UW President Said Lack of Linear TV Was Deal-Breaker with Pac-12
More than the money involved, the lack of linear TV broadcasts and the corresponding absence of national visibility for its football team forced the University of Washington to leave the Pac-12 Conference for the Big Ten, school president Ana Mari Cauce said.
Speaking on Saturday with media members, Cauce told how she and her league peers were presented with just one media option, not multiple deals as expected, and were turned off when told they could opt out of it in two years.
"It was clear it was not giving us what we thought," said the UW president in a virtual meeting she shared with athletic director Jen Cohen. "It's not what we were discussing just days before. ... When you have deal where they the best aspect of it is you can get out of it in two years, that says a lot."
However, the idea of having Husky games broadcast over streaming, reported to be Apple TV, rather than a network or cable channel clearly was the biggest turnoff during Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff's presentation on Thursday.
"This was about national visibility and being on linear TV," Cauce said.
Husky football coach Kalen DeBoer similarly didn't seem all that thrilled about the lack of linear TV when quizzed about the proposal before deal and subsequently the Pac-12 collapsed.
While calling it a bittersweet moment, the UW president was almost giddy in discussing her athletic department receiving the opportunity to join the Big Ten, which is effective next summer.
Cauce told how she had been in contact with Oregon officials and discussed the move together, and that it was important to protect the football rivalry between the Northwest schools.
She also said every effort will be made to uphold a commitment to playing Washington State in the Apple Cup and in all sports.
Cohen would not confirm reports the UW will receive a partial media share of $30 million, with an increase of $1 million each year until a new Big Ten deal is negotiated in 2030.
"We are going to make this work and it's going to be awesome," Cauce said.
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