Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Revitalized Buffs, Solid Utes Can Be Boon To Pac-12
June 17, 2010 | General, B.G. Brooks
BOULDER - If you're a believer in things working out in the long run, you've got to like how they've already worked out for Colorado in the short run. Had things gone South (and I think you know what I'm getting at) I'm pretty sure the buzz about Pac-10 membership wouldn't have reached the pitch it's attained and maintained for the past week.
It was only seven days ago that CU announced its acceptance of the Pac-10's invitation to come aboard. Our neighbor half a day's drive straight across I-70 West followed suit Thursday, giving the Pac-10 a dozen teams.
Welcome, Utah, and Westward, Ho . . . good to have someone else from the neighborhood making the trip.
First things first: Name changes now are in order in college athletics. If you're counting at home, the Big Ten and Pac-10 now are 12-team conferences, the Big 12 has been reduced by a pair. The realignment tsunami being predicted at this time last week turned out to be a couple of moderately heavy swells - although CU's soon-to-be-former conference believed for a short time it was about to be washed away.
That the Big 12 held together, however the binding was accomplished, is obvious comforting news for its remaining members and perhaps college athletics in general. But how long the current structure holds up before the mega-conference rumblings begin anew is anyone's guess. If you're a seer of such things, you probably recognize that most of the elements present when the expansion/realignment chatter was at its height have not disappeared.
Somewhere out there - and maybe sooner than later - a big college land-grab lurks.
The good news for CU (and now Utah) is that terra firma has been found. Spare me the whining that a Pac-16 would have been more financially appealing for the Buffs; it no doubt would have been, and CU Athletic Director Mike Bohn conceded as much in a conversation early Thursday morning.
"I think that probably would have been the case, but there would be other challenges associated with the size of the league," he said.
Ah, yes . . . "challenges" such as being the odd former Big 12 North member in a division best described as the relocated Big 12 South. Based on everything gleaned from a variety of Buffs fans over the past seven days, that alignment had all the appeal of a month-old tuna melt.
Had the Buffs been cast in a Pac-16 division with five expatriates from the Big 12 South, the change of scenery and so much more that has galvanized CU's leadership and fan base might not have occurred.
"Those dynamics (associated with that particular eight-team division) would have been interesting," Bohn said. "But then again, we know there's going to be a Pac-12 and we're very excited about that. I think it's time to focus exclusively on that and building our base.
"We're going to have to focus exclusively on all of our different constituents associated with our university and getting them together."
He ticked off these goals: Increasing Buff Club memberships and season ticket sales, rallying CU fans/alums "in the Pac-10 footprint, informing them how they get tickets to games and how they can follow what's going on at the university," working out details for university departments to make road trips, and generally promoting all the campus goings-on.
"We really need to use this (new conference membership) as the key rallying point for the entire university," he said.
Bohn kept most of his other thoughts to himself on what could have been in a bigger, broader Pac-16. As he pointed out, it's a time for forward thinking - and that's where his thoughts are centered.
Now that Utah has signed on, most Pac-12 divisional speculation has CU being aligned with the Southern California schools (UCLA, USC), the Arizona pair (Arizona, Arizona State) and Utah. But specific divisional placement, noted Bohn, will be appraised and addressed later this summer, as will the league's interest in conducting a championship game.
"The leadership and vision of Larry Scott (commissioner) is critical in all these pieces that have yet to be put together," he said. "I really have a great deal of confidence in him and Deputy Commissioner (Kevin) Weiberg, their staff and the other ADs in the league."
Bohn likes the idea of having another Mountain Time Zone inhabitant join CU in the Pac-12: "It gives us the opportunity to have a regional affinity with another league member," he said. "When you think back to our history in the '50s, Utah was our rival. I'm certainly not ready to call them our rival in the Pac-12 yet, but it'll be great to have them as a part of this exciting expansion.
"I have a lot of respect for the growth of their program. They've really taken the Olympic endeavor, when Salt Lake hosted the Olympics, as a springboard to do some great things. The competitiveness of their football program, being in BCS bowls twice in recent years, coupled with the Final Four appearance in basketball before that . . . they'll be a formidable member of the league and someone we look forward to competing with."
Utah, leaving the Mountain West Conference as Boise State arrives, reportedly expects to begin Pac-12 football competition in 2011. That could strengthen CU's case to be done with the Big 12 after this season and move on. It also apparently jibes with the wishes of Scott and Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe.
Bohn says only that "some tough decisions" are ahead on that subject and prefers to let league officials tackle it, as well as the prospect of the Pac-12 playing a championship football game. In a teleconference earlier this week, Beebe indicated the Big 12's loss of its championship football game (the NCAA requires conference to have 12 members to hold one, but 10-member leagues can petition for an exception) wouldn't be mourned by most of his coaches.
Would that sentiment prevail in the Pac-12? Bohn's initial observation is that the league is "a little mixed on that." But something to consider (as always) is television revenue. After losing the Big 12 championship game, ABC has those dollars to dangle in front of the Pac-12. As a result, Bohn admitted, "Maybe they're a little hungrier to help pull that together."
But that decision, like the dozens of others to be made before CU and Utah open league play, can't be rushed. When I asked Bohn to reflect on the whirlwind that's engulfed him for the past two weeks, he responded, "It's been extremely refreshing in many ways."
Mainly, he's been buoyed by the rallying at the administrative levels above him, or as he described it, "the opportunity to galvanize our leadership - the president, the chancellor, the regents and so many other of our key stakeholders in this exercise.
"It's been a huge boost to our overall synergy, and that's going to be key for us in working on our competitiveness going into what will be a challenging league."
Proof might be a couple of years away, but upon hearing that, one comes away believing Bohn and those he answers to don't want the Buffs heading west at anything slower than a gallop.
That's welcome news for CU athletic teams and their followers. Leaders and members of their new conference probably don't mind hearing it either.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
