"USC just did the most un-USC thing ever: It hired a humble, smart, relatable, qualified, living, breathing human being, folks.". Yeah, USC is the 70s-80s NY Yankees and their administration/donors are George Steinbrenner. I give her a year before she quits or is fired.
Jen Cohen reminds me of Dick Howser (another supremely decent person and also a Miami guy), who managed the NY Yankees to baseball's best record in 1980 and was fired by Steinbrenner for losing the ALCS to KC. Let's see what happens when USC's coronation this football year turns into an assassination by Oregon, Washington, Utah, Notre Dame and others. Or if Williams' second attempt at a Heisman ends in midseason after he tweaks something and calls a wrap to his college career. Good luck dealing with those LA jackals Jen, you're going to need it.
I say give USC and Jen a chance. It could be what they need to rebuild their image after creating this mess for West Coast college athletics overall. There is still time to save this.
SC didn't "create" this mess. Perhaps they just got tired of underwriting 10 other ingrates for generations to come. UCLA was the only program worth over $30MM a year on a network deal and SC was worth at least $100MM/yr. If you've been following the process you'll see there were plenty of people to point your finger at.
Agreed our PAC12 commishes did a disservice to SC not listening to their needs or even their demands given their position of power. Obviously the Big10 decided that there were 4 high value programs in the PAC and now they have them all, two on the cheap short term. Not sure UCLA has more media value than Oregon's national brand considering SC already gives them LA. I think the early choice of UCLA was the pairing and as travel partner. Still SC didn't seem to have the clout to keep Oregon out of the Big 10 when push came to shove. I also agree the PAC12 presidents were complicit in this failure as well the colluding TV execs. Still the truth is there wouldn't be this mess unless SC wanted out of the PAC12 and was willing to jump as they did 14 months ago. All other actions came after that leap.
Gosh, with all the "collegiality" and Pac-12 camaraderie I see written today about USC, I can't believe they'd leave the conference! They must be tone deaf not to feel the love from their brethren. This out-pouring of admiration I guess really shows how important they were for the Pac-12 over the years. Oh well...
Sarcasm aside, some of the responses here are not from adults in the room. Let's hope folks like Jen and her AD brethren in both the PAC & B10 see the value of working together for the good of all their college athletes. SC is a football powerhouse and deserves that value, but can do so much more with a sensible outcome for its non football athletes. If a solution can be found for the PAC4 football (like working with the MWC) but the rest of the sports stay together, all the PAC California, Oregon, & Washington school athletes will benefit. I still maintain hope that our ADs will make that a priority as the money portion of college sports (football) has already spoken.
Agree, but how does anybody who supports minor sports decry football pursuing money when it pays for everything! Not everyone is Stanford with hefty endowments to carry 36 non-revenue sports. Now, especially with Title IX, colleges are faced with either (a) getting rid of all athletics, or (b) investing heavily in their football program hoping they carry the budget around success. Everyone wants great football teams, expanded stadiums, and girls sand volleyball (whatever), but when AD's/Presidents make decisions to improve their income, they scream "greed!"
Again, I agree something can be found to separate non-revenue sport scheduling from football. But you can't separate the money.
Scott, I only speak for myself but let me tell you this, USC has never been liked or admired, just like a vast portion of the country doesn't like or admire LA. USC was tolerated because you couldn't realistically have a "Pacific Athletic Conference" without a major university that sits 20 minutes from the Pacific. Now that USC and UCLA have put paid to that project, there's really no reason to show collegiality or camaraderie. In fact, it would be hypocritical to do so...have fun in the B1G...remember what they say, the PAC is fun, but the B1G is a way of life...good luck adjusting to that Midwest way of life.
That's why now that football schools are getting their money, now we can save the rest of the sports. Stanford is the one being arrogant about MWC football, but if the PAC can survive for the other sports maybe they will be willing to find a compromise there. They certainly don't need the football money nor are they investing like that.
What evidence do you have of collusion? This started with USC and their previous USC AD Bohn working with Fox and then Big 10 commissioner Kevin Warren over 14 months ago. UW was trying to salvage being part of big time CFB when our commish George K couldn't get a media deal done. USC always held the cards that our PAC12 commissioners didn't manage well. They have taken their football elsewhere which has been done without collusion by other PAC12 schools except for UCLA who did it due to their debt and lucked out since SC wanted a travel partner. Cohen could show a lot of courage to keep all west coast college schools relevant for other sports and help keep Stanford in the fold with OSU, Cal, & WSU as they find the best solution for football only, which my guess means working with the Mountain West Conference.
The 4 PAC schools going to the Big10 will be relevant either way and will preserve their big time football. Still if somehow they can stay together for the other sports I see less loss for the left over PAC4 schools. If not you are right we have a cremation of the conference and you can live with your anger. Living here in Corvallis I'd like more for OSU than just the MWC and I hope for solutions. Jen Cohen is now in a position of power to help and I hope she cares.
The last person they hired from here they ground up and spit out. it took Nick Saban (a Don James student) to salvage the career of Steve Sarkisian, who looks so much more at ease coaching Texas. And remember that her budget deficit - ballooned by paying off the disastrous Jimmy Lake hire - really let Washington little choice but to shun the Apple deal and take money from the dark side. I think that she just about owed the Seattle community to prove that this Big-10 move really fit the Huskies but instead we will see if Tacoma has leaven LA or - more likely - LA overwhelms Tacoma.
I meant to say "if Tacoma (her hometown) will leaven LA... (leaven, as in transform for the better)." Great article here that covers how much that has been promised regarding moving to the Big-10 has been left now to someone else:
USC may be highly ranked in football, but they are bottom of the sewer as far as academic institutions going from scandal to scandal. I had always hoped UCLA would stay and we could be rid of them for SDSU as the stench has been on them really since they began and their scandals would take too much ink, but you all get it, especially if one grew up in LA.
Bitter much? Enjoy the 30mm you’ll get while SC bags 80mm. Your coach wanted the SC job, but now you’ll get to feast on your Big 12 membership and after your coach retires, slowly fade into obscurity. You deserve Miami.
