Lots of stuff I didn’t know about.
- Hill’s 20 someodd years of lobbying to P12 officials
- Colorado’s backdoor lobbying though Utah
- Young playing a much bigger role than I thought, including proposing the buyout deal that the Utah board would approve. Sounds like the Pac-12 wanted money upfront, and Young came up with the decreased share that everyone was happy with.
- Still have no idea what scenario allowed Utah or Kansas into the conference in the 16 team scenario. Was that if Texas A&M said no, and they needed one more school?
- Also, I assumed that the “research institution” was just lip service the Pac-12 gave to the media. Sounds like it was a bigger deal than I originally thought. I still think TV markets were king, but it seems like academics were not trivial.
Serious props to Hill and Young playing the game well. Sounds like they are the main reason why Utah was on the “good list” that Larry Scott had made.