Bob Bowlsby Says Big 12 Has ‘Advantages’ That Pac-12 Doesn’t
Former Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby recently joined SiriusXM’s Big 12 Radio on Friday and discussed some of the more intriguing topics going on in college athletics right now, including Big 12 jumping the Pac-12 in line to land a media rights deal last summer.
When discussing the Pac-12, Bowlsby told SiriusXM that the Big 12 has some advantages that the Pac-12 doesn’t. SiriusXM’s Ari Temkin shared this tweet on Friday after the discussion with Bowlsby.
Bowlsby was asked by Tempkin about the Big 12 beating the Pac-12 to market for a new TV deal, and to add more context to his answer, the former commissioner told Big 12 Radio, “I think the fact that we’re going to be in four time zones, have a central location, we have some advantages that the Pac-12 doesn’t have. They have no audience to their west and, so, we had some advantages and going preemtively was probably the right decision, especially going short. It’s only a six-year extension, so we’ll be back at the negotiating table before long. The fact that we have both our partners, FOX and ESPN, with us, and those continue to be the best platforms for the proliferation of our contest, so I look at it not having all the dteails of the negotiations or the final outcome, but I think it’s a solid deal.”
Bowlsby added, “I think it puts us in a position where we’re competitive… the Big Ten and the SEC are during revenue that is likely unattainable for the other conferences, but I think we’re in a very good position and I think our new composition is going to be highly competitive from top to bottom. And good games are what makes good TV packages. And so, we’re going to have good rivalries and good contests and great competition in virtually every sport.
Bowlsby gave way to Brett Yormark as the commissioner last summer, and since then Yormark has the Big 12 feeling very good about its future, especially with the four new schools coming aboard in two weeks.
Love him or hate him, Bob Bowlsby played an integral part in where the Big 12 is now headed, and that appears to be something he’s very proud of.
