The case for firing Larry Scott

Good afternoon! Sorry for the late post today!

Yesterday, Kevin advocated for taking the long view when it comes to things such as the Pac-12’s disastrous showing in the postseason of its two major revenue sports this academic year.

Today, let’s take the knee-jerk view: A head has to roll, and it should be Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott’s. At least, so says venerable sports media outlet The Big Lead, and since we’re all about firing people these days, let’s go with it.

The story tries to draw a straight line from Scott to the losses by pointing out the well-known financial disparity between the Pac-12 and its peer conferences such as the SEC and Big Ten, much of which has to do with media contracts negotiated by Scott. But it also takes a shot at the conference’s football scheduling practices, which also drew (clumsy) criticism from Jon Wilner.

To me, the most damning indictment of Scott is that he’s somehow convinced the Pac-12 CEOs to make him the highest paid commissioner in the country — more than $4 million a year. And that’s just part of the overall bloat in the Pac-12 offices.

I don’t know if what has happened this postseason is Larry Scott’s fault or not; after all, the Pac-12 had a great showing in the NCAA tournament a year ago. But it’s pretty clear Scott is underperforming at his job, and a change of leadership is probably in order, so if this puts the conference CEOs over the line to do something, that’s fine.

Links

Are Pac-12 solutions the right call for NCAA hoops and why did conference not address the issue of revenue sharing for student-athletes?
Report/recommendations issued before conference’s dismal showing in Big Dance

Washington State football: The file on Cougar QB John Bledsoe
What he does well and where he needs to improve this spring

Washington State football legend Bill Gaskins has spent a lifetime on the Palouse and is still going strong
From All-Coast to Pac-12 football official to four decades as director of pharmacy at Pullman Regional Hospital

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