Report: Pac-12 makes final decision on non-conference football scheduling
By Keith Farner
Published:
The presidents across the Pac-12 have gone along with their athletics directors and approved a move to add non-conference games for football this season.
That news came from Jon Wilner of The Mercury News, who earlier this week reported that the ADs had voted to approve the move, which would keep healthy teams from being left home alone. Wilner earlier reported that the conference has already canceled five games, largely because of outbreaks at Utah and Arizona State.
Colorado is without an opponent following the cancellation of its game at ASU. If the other five matchups are played as scheduled, the Buffaloes would be healthy but have no opponent.
In addition to the loss of competition, an idle week for any team likely would mean a loss of revenue for the conference. Each game televised by ESPN or Fox is worth about $5 million — or about $425,000 per school.
The amount paid for a non-conference game might vary, but it would be substantial for athletic departments feeling the impact of the shortened season and no ticket sales.
“We want maximum flexibility for our schools,’’ a source told Wilner, who added that the athletic directors were unified on the matter. “The group was very supportive.”
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