You count scandals, I will count Nobel Prizes. I'll take the latter any day. Long after people have forgotten OJ Simpson, a proud Trojan legacy, they will remember Oppenheimer, Lawrence, Jennifer Doudna and all the rest. In fact if you see Oppenheimer enjoy the shots of a real university, untouched by scandals in everything from Keck to the University health care system to Bush and OJ.
What a dumb take by someone that just started watching football last week. If you followed college football avidly, you'd know that it's Whittingham that's turned down USC multiple times because he wanted zero part of such a dysfunctional program, city, and fanbase. How does that feel junior? When the guy that you want tells you to beat it? Obscurity? Boy, you LA tweakers and cluckheads make me laugh. When was the last time you visited SLC champ? Utah and the SLC area are the fastest growing regions in the USA and football is king here. There's no going back to obscurity for Utah, sorry.
Agree John. What a lazy dumb take this is. Chris Petersen, one of the greatest all time CFB coaches was the one who recommended that Lake replace him. And at the time he was at the top of the list of ALOT of programs.
How's this for a lazy dumb take: "Chris Petersen, one of the greatest all-time CFB coaches"...remind me again, how many championships he won? LOL..he averaged more than four losses a season during his tenure with the Huskies. Yeah, he was Bear Bryant and Ara Parseghian combined.
Lake was a mistake. That may be hindsight, but his contract was also a fat mistake. Everybody makes mistakes...Cohen recovered nicely with one of the best coaches in the country.
Obviously hindsight is 20/20, but there were plenty of whispers at the time that he wasn't ready to be a HC. He also immediately undid a lot of the program organizational structure that Petersen had built. That's a pretty big miss if Cohen and Petersen didn't properly vet that before making the call.
Absolutely not. The hire was done because they were afraid that Nick Saban was going to snatch him up as Defensive Coordinator (which he was competent at) so they quickly elevated Lake to the level of his own incompetence. Even as DC at UW what he was best at was trash talking. And he should never have been allowed to talk with complete disdain about Mike Leach. He should have been benched, not promoted - one difference between Chris Peterson and Don James.
I called at a horrible hire at the time (I called him Washington's Randy Shannon due to his lack of HC experience) and said so at the UW Dawg Pound. I was laughed at...needless to say, I was the one laughing last.
Many, including me, thought Lake was a good hire. He had helped coach up a lot of DB’s into the NFL, having coached DB’s in NFL for 5 years before Boise St., then UW. Covid is not a total excuse for Jimmy, but he did have the unfortunate task of taking HC mantel from Peterson during hard years ‘20 & ‘21. I hope Lake finds his way back, he’s w/ LA Rams this year
That would be a hoot wouldn't it....if 85 year old Phil Knight was reading and commenting on this blog. I do believe that John Canzano would have a heart attack.
Jeez, are people having a bad Monday? Breathing the smoky air? I don't remember this level of snark here in...ever. I think it's a great article about a very accomplished person. I have my doubts about her success at USC, given its culture, but we'll see. John, are you still doing the Wordle and did you have a one-off over the weekend? Thought I recognized your start word.
I will be snarky about anything to do with the PAC12 defectors the rest of my life. What good can be said about any of these people? They are all as selfish as they come.
Amen...except that snarky is just misplaced sarcasm. Ditching the Pac-12 and then joining the real dark side is isn't an occasion for sarcasm or whining...it's just wrong.
I am sure you quite loved getting welfare checks from USC for your non revenue generating irrelevant program for the last generation and are pissed off that you will be banished to the MWC. Reminds me of the teenager who realizes they have to work for the first time. What was "selfish" was programs like OSU demanding generation after generation that USC split revenue evenly. Now, the truth is laid bare. Your program is worthless. Enjoy the $4 million annual payout in the MWC.
USC never wrote anyone a check. What a lie which says quite a bit about you as a person. You are just another greedy, self-absorbed so-called fan who enables people like Larry Scott and the leadership at USC and UCLA to leverage public universities for their own personal gain. This is the sad state of personal ethics, let's call it the "Hunter Biden syndrome", that is gutting our entire society. I can see you are right up there leading the way.
I wonder how many checks USC was writing those seasons when there were 20-25K in the Coliseum for home games. They must have had to reach really deep into their wallets. The hubris is just staggering.
I'll take things that have happened under 5 times in the history of USC's program for $100 Alex. Aside from your claim just being an outright lie, media value is not driven by people in the stands in significant part. The hubris is actually Utah fan's. You're 0-4 in your last four bowl games, including getting absolutely waxed back-to-back in the Rose Bowl. In the midst of our worst coach ever, even *we* won an epic Rose Bowl and finished Top 3, something you've done once in the entire *history* of your program. The entirety of your existence is wrapped up in a few seasons. Call it arrogance if you like; I call it results on the field. I know you'd like to memory-hole everything prior to 2020, but that's not how this works.
Do you call "getting waxed" losing to Ohio State by a FG in essentially the last play of the game? A game in which our starting QB missed a significant portion of the 4th QTR with an injury and where 3/4 of our starting defensive backfield was out due to injuries. Do you call "getting waxed" losing to Penn State by 14 points in a game where our starting QB missed almost the entirety of the second half due to injury and we were missing our best offensive (Dalton Kincaid -1st RD pick of the Bills) and defensive player (Clark Phillips III - 4th RD pick of the Falcons)? It is takes like these that make USC and its fanbase amongst the most widely despised in football. You have a total, cavalier disdain for facts that is, again, just staggering. I'm personally going to take an interest in seeing your soft SoCal team get its hat and coat handed to it on a weekly basis by the B1G. Good luck filling those stands and getting eyeballs on your product in the midst 4-6 win seasons.
Of COURSE it did. How do you think the Pac-12 has secured media rights in the past? Through a total valuation of the value of the media rights. The UC's own bitter report over USC's departure estimated that USC's media value represented AT LEAST 1/3 of the value of the conference. USC received 1/12 of the media rights payout, but contributed 1/3 of the amount to be paid. That's a direct subsidy to economically worthless programs like OSU's. So yes, OSU received welfare checks on the back of the value generated by USC, uncontrovertibly. And you are now seeing what OSU is worth on the open market -- nothing.
So, in the B1G enjoy sucking on the tit of Ohio State and Michigan, which bring in a lot more viewers and money than USC ever will. Do you even understand the idea of competition? In order to have a viable and entertaining sports program you need opponents that are comparable in talent. Otherwise, boredom ensues. The Yankees made the same arguments as you until Steinbrenner figured out his team had no value without compelling games. If you happen to be located in a a large metro area, the university is not responsible for that large population. It is coincidence. So you share the wealth with programs that happen to be in smaller markets. But greedy people like you don't get that and you think USC is the reason for the size of LA. It is such an enormous joke I can't stop laughing at you.
Untrue. OSU and Michigan bring in significantly more when USC is not playing well. When USC is playing well, it's potentially the most valuable media property in the country. It certainly was when Pete Carroll was coach. It's simply a fact that USC exists in a massive media market, and it's simply a fact that USC historically has had vastly more success than any other program in the PAC. As a result, USC is a vastly more valuable program and has subsidized the Pac forever. It's hilarious that you just discount the historical dominance of USC's performance on the field as at LEAST as much of a driver to its value than the happy circumstance of being located in LA.
USC could have been like Texas was in the Big 12 and demanded a disproportionate share (but didn't). USC finally stood up for itself and bargained for what it deserved. What's particularly funny here is that you think a USC-OSU matchup is more compelling than a USC Penn State/Ohio State/Michigan/Wisconsin/Michigan State/Iowa match up is. That's EXACTLY why USC went to the B1G -- more money, and WAY more compelling matchups.
I unconditionally trust JC’s assessment of Cohen. She will be tested by USC’s toxic institutional culture in a way she hasn’t/wasn’t at UW. Carol Folt may be trying to change that--her previous choice of Mike Bohn makes me skeptical--but the culture at a large university is incredibly, deeply ingrained.
USC has tolerated or tried to hide incredibly despicable behavior by people all over their enterprise: academic, administrative, health--and athletics.
He's won big everywhere he's been as a HC, and been a fantastic OC elsewhere. I think it's safe to say he's a great coach. I'm not a UW fan, but I'd be thrilled to have him as my team's coach.
Also, not sure if he's "lucky" to have Penix, considering he's the one who attracted Penix there, and helped make him what he is.
Mike, I’m a UW fan and agree with everything you wrote. DeBoer track record before arrival on Montlake speaks for itself (he’s 90-11 as head coach, but yes only 1 year in Power 5 level). I only hope UW can retain his services for a long time. Sad to see Cohen leave.
Mike, How can you say Jen Cohen 'just broke up the conference'. She did nothing of the sort!
Mr. Kliavkoff (GK) broke up the PAC10 (and probably the PAC12) with his inaction, failure to pick up the pieces Larry left scattered around, and his lying that he had the [Media remuneration] numbers. Do you recall at the most recent Media Day when the Colorado Rep had strongly requested GK bring those numbers to Media Day, and he did not do so? No, GK and all the Presidents of the associated PAC 12 universities that voted to hire GK - they broke it up! Perhaps we have to agree to disagree - so be it. Stay with the facts! Thanks & VR, J. Horvath
If you read the prior reporting you would know that (in the final hectic 24 hours a few weeks ago...) DeBoer feared that recruiting would be hurt by the streaming heavy Apple deal -- so Cohen and DeBoer decided they had to jump to the BIG TEN. Many mistakes made by GK and others made earlier. No doubt about that. But what finally killed the conference was UW jumping ship.
Revisionist history much? The Oregon DiscountDucks were shamelessly begging the B1G for inclusion before the ink was dry on the SC/UCLA deal. Beg-ging. UW to B1G was a UW/Oregon combo deal or nothing. At half price no less. Stop acting like UW killed the Pac bro/the Quacks are equally culpable
Not revisionist history-Mike is accurately reporting a major article that is out there.
This is a quote from the article in the LA times a few days ago:
"With the league clearly in crisis mode, the Big Ten began engaging again with Oregon and Washington, while the Big 12 was circling the Arizona schools and Utah.
Oregon and Washington were the key to keeping the league together, and the Apple deal had one very important Duck feather in its cap.
“Phil Knight loved it,” a source said.
The Nike CEO whose millions helped build upstart Oregon into a West Coast power saw the potential that Kliavkoff was pitching.
After two days of reports circulating that the Ducks and Huskies were pushing to leave for the Big Ten, there was a sudden turnabout. Reports from multiple outlets said the Pac-12 presidents were intending to meet on the morning of Aug. 4 to sign their grant of rights with a 10th school to be added later replacing Colorado.
Ten minutes before the meeting was to begin, however, Washington informed the Pac-12 that it was leaving for the Big Ten. The possibility of playing no games on the major linear networks was too tough of a sell for Washington football coach Kalen DeBoer, two sources told The Times.
“I give president [Ana Mari] Cauce and [athletic director] Jennifer Cohen a lot of credit, because these are not easy choices,” DeBoer told reporters after the move to the Big Ten was announced, according to the Seattle Times. “But just thinking years down the road, it came to a point where the resources that we need to be able to provide for our student-athletes … going to the Big Ten allowed for a lot of that.”
Once the Huskies left, the Ducks followed. The Arizona, Arizona State and Utah exodus to the Big 12 flowed naturally from there."
Except that the plane might have zombies in the washroom and eventually crash. You both are going to be receiving less money than the Four Corner Schools until the next contract negotiation. Essentially, you've placed a bet that the system that's in place now, will be the same or better seven years from now. That's a long, long time and a lot of things could change between now and then. For example, I'm reading rumors of Apple buying ESPN for $50B. Do you think that changes the equation a little bit with regard to streaming? I know that UO and UW are patiently playing the long game but absolutely nothing is guaranteed.
Every school that bailed on the PAC12 deserve disgust, fan contempt and disgrace. I hope none of them evrr accomplish a damn thing in any sport and the big promised payday never arrives. United you stand and divided you fall. Oldest story in the book.
Carol Folt was one vote. Apparently she had several supporters. Put all of them, too, on your "head of the line." Besides, if you wanted USC gone anyway, then you should be applauding her for making it happen.
