FORT WORTH, Texas — Even the irony is bigger in Texas. Nor was any of it lost on Rick George, who acknowledged that while he was kibitzing and black-slapping with Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark like an old college pal, the Pac-12 Conference woke up Friday to find itself … the Pac-2. (The Pac-Dos? The Pac-D’oh!)
“I mean, certainly there is (some feelings),” the CU athletic director said following a news conference with Buffs chancellor Phil DiStefano, Yormark and TCU officials at swanky Amon G. Carter Stadium. “You know, I hate where some of my peers are and what their options may or may not be. It’s tough. But again, we had to stay focused on what was best for us. And you never know what dominoes are going to fall when you do that.”
The final domino for the Pac-12 as we know it fell in the morning, when the Atlantic Coast Conference defied geography and logic, those nefarious arch-enemies of television executives and college presidents, by welcoming Stanford, Cal and SMU into the family.
The Cardinal and Golden Bears still get to keep their passkeys to the “Autonomous 5” penthouse. The ACC gets more name brands in reserve in case Florida State, Clemson, Miami and/or North Carolina eventually bolt for the SEC or Big Ten. ESPN gets Cal-Pitt kicking off from Strawberry Canyon at about 11:06 p.m. Primanti Brothers time. Washington State and Oregon State get left holding the bag.
“For us, it was about giving ourselves stability, giving ourselves a platform so, three to five years from now, the viewership of the CU brand is going to be significant,” George continued, “and we felt that was really important in our decision-making.”
Yormark and TCU let George and DiStefano do a ceremonial victory lap Friday on Coach Prime Eve, rolling out the purple carpet, playing a celebratory video that included the Buffs’ greatest Big 12/Big Eight hits, and crediting CU as the critical thread that unraveled the Pac-12’s fraying sweater.
“We appreciate you making that decision when you did,” Yormark told Rick and Phil. “I think that was a catalyst for some of the things that followed.”
Maybe. Lordy, they had help. The Buffs didn’t just jump from the Pac-12 on a wing and a prayer.
They were pushed.
Everybody was. Any blood from Friday, and indeed from the death throes of the last six weeks, is on the hands of former commissioner Larry Scott and his enablers. It’s on USC and Stanford, for their decades (“Play with BYU or Baylor? Never!”) of shameless hubris. It’s on administrators such as Arizona State president Michael “Star Trek” Crow, who apparently doesn’t get it and probably never will.
“I don’t know anybody else’s motivation but ours,” George continued. “And we made the decision at the time that we felt was right. We had just completed our due diligence, and the chancellor and I met (with the Big 12) … (and) that was the right time for us to make that decision. And I feel really good about where we are.”
“All I’ll say is, we ended in the right place,” the commissioner added, “and we’re just thrilled.”
Tip your cap to Yormark, who read the room and won the day. While the Pac-12 (again) misjudged both its collective television value and the market — Disney corporate was merciless in its belt-tightening this year — as a whole, the new Big 12 commish did an end-around to bend the ears of both FOX and ESPN last autumn.
“Thankfully, (both networks) were open to it,” Yormark recalled. “They welcomed the opportunity. For us, it was always about being the best version of ourselves. We weren’t chasing in what the SEC was doing (or) what the Big Ten was. Could we get to a fair deal? Could we get a deal that would provide us with the stability and clarity we’re looking for?”
They got one, stonewalling the Pac-12 in the process. Yormark, a veteran of Jay-Z’s Roc Nation entertainment agency, loves puttin’ on a good show. The man also doesn’t mind tweaking opposing commissioners — or Texas Longhorns fans — in front of a hot mic.
Deion Sanders is darn near perfect for his Big 12. And vice versa.
“I think the way (Coach Prime) uses social media, I think really fits with what the Big 12 is doing,” Yormark said, “and I think there’s a tremendous fit in alignment on that as well. I mean, since I’ve been here, we want to modernize and contemporize this conference. We want the youth culture (to be) the guiding principle for everything, whether it’s creating new IP or championships or even working with ESPN and FOX … and that’s what he’s doing as well.”
DiStefano said CU officials were expecting roughly 2,000 fans in Fort Worth for an official Buffs rally Saturday morning. The luggage carousels at DFW Airport just after lunch Friday seemed to have at least twice that number milling about. However we got here, the Metroplex looks awfully good in gold.
