College football expansion: Arizona chief spills on Pac-12 proposal, 'like selling candy bars'

Pac-12 members were not impressed with the media deal proposal the conference was showing them, resulting in an exodus that will forever change college football

The historic departure of five Pac-12 schools in the span of a few days forever changed the national college football map and kicked off another dramatic phase of conference realignment. But it wasn't without a last-minute effort on the part of the league to offer its remaining members with a proposal it hoped would keep them around.

However, member schools were not impressed with the deal that the Pac-12 was offering them, which included a plan to stream football games and other sports on the Apple TV service, an offer that Arizona president Robert Robbins described with an interesting analogy.

"Parts of [the proposed media contract] were very compelling and exciting, and it was Apple, in our backyard," Robbins told reporters. 

He then added: "But the base price — the guaranteed price [for each school every year] — the fact that there was no linear [regular broadcast TV option], and that it was subscription-based, we were trying to think, 'Well, it's going to be like selling candy bars for Little League or Girl Scout cookies.'"

Robbins maintained in comments he made throughout the offseason that Arizona's intention was to remain in the Pac-12 and that no decision would be made until he saw the numbers in the conference's long-hoped for media proposal. After seeing those numbers, the decisions came fast and in bunches.

According to insiders close to the situation, that proposal came before Pac-12 members on Aug. 1 and contained an estimated base price of about $23 million a year for each school over the next five seasons, with an incentive to earn more if subscription numbers went up.

Three days later, Pac-12 leaders met again on the subject in one last move to secure a grant of rights around the proposal, but no such deal was made.

Oregon and Washington announced their escape to the Big Ten while Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah followed with a decision to join the Big 12, leaving the Pac-12 with just four members starting next summer, and forever changing the conference landscape in college football.

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