Moseley already asks the obvious: What does this mean?. Hopefully, it means that we aren’t terribly far away from seeing some of the egregious wrongs of the Hansen era get righted:
1. Our TV contract sucks. Will a new commissioner finally see the necessity of getting us on ESPN regularly? FSN is okay for a secondary home (see Big XII football or ACC basketball), but ESPN is where the real exposure is at. No more of this "but FSN will show volleyball" crap.
2. Our bowl arrangements suck. I realize that there are only so many bowl games in a reasonable area (no, Pac-10 tie-ins for Florida bowl games will not logistically work). But there are still things that can be done. Why do we always play down to other conferences (eg, Holiday Bowl is our #2 vs. Big XII #3)? Plus, we really need another New Year’s game. I would think that getting a spot in the Cotton Bowl back could be a possibility, although the Alamo Bowl may be more realistic.
3. The "exclusivity" clause, which prevents teams from showing games in their local markets during the "national" Pac-10 broadcast needs to go. This is why the WSU and Stanford games weren’t broadcast regionally next year. If the university wants to show it, they should be able to, instead of forcing USC down our throats again and again.
4. That the Pac-10 basketball tournament is in LA every damn year is needs to end. We have an NBA arena in every Pac-10 region. How about a little equality.
5. Also, I’m sure that a new commish is likely to be a bit more playoff friendly, which I’m sure many of you would appreciate.
Although I myself flip-flop on #5, #s 1-4 are inexcusable crimes of the Hansen era. While I do commend Mr. Hansen for resisting expansion temptation and making both football and hoops a true round robin, almost every other Hansen decision this decade has been a blunder. Hopefully, a new commissioner will have the vision to right these wrongs.
The wicked witch is (almost) dead.
GO DUCKS!!!
--Dave
PS--Check out jtlight's diary on the subject.