Arizona president Robert Robbins called the departures of UCLA and USC “clearly huge losses” but said the remaining Pac-12 schools are “rallying and joining arms to make it work” as the conference navigates an uncertain landscape.
Asked about the speculation over the future of the conference, Robbins rejected the notion that schools, including Arizona, would bolt for the Big 12 prior to being presented with a media rights proposal. The Big Ten’s media rights contracts with Fox, CBS and NBC, signed in August, will distribute roughly $67 million per year to each campus.
“I would love to be closer to the Big Ten or SEC, but being closer to the Big 12 is more realistic,” Robbins said. “ has done a great job working on the media deal, and I think he’ll bring us something that’s good enough.”