Deboer is "lucky" to have Penix, Lanning is "lucky" to have Bo, Riley is "lucky" to have Fingernails Williams, and Wittingham is "lucky" to have Rising.
Actually, DeBoer was incredibly lucky that Penix was able to play a full season without injury for the first time in his college career. We'll see if that's the case again in 2023.
She still has a chance to unify, even more in her new psotion since USC is the Big Dog in the new conference realignment. She needs to think beyond football as there is alot of value in the other sports as well while she preserves USC's football cash cow.
"Big Dog in the new alignment"? You have got to be kidding! You know nothing about the B1G if you think that. They didn't lure USC to their conference to be the lead dog, only to contribute viewers to help their established leaders, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State. USC is just another Wisconsin in the B1G
If USC hadn't said they'd go to the Big10 we'd still have the PAC as we knew it. The other place they could have gone for big money was the SEC but they woudn't have taken UCLA like the Big 10. Besides Fox drove this as much as the Big10.
FOX is a business to the benefit of Rupert Murdoch and his family, as well as shareholders looking for a profit. USC / UCLA are universities, and UCLA a public university, for the benefit of the People and CA taxpayers. You have to know who you serve in this world. The power brokers at these schools are serving themselves, not their constituents, which completely lacks in integrity. Larry Scott got that ball rolling and others have just picked it up. What they have done is indefensible for public entities propped up by tax payers.
Traveler is looking up at Brutus, Go Blue, and Penn State. Traveler will no longer be the lead pony showered with gifts like the Cali scheduling agreement.
I wish Jen the best at USC. Her legacy at UW is mixed at best. Good and bad coaching hires, supported all sports programs and was by all accounts an above average leader. However, she also leaves an athletic department awash in debt with no viable (public) plan in place to right the financial ship. And now UW must somehow survive in the Big Ten at a half revenue share? This Dawg respects her right to self determination, but I'm not happy about the move.
Richard, what really needs to happen is that all revenue-producing sports need to get out of the NCAA, and education in general, and form their own consortium. I'd even be down for teams just having university names and having none of their players actually be students. We're already going down that road. Might as well just pull off the band-aid.
Yes, I agree about the incompetence, but on that fateful Friday morning it was the UW that was first to opt out which started the ball rolling that doomed the PAC 12.
Fox, UCLA, and USC put the Pac-12 on life support. Fox pulled the plug on the conference with Oregon and UW but not before CU had already departed and Arizona had applied for B12 membership.
This death came as a result of a long-term leadership cancer that progressed under Scott and metastasized under Kiavkoff. But Scott and Kliavkoff both had idiots they reported to. Among them, were idiots at Cal, Stanford, Oregon State, and Washington State.
When businesses fail. not every subsidiary goes down. The more successful subsidiaries are picked off by more successful businesses.
What happened on a single Friday? The horse had long ago left the barn. Jen Cohen? She certainly might have influenced the decision, but Jen did not have a vote in the matter.
It stinks. But frankly, with the dearth of leadership, it was inevitable.
Being a Husky fan guarantees extreme ups and downs. This is an extreme down. There is no putting make up on a pig and pretending it's a beauty queen. A bad AD can lead to...well for example..chasing off Don James as your head coach. Hiring Tyrone Willingham. Going 0-11. Or hiring a kalen Deboer and going 11-2 with this coach of the year. And Jen is on the playoff committee! I'm facing flash floods today, Hurricane Hilary and now this.
He's a coach and a good one but the business of running an Athletic Department in todays' world requires people with a solid business background, preferably in Athletics.
Good luck.
She was great at W. Now she's dancing with the Devil.
"USC just did the most un-USC thing ever: It hired a humble, smart, relatable, qualified, living, breathing human being, folks.". Yeah, USC is the 70s-80s NY Yankees and their administration/donors are George Steinbrenner. I give her a year before she quits or is fired.
you may be right.
Jen Cohen reminds me of Dick Howser (another supremely decent person and also a Miami guy), who managed the NY Yankees to baseball's best record in 1980 and was fired by Steinbrenner for losing the ALCS to KC. Let's see what happens when USC's coronation this football year turns into an assassination by Oregon, Washington, Utah, Notre Dame and others. Or if Williams' second attempt at a Heisman ends in midseason after he tweaks something and calls a wrap to his college career. Good luck dealing with those LA jackals Jen, you're going to need it.
Spoken like a true blue cynic. The jackal is you.
Brother, I think that you'll find numerous people on this blog that will say different. Who are you? Dan's backup dancer?
I say give USC and Jen a chance. It could be what they need to rebuild their image after creating this mess for West Coast college athletics overall. There is still time to save this.
Their image can't be rebuilt. USC and anyone they suck into their darkness are what typifies the whole SoCal ethic, which is "Me First"!
Oregon does a darned good job of the selfishness you are talking about.
If Jen Cohen can turn a team endowed with self-serving , egocentric “me first” players, she’ll have produced a miracle.
SC didn't "create" this mess. Perhaps they just got tired of underwriting 10 other ingrates for generations to come. UCLA was the only program worth over $30MM a year on a network deal and SC was worth at least $100MM/yr. If you've been following the process you'll see there were plenty of people to point your finger at.
Agreed our PAC12 commishes did a disservice to SC not listening to their needs or even their demands given their position of power. Obviously the Big10 decided that there were 4 high value programs in the PAC and now they have them all, two on the cheap short term. Not sure UCLA has more media value than Oregon's national brand considering SC already gives them LA. I think the early choice of UCLA was the pairing and as travel partner. Still SC didn't seem to have the clout to keep Oregon out of the Big 10 when push came to shove. I also agree the PAC12 presidents were complicit in this failure as well the colluding TV execs. Still the truth is there wouldn't be this mess unless SC wanted out of the PAC12 and was willing to jump as they did 14 months ago. All other actions came after that leap.
Gosh, with all the "collegiality" and Pac-12 camaraderie I see written today about USC, I can't believe they'd leave the conference! They must be tone deaf not to feel the love from their brethren. This out-pouring of admiration I guess really shows how important they were for the Pac-12 over the years. Oh well...
