Tag: Arizona State Big 12

Arizona State quickly makes itself public enemy No. 1 for other Big 12 schools

Shockingly insensitive remarks from Arizona State AD Ray Anderson have already infuriated #WestVirginia fans. #HailWV #Big12

Big 12 schools and fan bases are quickly learning about their new members. They are quickly learning why Arizona State has not been particularly successful in football in recent years.

Big 12 fans are getting to know what Phoenix residents have known for a long time: Arizona State athletic director Ray Anderson is not the sharpest tool in the shed.

Anderson, for absolutely zero good reason, said over the weekend: “I promise I’m not going to Morgantown,” a reference to ASU road trips to West Virginia, one of the longer commutes the Sun Devils and their athletic teams will have to make within the Big 12 Conference. This follows remarks made by ASU President Michael Crow about being very disappointed the Sun Devils couldn’t stay in the Pac-12 and that the Pac-12 couldn’t be preserved. Crow was a steadfast defender of Larry Scott and was deeply invested in saving the Pac-12.

Arizona State doesn’t like being in the Big 12, but Anderson’s shockingly insensitive comments have already transformed the Sun Devils from “unhappy neighbor” to “vocal troublemaker and bomb-thrower.” West Virginia fans are irate. Other Big 12 fan bases are raising their eyebrows and wondering why these guys were ever invited into the conference.

Here’s a sample of the very emotional reactions which greeted Ray Anderson’s incredibly dumb public comments:

It is beyond obvious: Arizona State hates being in the Big 12

We don’t need to pretend, but Arizona State’s president and AD have to. They were dragged kicking and screaming into the #Big12.

We mentioned in late July that if the Arizona schools left, the Pac-12 was toast.

We wrote that “If the Arizona schools leave and the Pac-12 cannot continue as a conference with at least 10 members and a somewhat robust football and basketball identity, that certainly feels like the beginning of the end.

“Oregon and Washington wanted to stay in a 12-team conference that was competitive and would fetch an appreciably large price point for media rights. It wasn’t the dream scenario for the Ducks and Huskies — not when USC and UCLA left for the Big Ten — but it would have been good enough.

“If the Arizona schools leave, Oregon and Washington are not going to stick around in an eight-team conference consisting of the Pacific Northwest schools, Stanford, Cal, Utah and San Diego State.”

Over the past weekend, following the official announcement that Arizona State was joining Arizona and Utah in moving to the Big 12, Arizona State President Michael Crow and athletic director Ray Anderson made statements that very transparently indicated how sad they are about the Pac-12’s demise and how unenthusiastic they are about the Big 12.

Let’s present the two statements — first by Anderson, then by Crow — and Big 12 fan reactions to these headline-generating remarks:

Twitter reaction to Arizona State joining Big 12 as Pac-12 evaporates

ASU President Michael Crow didn’t want to leave the Pac-12, but in the end, he had no choice. Reactions poured in on a historic day.

It happened. Arizona State left the Pac-12 and moved to the Big 12 on a remarkable, memorable Friday that shook college sports to its core.

ASU President Michael Crow did not want to leave the Pac-12. Remember: He was one of the most ardent defenders and advocates of Larry Scott.

Moreover, ASU enrollment has been fueled in part by Californians. The state of Arizona’s population has grown in recent years because of an exodus from California. The demographics of the state of Arizona are changing. They seemed to nail down ASU to the Pac-12, but, of course, the incompetence of George Kliavkoff and the Pac-12 CEO Group (of which Crow has been a central part) created a stampede out the door.

That stampede began with Colorado in late July. The University of Arizona began to lose trust in Kliavkoff while realizing — as did Oregon and Washington — that the money for a TV deal simply wouldn’t be there with only nine schools left.

Now there are only four left.

See how Twitter reacted when Arizona State moved to the Big 12:

Trojans Wire joins national YouTube show to discuss Arizona, ASU to the Big 12

We’re looking back but also forward with @MarkRogersTV. We discussed the #Pac12’s plight and compared Stanford to BYU.

The world of college sports realignment continues to swirl. It’s a dizzying, brain-busting, mind-bending environment in which everything seems fluid and the Pac-12 can’t do anything right.

What’s the status of Arizona and Arizona State as they consider a move to the Big 12? The Arizona Board of Regents has not yet granted final approval to those two schools to move to the Big 12, but the fans at both schools definitely want a Big 12 move. They want to get off the sinking ship that is the Pac-12.

In the midst of this chaos and what appears to be a full-on implosion, can the Pac-12 somehow save itself at the last minute? What scenarios are in play? What is the best the Pac-12 can aspire to? What are the Pac-12’s dwindling — but remaining — options in all of this? We’re talking about it at Trojans Wire. We joined our friend Mark Rogers at The Voice of College Football on a special show. We wound up comparing Stanford and BYU, among many other things:

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All eyes on Arizona State and Arizona as Pac-12’s fate hangs in the balance

If the #Pac12 loses only Colorado, it can survive. If the AZ schools bolt, however, #Pac12DeathWatch begins.

Last week, on July 19, University of Colorado Chancellor Phil DeStefano said this, per Buffaloes Wire:

“‘I’m eagerly awaiting to hear what the commissioner (George Kliavkoff) has to say (at Pac-12 media day). But at this point, the 10 (Pac-12) schools are staying together and awaiting a message from the commissioner,” DiStefano told The Post. “(CU’s) goal is to stay within the Pac-12 and have a media deal coming up shortly. That’s our goal. And I believe the presidents and chancellors of the Pac-12 are together on that.”

One week later — on July 26 — we have Colorado seemingly out the door to the Big 12, which creates an existential crisis for the Pac-12.

If George Kliavkoff cannot keep Colorado from bolting, which would represent a massive failure on his (and the Pac-12 CEO Group’s) part, there’s one scenario he has to be able to fend off to ensure the Pac-12’s survival.

Let’s talk about that huge scenario and the other many scenarios now in play, all because Kliavkoff and the Pac-12 could not land the plane and get a media deal done: