Pac-12 Going Overseas?

In previous posts, I highlighted the new media deals Larry Scott, the Pac-12 Commissioner, was able to negotiate. His television deal with ESPN and Fox, worth $2 billion dollars to the Pac-12 Conference, is the most expensive deal ESPN or Fox have ever signed with an athletic conference. In addition, The Pac-12 Network was equally as ground-breaking because this is the first time a Collegiate Sports Network will provide equal revenue sharing to the Universities in it’s Conference.

However, Larry Scott is not even close to being satisfied with what he has accomplished thus far, and is instead taking it upon himself to explore uncharted territories in terms of a new Conference revenue stream. Thus, Larry Scott is attempting to broaden the Pac-12’s media exposure to China.

In early December of 2011, Scott flew to China to meet with "various officials to put together a “road map” for a way to expand the presence of Pac-12 universities in China” (Thamel). “Scott said in a telephone interview Saturday that he expected the Pac-12 to play games in China in the next three to five years, and that he hoped the league’s cable network would someday be available there” (Thamel).

Several sports teams from various leagues and organizations, such as the MBL and NFL, have played games overseas, but it is believed that Scott is attempting to make “the first concentrated effort by a league to establish itself overseas. Pac-12 presidents and athletic directors say there is a strong desire for the results to transcend sports, hoping that an increased presence in China will lead to recruitment of future students and positive cultural experiences for their athletes who travel there” (Thamel).

When asked about the Pac-12’s potential media expansion into China in my Journalism 380 class, Scott said that ever since he took over the Pac-12 Conference as Commissioner, he kept hearing the Los Angeles is the gateway to the Pacific Rim. He said that tons of students from the Pacific Rim were making their way into Pac-12 Universities, most notably UCLA, USC, Cal, and Stanford. Notably, “Southern California president, Max Nikias, said his university had more international students than any other in the United States (more than 8,600 of U.S.C.’s more than 37,000). U.S.C., he said, has more than 25,000 alumni in the Pacific Rim” (Thamel). Thus, he thought that there is an untapped media market waiting in China.

Furthermore, the Pac-12’s tight-knit relationship with NIKE might make the move into China easier. NIKE is one of the most influential, powerful companies in China, and it helps the Pac-12 that NIKE Owner, Phil Knight, is an alumnus of Oregon (one of the twelve schools in the Pac-12. He is also an avid donor to Oregon, and “By the time Knight is done [donating to the Oregon] football facility, he will have spent more than $300 million transforming Oregon athletics” (Rosenberg).

The Pac-12’s ties to NIKE in its hopes to broaden its media base to China go even further, since “Scott hired Carrie Xu, who recently received a master’s degree from Southern California in sports business and marketing. Xu, who has worked for Nike in China on its basketball initiatives there, is the Pac-12’s senior manager/international, and is believed to be the first conference official hired to focus on overseas development” (Thamel). It is no coincidence that Scott hired Xu to head this surge into China. Scott knows that with the help of NIKE, he could really turn Pac-12 sports into a major presence in China. Just think about it: seeing Pac-12 athletes on billboard in Hong Kong and Shanghai with a NIKE swoosh next to them makes the Pac-12 an instantly credible commodity in China.

Furthermore, “The Chinese are intensely focused on the Olympics, Scott said, which blends well with a league that has athletes who have won more than 1,000 medals in its history. Scott said there could be a particular demand on the expertise of coaches and athletes in swimming, track and field, and volleyball” (Thamel).

In addition, “he saw other leagues having a hard time following suit” (Thamel). He expanded to say, “I don’t know if this is a model for every conference […] It’s unique to us. I don’t know if there’s a playbook for others to follow, as this is the vision and ambition of our presidents because of our unique and different assets.”

I believe Scott is right. The Pac-12’s number of Olympic athletes is far more than any other collegiate conference, which is appealing to the Chinese culture, but more importantly, the Pac-12’s relationship with NIKE makes this a very unique situation. Because of Phil Knight’s allegiances to Oregon, he wants to Pac-12 to succeed, probably more than any other conference. Bottom line: if Knight wants the Pac-12 to be a force in China, it will be.

Works Cited

Rosenberg, Michael. “Nike’s Phil Knight has branded Oregon into national power .” Sports Illustrated. N.p., 7 Jan. 2011. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. .

Thamel, Pete. “This Time, Pac-12 Expansion Could Be in Another Country.” The New York Times. N.p., 11 Dec. 2011. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. .