Last updated on 02/12/2014
So guess which money pile President Gottfredson proposes to use to offset UO’s athletic subsidies? From reporter Ken Goe in the Oregonian, here:
Guess how much money Oregon and Oregon State made from the Pac-12 Networks last year. The answer is … none, as in zero. Zilch.
Oregon isn’t projecting any revenue from the Pac-12 Networks for the current fiscal year, either. That annual $20 million to $24 million in television money that was expected to come to the Pac-12 schools has been light so far.
That doesn’t mean the conference is bereft. There is still plenty of television money from other sources, thanks to the $3 billion, 12-year deal the conference signed with ESPN/ABC and Fox in 2011.
Craig Pintens, UO senior associate athletic director for marketing and public relations, said the Ducks received approximately $16 million from Pac-12 television deals in the 2012-13 fiscal year, up from approximately $9.8 million the year before.
President Gottfredson’s response to the Senate’s proposed legislation for an end to subsidies and some money for academic scholarships is here, including a recommendation from VPFA Jamie Moffitt and VP for Budget planning Brad Shelton.
Their plan – and Gottfredson’s? Ignore the $6M in ESPN money, and say that if the PAC-12 network ever turns a profit, then maybe UO should consider using an undetermined amount for academic student scholarships, after additional review and delay. From Moffitt and Shelton’s letter:
At the current time, the Conference is not in a position to distribute any proceeds from the PAC-12 Network. As the Network grows, however, if the situation were to improve and the Conference were able to distribute significant funds from this enterprise, we would suggest that these distributions be subject to a review process with the Provost, Athletic Director, Vice President for Finance & Administration, and Vice Provost for Budget & Planning to determine whether some portion of these funds could be transferred to the University for general use.
Gosh, I wonder what the Athletic Director will say?
Think maybe with our growing Nike U image that we might qualify for an ESPY award? You know, something like “best unrealized aspirational brochure talk” or some other coveted accolade.
Gosh, imagine if the Pac-12 Networks paid full rates to television crews and didn’t rely as much on underpaid student labor to create their broadcasts – they might have to bill the campuses to be on their own TV network…
And while we’re imagining things, imagine a world where game scheduling was the purview of the conference, and made more sense for the butts in the seats. Wait – I can think of 3 billion reasons for more night games going forward…
Nice suit,
EmperorCommissioner Scott!Correction. 9.8 million, not 6 million