Sarcasm aside, some of the responses here are not from adults in the room. Let's hope folks like Jen and her AD brethren in both the PAC & B10 see the value of working together for the good of all their college athletes. SC is a football powerhouse and deserves that value, but can do so much more with a sensible outcome for its non football athletes. If a solution can be found for the PAC4 football (like working with the MWC) but the rest of the sports stay together, all the PAC California, Oregon, & Washington school athletes will benefit. I still maintain hope that our ADs will make that a priority as the money portion of college sports (football) has already spoken.
Agree, but how does anybody who supports minor sports decry football pursuing money when it pays for everything! Not everyone is Stanford with hefty endowments to carry 36 non-revenue sports. Now, especially with Title IX, colleges are faced with either (a) getting rid of all athletics, or (b) investing heavily in their football program hoping they carry the budget around success. Everyone wants great football teams, expanded stadiums, and girls sand volleyball (whatever), but when AD's/Presidents make decisions to improve their income, they scream "greed!"
Again, I agree something can be found to separate non-revenue sport scheduling from football. But you can't separate the money.
Scott, I only speak for myself but let me tell you this, USC has never been liked or admired, just like a vast portion of the country doesn't like or admire LA. USC was tolerated because you couldn't realistically have a "Pacific Athletic Conference" without a major university that sits 20 minutes from the Pacific. Now that USC and UCLA have put paid to that project, there's really no reason to show collegiality or camaraderie. In fact, it would be hypocritical to do so...have fun in the B1G...remember what they say, the PAC is fun, but the B1G is a way of life...good luck adjusting to that Midwest way of life.
That's why now that football schools are getting their money, now we can save the rest of the sports. Stanford is the one being arrogant about MWC football, but if the PAC can survive for the other sports maybe they will be willing to find a compromise there. They certainly don't need the football money nor are they investing like that.
These clowns like Cohen, conspired with Fox and the Big 10 and blew up the Pac 12.
This is not better for athletes
This runs college Athletics into the ground. I have interests in my schools, and without them in the game, I'm done.
How sustainable is this if people keep canceling pay tv?
Save this? Cohen got in bed with Fox and cremated the Pac 12. Was she colluding with USC the whole time?
I'm not.impressed with her lack of integrity
What evidence do you have of collusion? This started with USC and their previous USC AD Bohn working with Fox and then Big 10 commissioner Kevin Warren over 14 months ago. UW was trying to salvage being part of big time CFB when our commish George K couldn't get a media deal done. USC always held the cards that our PAC12 commissioners didn't manage well. They have taken their football elsewhere which has been done without collusion by other PAC12 schools except for UCLA who did it due to their debt and lucked out since SC wanted a travel partner. Cohen could show a lot of courage to keep all west coast college schools relevant for other sports and help keep Stanford in the fold with OSU, Cal, & WSU as they find the best solution for football only, which my guess means working with the Mountain West Conference.
The 4 PAC schools going to the Big10 will be relevant either way and will preserve their big time football. Still if somehow they can stay together for the other sports I see less loss for the left over PAC4 schools. If not you are right we have a cremation of the conference and you can live with your anger. Living here in Corvallis I'd like more for OSU than just the MWC and I hope for solutions. Jen Cohen is now in a position of power to help and I hope she cares.
She's been talking to them for awhile. The whole fix is in.
Regional rivalries are destroyed. Non rev sports bear the brunt.
It's not fun and it's all going to collapse as people sign off.
What makes basketball fun I'd everyone can participate. Not in football now....the chosen few. BS
After this season I sign off. I've got an antenna. I have my MLB package. I'm set
The last person they hired from here they ground up and spit out. it took Nick Saban (a Don James student) to salvage the career of Steve Sarkisian, who looks so much more at ease coaching Texas. And remember that her budget deficit - ballooned by paying off the disastrous Jimmy Lake hire - really let Washington little choice but to shun the Apple deal and take money from the dark side. I think that she just about owed the Seattle community to prove that this Big-10 move really fit the Huskies but instead we will see if Tacoma has leaven LA or - more likely - LA overwhelms Tacoma.
But Man, Sark looks funky in a cowboy hat.
Hi George, not sure what those last two sentences meant?
I meant to say "if Tacoma (her hometown) will leaven LA... (leaven, as in transform for the better)." Great article here that covers how much that has been promised regarding moving to the Big-10 has been left now to someone else:
https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw-husky-football/reports-uw-athletic-director-jennifer-cohen-to-leave-for-ad-job-at-usc/
Thanks George.
USC may be highly ranked in football, but they are bottom of the sewer as far as academic institutions going from scandal to scandal. I had always hoped UCLA would stay and we could be rid of them for SDSU as the stench has been on them really since they began and their scandals would take too much ink, but you all get it, especially if one grew up in LA.
Yeah, well... they're the B1G's problem in less than a year.
Bitter much? Enjoy the 30mm you’ll get while SC bags 80mm. Your coach wanted the SC job, but now you’ll get to feast on your Big 12 membership and after your coach retires, slowly fade into obscurity. You deserve Miami.
You count scandals, I will count Nobel Prizes. I'll take the latter any day. Long after people have forgotten OJ Simpson, a proud Trojan legacy, they will remember Oppenheimer, Lawrence, Jennifer Doudna and all the rest. In fact if you see Oppenheimer enjoy the shots of a real university, untouched by scandals in everything from Keck to the University health care system to Bush and OJ.
What a dumb take by someone that just started watching football last week. If you followed college football avidly, you'd know that it's Whittingham that's turned down USC multiple times because he wanted zero part of such a dysfunctional program, city, and fanbase. How does that feel junior? When the guy that you want tells you to beat it? Obscurity? Boy, you LA tweakers and cluckheads make me laugh. When was the last time you visited SLC champ? Utah and the SLC area are the fastest growing regions in the USA and football is king here. There's no going back to obscurity for Utah, sorry.
Let's not forget Cohen also hired Jimmy Lake and Mike Hopkins.
Nobody is perfect. ADs will tell you that. But on Lake ... don't you think anyone would have promoted him?
Agree John. What a lazy dumb take this is. Chris Petersen, one of the greatest all time CFB coaches was the one who recommended that Lake replace him. And at the time he was at the top of the list of ALOT of programs.
