As the dust settles from the shrinking of the Pac-12, details have emerged that imply that FOX and its media rights money was the deciding factor in Washington and Oregon following USC and UCLA into the Big Ten. Washington and Oregon jumping gave way to Utah, Arizona and Arizona State joining Colorado in the Big 12, effectively killing the Pac-12.
Washington State’s Kirk Schulz, chair of the Pac-12 board of directors, said in a recent interview on the school’s YouTube page that FOX pushed for Washington and Oregon to join the Big Ten in an effort to prevent the Pac-12 from signing a deal with Apple. Apple has been shopping around for more live sports rights and had been believed to be a frontrunner to partner with the remaining schools in the Pac-12.
But Schulz felt like FOX didn’t want the competition.
“We’ve got just a couple networks that are making the real decisions about who goes where based on the dollars they want to put into it,” he said. “I do think if I was FOX and ESPN, I’m not sure I want Apple in the marketplace, frankly. I don’t want somebody with pockets that are that deep as a rival if I can afford it.”
But as the value in major college football continues to skyrocket, evidence of the greed driving business decisions in the sport becomes clear. Schulz felt like whoever controls the money controls the power.
“The more you pull competition out of the marketplace, the easier it becomes for some of those funders to really, really call the shots,” he said.
