Mack Rhoades rolled into Ball Arena waving an olive branch in one hand and an invitation in the other.
Ya know, CU Buffs, if this whole Pac-12 TV deal doesn’t stick the landing … call me.
“I’ll say what I’ve said before: I don’t think anybody’s rooting for the demise of the Pac-12,” the Baylor athletic director told me with a grin as we chatted outside the Bears’ locker room, where his team is preparing for its NCAA Tournament matchup with 14th-seeded UC Santa Barbara here Friday.
“And certainly, our commissioner’s not.”
Wait. We’re talking about Brett Yormark, right?
Coulda fooled me.
“I think we’re all rooting that they end up with a media deal that’s really good for the 10 of them,” Rhoades continued, switching from peace mode to hypothetical invitation mode. “But, you know, if it comes to a point in time where that media deal is not in their best interest, then why wouldn’t we be interested in a school, in an institution, like CU?”
He smiled.
Oh, Big 12. How you tease.
Rhoades was careful to speak in aggressively effusive generalities. Just not aggressively effusive specifics. Which is kind of on-brand these days.
And why Buffs fans would be wise to take any report coming from east of La Junta with a side of brisket and a grain of salt.
“I think everybody’s talking about it right now — I think there’s a lot of side conversations going on,” Rhoades continued. “I think it’s safe to say we’re all having conversations amongst the ADs within the Big 12 and certainly within the Pac-12. And I’d be disingenuous if we didn’t say that there’s Big 12 ADs talking with Pac-12 (ADs), relationships that go back years.”
Hey, if you’re the Buffs, it’s always good to have options. But just like politics these days, the “truth” on how cozy things ACTUALLY got between the Pac-12’s “Four Corners” schools — CU, Arizona State, Arizona and Utah — and the Big 12 depends on your sources. And your world view.
Arizona’s president told Bay News Group’s Jon Wilner earlier this week a “competitive” media rights deal will keep the Pac-12’s ship sailing, and that he expects that Commissioner George Kliavkoff to present one to the membership soon. Arizona State’s president told the Sun Devils’ student newspaper that the school is “committed to the Pac-12.”
Utah hasn’t budged publicly — or privately — from its ride-or-die love for the league, despite reported “talks” between back channels. CU, same deal. Coach Prime or no Coach Prime.
“I’m excited for Rick (George) and for (Buffs fans) because there’s a new excitement about football in Boulder,” Rhoades said of Deion Sanders taking over the Buffs’ football program.
“And you think about their history in football — I mean, it’s tremendous. I’m happy for (George). And again, it’s a great institution. And there’s been a relationship, obviously, in the past, in terms of CU and the Big 12 …”
Will there be one in the future? It’ll come down to the same thing it always has. Moolah.
“Unfortunately, the way college athletics has become, (CU’s decision) is going to be about what makes the most financial sense,” longtime ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla told me Thursday. “So having said that, and knowing that the decision will rest on that, I can see both sides of the argument.
“I happen to think that CU and the state, (are) positioned so that — it’s not that they can’t go wrong here. It’s just that both conferences make sense on a variety of levels.”
The bulk of CU’s alumni base spans from Denver to the west. Counter: The Big 12 promises central-time and eastern-time kickoffs that more of the country can watch live.
Given Coach Prime’s ties to Texas and Florida, it could be posited that the Big 12 is better for CU football … while the Pac-12 makes more sense for the administration, the athletic department, and the campus as a whole.
And you can’t split the difference.
“(There’s the fact) that alumni (are) out west, and (CU) being (partnered) to schools that are similar to you in terms of sports,” Fraschilla continued. “(But) Kansas has been a rival through the years. And Oklahoma State.
“I think it could go either way. But unfortunately, it’s not going to be a decision based on anything but what makes sense financially for the university.”
Money talks.
So do athletic directors.
“I think that (process) has to play out,” Rhoades said. “And if (the Pac-12) gets a deal that’s good enough to keep them together, that’s great. We’re happy for them.
“And if not? I think we’ll certainly be prepared.”