How's this for a lazy dumb take: "Chris Petersen, one of the greatest all-time CFB coaches"...remind me again, how many championships he won? LOL..he averaged more than four losses a season during his tenure with the Huskies. Yeah, he was Bear Bryant and Ara Parseghian combined.
Lake was a mistake. That may be hindsight, but his contract was also a fat mistake. Everybody makes mistakes...Cohen recovered nicely with one of the best coaches in the country.
What's Cleveland got to do with this? Maybe it's just my dyslexia.
Obviously hindsight is 20/20, but there were plenty of whispers at the time that he wasn't ready to be a HC. He also immediately undid a lot of the program organizational structure that Petersen had built. That's a pretty big miss if Cohen and Petersen didn't properly vet that before making the call.
The promotion is defensible. The contract on the other hand.....
Absolutely not. The hire was done because they were afraid that Nick Saban was going to snatch him up as Defensive Coordinator (which he was competent at) so they quickly elevated Lake to the level of his own incompetence. Even as DC at UW what he was best at was trash talking. And he should never have been allowed to talk with complete disdain about Mike Leach. He should have been benched, not promoted - one difference between Chris Peterson and Don James.
I called at a horrible hire at the time (I called him Washington's Randy Shannon due to his lack of HC experience) and said so at the UW Dawg Pound. I was laughed at...needless to say, I was the one laughing last.
Many, including me, thought Lake was a good hire. He had helped coach up a lot of DB’s into the NFL, having coached DB’s in NFL for 5 years before Boise St., then UW. Covid is not a total excuse for Jimmy, but he did have the unfortunate task of taking HC mantel from Peterson during hard years ‘20 & ‘21. I hope Lake finds his way back, he’s w/ LA Rams this year
Jimmy Lake and his 8 NFL defensive draft picks sure the “air raid is easy to stop”
Exactly... let's not make her out to be infallible. She's got plenty of mistakes in her record.
Her first women’s basketball coach was also a bust. On the other hand, she did great with Track and Field.
And we all know that Track and Field pays the bills.
Is that you Phil?
That would be a hoot wouldn't it....if 85 year old Phil Knight was reading and commenting on this blog. I do believe that John Canzano would have a heart attack.
Jeez, are people having a bad Monday? Breathing the smoky air? I don't remember this level of snark here in...ever. I think it's a great article about a very accomplished person. I have my doubts about her success at USC, given its culture, but we'll see. John, are you still doing the Wordle and did you have a one-off over the weekend? Thought I recognized your start word.
I will be snarky about anything to do with the PAC12 defectors the rest of my life. What good can be said about any of these people? They are all as selfish as they come.
Amen...except that snarky is just misplaced sarcasm. Ditching the Pac-12 and then joining the real dark side is isn't an occasion for sarcasm or whining...it's just wrong.
I am sure you quite loved getting welfare checks from USC for your non revenue generating irrelevant program for the last generation and are pissed off that you will be banished to the MWC. Reminds me of the teenager who realizes they have to work for the first time. What was "selfish" was programs like OSU demanding generation after generation that USC split revenue evenly. Now, the truth is laid bare. Your program is worthless. Enjoy the $4 million annual payout in the MWC.
USC never wrote anyone a check. What a lie which says quite a bit about you as a person. You are just another greedy, self-absorbed so-called fan who enables people like Larry Scott and the leadership at USC and UCLA to leverage public universities for their own personal gain. This is the sad state of personal ethics, let's call it the "Hunter Biden syndrome", that is gutting our entire society. I can see you are right up there leading the way.
I wonder how many checks USC was writing those seasons when there were 20-25K in the Coliseum for home games. They must have had to reach really deep into their wallets. The hubris is just staggering.
I'll take things that have happened under 5 times in the history of USC's program for $100 Alex. Aside from your claim just being an outright lie, media value is not driven by people in the stands in significant part. The hubris is actually Utah fan's. You're 0-4 in your last four bowl games, including getting absolutely waxed back-to-back in the Rose Bowl. In the midst of our worst coach ever, even *we* won an epic Rose Bowl and finished Top 3, something you've done once in the entire *history* of your program. The entirety of your existence is wrapped up in a few seasons. Call it arrogance if you like; I call it results on the field. I know you'd like to memory-hole everything prior to 2020, but that's not how this works.
Do you call "getting waxed" losing to Ohio State by a FG in essentially the last play of the game? A game in which our starting QB missed a significant portion of the 4th QTR with an injury and where 3/4 of our starting defensive backfield was out due to injuries. Do you call "getting waxed" losing to Penn State by 14 points in a game where our starting QB missed almost the entirety of the second half due to injury and we were missing our best offensive (Dalton Kincaid -1st RD pick of the Bills) and defensive player (Clark Phillips III - 4th RD pick of the Falcons)? It is takes like these that make USC and its fanbase amongst the most widely despised in football. You have a total, cavalier disdain for facts that is, again, just staggering. I'm personally going to take an interest in seeing your soft SoCal team get its hat and coat handed to it on a weekly basis by the B1G. Good luck filling those stands and getting eyeballs on your product in the midst 4-6 win seasons.
Of COURSE it did. How do you think the Pac-12 has secured media rights in the past? Through a total valuation of the value of the media rights. The UC's own bitter report over USC's departure estimated that USC's media value represented AT LEAST 1/3 of the value of the conference. USC received 1/12 of the media rights payout, but contributed 1/3 of the amount to be paid. That's a direct subsidy to economically worthless programs like OSU's. So yes, OSU received welfare checks on the back of the value generated by USC, uncontrovertibly. And you are now seeing what OSU is worth on the open market -- nothing.
So, in the B1G enjoy sucking on the tit of Ohio State and Michigan, which bring in a lot more viewers and money than USC ever will. Do you even understand the idea of competition? In order to have a viable and entertaining sports program you need opponents that are comparable in talent. Otherwise, boredom ensues. The Yankees made the same arguments as you until Steinbrenner figured out his team had no value without compelling games. If you happen to be located in a a large metro area, the university is not responsible for that large population. It is coincidence. So you share the wealth with programs that happen to be in smaller markets. But greedy people like you don't get that and you think USC is the reason for the size of LA. It is such an enormous joke I can't stop laughing at you.
