Wherever they're going, the Ducks are all-in. Dan Lanning just signed a contract extension that pays him $7 million a year, adds an additional year for each season he wins 10 or more games (up to three additional seasons) and pays him a bonus of $500,000 if he wins the national championship.
The contract is guaranteed, and it includes a $20 million buyout. Lanning will be coach of the Ducks through 2028.
What's less clear is where Oregon will play. Colorado ended thirteen years of futility and a year of uncertainty by agreeing to move back to the Big-12 beginning next year and the PAC-12 is reeling. With USC and UCLA already scheduled to move to the Big Ten in 2024 the conference is down to nine shakily-aligned schools:
Arizona
Arizona State
Cal
Oregon
Oregon State
Stanford
Utah
Washington
Washington State
Yesterday afternoon the PAC-12 issued another brave and meaningless statement:
Statement from the Pac-12 Conference: pic.twitter.com/up5hjSD1ek
— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) July 28, 2023
Trouble is, it's well past the moment for statements. The only thing that will save West Coast football is decisive action. George Kliavkoff was hired two years ago to broker a competitive media deal that would bring the league into the 21st century but all he's produced are endless delays and promises.
Meanwhile the Big 12 and commissioner Brett Yormark plans to add 1-3 more teams, either PAC-12 schools or basketball powerhouses like Connecticut and Gonzaga. Arizona, Washington and Oregon might be the likely targets.
It's hunting season and Kliavkoff can't find his bow and arrow. The least he could do is pick up a big rock. Make a countermove. Add SMU, San Diego State, announce a media deal, do something. One hundred years of football history are circling the drain and the football future will be unrecognizable.
The really sad thing is that this brave new world of megadeals and realignment destroys a beautiful part of the game, the history and tradition and regional rivalries that made college football unique and special as a sport.
Very true! Had hopes for the current PAC-12 Commissioner but it looks like he’s a Larry Scott clone!
ReplyDeleteI was surprised how ineffective Kliavkoff has been in his two years as commissioner given his resume, education and background.
DeleteIt's sad, I was raised in the pac 10, but I now have to hope Oregon joins the trend so we're not left behind
ReplyDeleteThe PAC-12 says they're ready to announce a media deal but it's likely to be disappointing, something in the area of $20 million per team (the SEC pays each school $80 million, the Big Ten $50 million, the Big 12, $31 million. Can't be competitive with that kind of contract, especially because it's going to feature streaming arrangements rather than network games.
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