Fran.

If I had to pour money into one of these, I'd go for the one that could actually pay off big.

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