Untrue. OSU and Michigan bring in significantly more when USC is not playing well. When USC is playing well, it's potentially the most valuable media property in the country. It certainly was when Pete Carroll was coach. It's simply a fact that USC exists in a massive media market, and it's simply a fact that USC historically has had vastly more success than any other program in the PAC. As a result, USC is a vastly more valuable program and has subsidized the Pac forever. It's hilarious that you just discount the historical dominance of USC's performance on the field as at LEAST as much of a driver to its value than the happy circumstance of being located in LA.
USC could have been like Texas was in the Big 12 and demanded a disproportionate share (but didn't). USC finally stood up for itself and bargained for what it deserved. What's particularly funny here is that you think a USC-OSU matchup is more compelling than a USC Penn State/Ohio State/Michigan/Wisconsin/Michigan State/Iowa match up is. That's EXACTLY why USC went to the B1G -- more money, and WAY more compelling matchups.
I unconditionally trust JC’s assessment of Cohen. She will be tested by USC’s toxic institutional culture in a way she hasn’t/wasn’t at UW. Carol Folt may be trying to change that--her previous choice of Mike Bohn makes me skeptical--but the culture at a large university is incredibly, deeply ingrained.
USC has tolerated or tried to hide incredibly despicable behavior by people all over their enterprise: academic, administrative, health--and athletics.
We’ll see.
Well said. Precisely correct.
DeBoer is incredibly lucky that Penix is at QB. Better to hold judgment for at least 2 more years. Maybe he's a great coach. Maybe not.
As for Cohen...
"Jen Cohen is a unifier. She brings people together. " Huh?
She DID just break up the conference. How you call her a unifier is beyond me.
Don't think that was a Cohen decision.
John, do you think the LA Times reporting suggesting it was a UW and not UO call in the end is incorrect?
I have no idea-just curious.
Wrong, wrong and wrong!
He's won big everywhere he's been as a HC, and been a fantastic OC elsewhere. I think it's safe to say he's a great coach. I'm not a UW fan, but I'd be thrilled to have him as my team's coach.
Also, not sure if he's "lucky" to have Penix, considering he's the one who attracted Penix there, and helped make him what he is.
Mike, I’m a UW fan and agree with everything you wrote. DeBoer track record before arrival on Montlake speaks for itself (he’s 90-11 as head coach, but yes only 1 year in Power 5 level). I only hope UW can retain his services for a long time. Sad to see Cohen leave.
Loved your caveat "but yes only 1 year in Power 5 level."
Mike, How can you say Jen Cohen 'just broke up the conference'. She did nothing of the sort!
Mr. Kliavkoff (GK) broke up the PAC10 (and probably the PAC12) with his inaction, failure to pick up the pieces Larry left scattered around, and his lying that he had the [Media remuneration] numbers. Do you recall at the most recent Media Day when the Colorado Rep had strongly requested GK bring those numbers to Media Day, and he did not do so? No, GK and all the Presidents of the associated PAC 12 universities that voted to hire GK - they broke it up! Perhaps we have to agree to disagree - so be it. Stay with the facts! Thanks & VR, J. Horvath
If you read the prior reporting you would know that (in the final hectic 24 hours a few weeks ago...) DeBoer feared that recruiting would be hurt by the streaming heavy Apple deal -- so Cohen and DeBoer decided they had to jump to the BIG TEN. Many mistakes made by GK and others made earlier. No doubt about that. But what finally killed the conference was UW jumping ship.
Revisionist history much? The Oregon DiscountDucks were shamelessly begging the B1G for inclusion before the ink was dry on the SC/UCLA deal. Beg-ging. UW to B1G was a UW/Oregon combo deal or nothing. At half price no less. Stop acting like UW killed the Pac bro/the Quacks are equally culpable
What a pile of turd blossoms...unbelievable mythology. You and Peter Rabbit hang much?
Your last sentence is precisely correct - the rest of your post, as usual, is ridiculous, sc...just completely fake news.
Not revisionist history-Mike is accurately reporting a major article that is out there.
This is a quote from the article in the LA times a few days ago:
"With the league clearly in crisis mode, the Big Ten began engaging again with Oregon and Washington, while the Big 12 was circling the Arizona schools and Utah.
Oregon and Washington were the key to keeping the league together, and the Apple deal had one very important Duck feather in its cap.
“Phil Knight loved it,” a source said.
The Nike CEO whose millions helped build upstart Oregon into a West Coast power saw the potential that Kliavkoff was pitching.
After two days of reports circulating that the Ducks and Huskies were pushing to leave for the Big Ten, there was a sudden turnabout. Reports from multiple outlets said the Pac-12 presidents were intending to meet on the morning of Aug. 4 to sign their grant of rights with a 10th school to be added later replacing Colorado.
Ten minutes before the meeting was to begin, however, Washington informed the Pac-12 that it was leaving for the Big Ten. The possibility of playing no games on the major linear networks was too tough of a sell for Washington football coach Kalen DeBoer, two sources told The Times.
“I give president [Ana Mari] Cauce and [athletic director] Jennifer Cohen a lot of credit, because these are not easy choices,” DeBoer told reporters after the move to the Big Ten was announced, according to the Seattle Times. “But just thinking years down the road, it came to a point where the resources that we need to be able to provide for our student-athletes … going to the Big Ten allowed for a lot of that.”
Once the Huskies left, the Ducks followed. The Arizona, Arizona State and Utah exodus to the Big 12 flowed naturally from there."
Thinking down the road? $$$$$$$$$$
The Ducks and UW both followed the money and would have stupid other than to take the last plane out.
Except that the plane might have zombies in the washroom and eventually crash. You both are going to be receiving less money than the Four Corner Schools until the next contract negotiation. Essentially, you've placed a bet that the system that's in place now, will be the same or better seven years from now. That's a long, long time and a lot of things could change between now and then. For example, I'm reading rumors of Apple buying ESPN for $50B. Do you think that changes the equation a little bit with regard to streaming? I know that UO and UW are patiently playing the long game but absolutely nothing is guaranteed.
Roll back the tape. It was Carol Folt who vehemently nixed taking in BIG 12 teams. That started the snowball rolling downhill with a good big shove.
She and USC were at the head of the line when it came down to the chain of events that ended up destroying the conference.
Every school that bailed on the PAC12 deserve disgust, fan contempt and disgrace. I hope none of them evrr accomplish a damn thing in any sport and the big promised payday never arrives. United you stand and divided you fall. Oldest story in the book.
Carol Folt was one vote. Apparently she had several supporters. Put all of them, too, on your "head of the line." Besides, if you wanted USC gone anyway, then you should be applauding her for making it happen.
Yes!!
Deboer is "lucky" to have Penix, Lanning is "lucky" to have Bo, Riley is "lucky" to have Fingernails Williams, and Wittingham is "lucky" to have Rising.
Funny how the real good coaches get so "lucky".
Yup, great coach most always has a great QB. Hand to glove
Actually, DeBoer was incredibly lucky that Penix was able to play a full season without injury for the first time in his college career. We'll see if that's the case again in 2023.
Agreed. He won with someone else's players. Time will tell
She still has a chance to unify, even more in her new psotion since USC is the Big Dog in the new conference realignment. She needs to think beyond football as there is alot of value in the other sports as well while she preserves USC's football cash cow.
"Big Dog in the new alignment"? You have got to be kidding! You know nothing about the B1G if you think that. They didn't lure USC to their conference to be the lead dog, only to contribute viewers to help their established leaders, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State. USC is just another Wisconsin in the B1G
If USC hadn't said they'd go to the Big10 we'd still have the PAC as we knew it. The other place they could have gone for big money was the SEC but they woudn't have taken UCLA like the Big 10. Besides Fox drove this as much as the Big10.
FOX is a business to the benefit of Rupert Murdoch and his family, as well as shareholders looking for a profit. USC / UCLA are universities, and UCLA a public university, for the benefit of the People and CA taxpayers. You have to know who you serve in this world. The power brokers at these schools are serving themselves, not their constituents, which completely lacks in integrity. Larry Scott got that ball rolling and others have just picked it up. What they have done is indefensible for public entities propped up by tax payers.
Traveler is looking up at Brutus, Go Blue, and Penn State. Traveler will no longer be the lead pony showered with gifts like the Cali scheduling agreement.
Smart woman looking out for #1
Leaves a deficit-ridden situation for the private dollars of U$C
I appreciate the good she did at Udub and wish her all the worst as a Trojan
Should be fun in L.A. November 4th
GO DAWGS
Yes...she talked about all of the great things "we" would do for the UW to progress in the Big-10; now that very Big job will be left to someone else.
It would be interesting to know her salary at SC and whether UW attempted to match the offer.
Seattle is not inexpensive by any means but it is not LA and there's also that pesky little thing called a state income tax.
Probably a lot to be said regarding not being a state employee anymore
GO DAWGS
I wish Jen the best at USC. Her legacy at UW is mixed at best. Good and bad coaching hires, supported all sports programs and was by all accounts an above average leader. However, she also leaves an athletic department awash in debt with no viable (public) plan in place to right the financial ship. And now UW must somehow survive in the Big Ten at a half revenue share? This Dawg respects her right to self determination, but I'm not happy about the move.
As a UW fan, this makes me sad.
If he doesn't get the Ohio State gig hire Patrick Chun?
Really enjoyed this piece. Learned a lot and also bummed me out that USC gets something else good.
Well, I can’t really cheer that no matter that she’s a successful and genuine person, but I feel pretty confident in our people at Oregon State.
Amen, sir.
Interesting hire. We'll see if she can change the culture of the exagerated opinion of USC football. They haven't been good for many years.
The NCAA needs an overhaul. They allowed the transfer portal, media deals and NIL to ruin college football.
Richard, what really needs to happen is that all revenue-producing sports need to get out of the NCAA, and education in general, and form their own consortium. I'd even be down for teams just having university names and having none of their players actually be students. We're already going down that road. Might as well just pull off the band-aid.
There are hundreds of D3 no athletic scholarship schools which are NCAA members.
Explain to me how player movement and athletes are what’s ruining football
Conferences, school administrators and TV networks are the ones ruining college sports
Her decision to leave for the Big 10 resulted in the demise of the PAC 12. Good riddance.
Rank incompetence from the top down took down the Pac-12. Not Jen Cohen.
Yes, I agree about the incompetence, but on that fateful Friday morning it was the UW that was first to opt out which started the ball rolling that doomed the PAC 12.
Fox, UCLA, and USC put the Pac-12 on life support. Fox pulled the plug on the conference with Oregon and UW but not before CU had already departed and Arizona had applied for B12 membership.
This death came as a result of a long-term leadership cancer that progressed under Scott and metastasized under Kiavkoff. But Scott and Kliavkoff both had idiots they reported to. Among them, were idiots at Cal, Stanford, Oregon State, and Washington State.
When businesses fail. not every subsidiary goes down. The more successful subsidiaries are picked off by more successful businesses.
What happened on a single Friday? The horse had long ago left the barn. Jen Cohen? She certainly might have influenced the decision, but Jen did not have a vote in the matter.
It stinks. But frankly, with the dearth of leadership, it was inevitable.
Being a Husky fan guarantees extreme ups and downs. This is an extreme down. There is no putting make up on a pig and pretending it's a beauty queen. A bad AD can lead to...well for example..chasing off Don James as your head coach. Hiring Tyrone Willingham. Going 0-11. Or hiring a kalen Deboer and going 11-2 with this coach of the year. And Jen is on the playoff committee! I'm facing flash floods today, Hurricane Hilary and now this.
Chris Peterson as AD at Washington? What do you think?
Who cares.
He's a coach and a good one but the business of running an Athletic Department in todays' world requires people with a solid business background, preferably in Athletics.
There's no way that happens. Not that it wouldn't be an inspired choice but that Chris is fully and unqualifiedly retired.
Way to "call 'em as you see 'em". We shall see. When history is written, her UW days will show reasonably well.