Hotline newsletter: Key staffer departs, expanded CFP worth half a billion, the Helton miscalculation
*** The Pac-12 Hotline newsletter is published each Monday-Wednesday-Friday during the college sports season (and twice-a-week in the summer). This edition, from Dec. 6, has been made available in archived form.
Farewell, and Thanks
The Pac-12 championship marks the end of an era that few Pac-12 fans even knew existed.
Duane Lindberg, the associate commissioner for television, is retiring this month. Tonight’s game is his final appearance at a major conference event.
For three decades, Lindberg has served as the Pac-12’s liaison to the TV networks, crafting schedules, kickoff times and broadcast arrangements — the interconnected processes that have become vastly more complex under the current media contracts.
Tall, lanky, unassuming and endlessly patient, Lindberg is the guy you never notice but always need.
He joined the Hotline for a podcast earlier this season to explain how the football schedule is created and the weekly TV selections are made. (It remains relevant for 2020, in case you missed it the first time.)
He is also the reason the Hotline has been able to pass along to fans the weekly ESPN/Fox broadcast windows and selection order several days prior to the release of the finalized assignments.
On a more fundamental level, Lindberg has spent decades representing the best interests of the schools when those interest stood in conflict with the ratings-driven preferences of Fox, ESPN and others.
Without his understanding of campus needs and his relationships with programming executives, the Pac-12 would have experienced far more schedule angst and irritation over the decades.
“You always felt Duane had two ears for you,” one campus source said. “Low ego and high pride.”
(His replacement, assistant commissioner Dustin Rocke, who worked with Lindberg this fall, will attempt the same balancing act.)
The schools owe Lindberg a debt of gratitude, as does the Hotline.
We wish him the best in retirement. — Jon Wilner.
*** Sign-up here for a free subscription to the Hotline newsletter. Thanks for your support.
Hot off the Hotline
• The Pac-12 stands to collect millions of dollars in unexpected revenue if Utah climbs into the College Football Playoff or plays in the Cotton Bowl. For those unfamiliar with how the CFP money flows, and how much gets shipped to each campus, we broke it all down in the latest bowl projections.
• USC did what its competition hoped and its fan feared: Clay Helton is returning as coach for 2020. The move has sweeping implications for the conference in the near term (on the field and on the recruiting trail) and over the long haul: With its media rights expiring in a few years, the Pac-12 needs a thriving USC program to increase the value of its football content. We connect the dots from Heritage Hall to the negotiating table.
• The Pac-12 has the college football stage all to itself tonight and, for the first time in three years, a game with playoff implications. Will the event meet the moment? What TV ratings should we expect? And what about the on-field matchup? (Utah is a 6.5-point favorite.) We’ve got a full breakdown, with wagering insight from handicapper Raphael Esparza, in the picks of the week column.
• An expanded College Football Playoff, with the championship game pushed deep into January and controversies eliminated, would be worth billions to the conferences over time, according to an analysis by Hotline special contributor AJ Maestas and his team at Navigate Research.
• ICYMI: The Wednesday newsletter explained how the Pac-12 is carrying the diversity flag for the Power Five when it comes to hiring football coaches (and athletic directors). Previous editions of the newsletter are available in archived form.
Support the Hotline: Several Hotline articles will remain free each month (as will the newsletter), but for access to all content, you’ll need to subscribe. I’ve secured a rate of $1 per week for a full year or — introductory offer alert! — just 99 cents for the first month, with the option to cancel anytime. Click here. And thanks for your loyalty.
Key Dates
Select men’s basketball games included (all times Pacific)
Dec. 6: Pac-12 championship at Levi’s Stadium (ABC, 5 p.m.)
Dec. 7: No. 12 Arizona vs. No. 18 Baylor (ESPNU, 9 a.m.)
Dec. 7: No. 20 Colorado vs. No. 2 Kansas (ESPN2, 4 p.m.)
Dec. 8: CFP and bowl pairings announced (ESPN, 9 a.m.)
Dec. 8: No. 22 Washington vs No. 9 Gonzaga (ESPN2, 4 p.m.)
Dec. 16: NCAA’s NET rankings/team sheets made public
Dec. 18: Football early-signing window opens
Coaching Carousel
• With his name linked to multiple openings in the SEC, Washington State coach Mike Leach has agreed to a one-year contract extension that ties him to WSU through the 2024 season (to the extent that any contract ties any coach to any school). The deal bumps Leach into the $4 million level in annual compensation.
• Oregon State is working to extend Jonathan Smith’s contract and, just as significantly, increase the salary pool for assistant coaches. Athletic director Scott Barnes told the Oregonian that the increase will be “substantial” for a program that ranks near the bottom of the Power Five in staff compensation.
• One reason OSU might be looking to bump the staff pay: Offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren is reportedly a candidate for the ASU playcalling job.
• UNLV reportedly has interest in Oregon offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo and/or Utah defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley, per the Review-Journal. “There appears to be mutual interest between those coaches and UNLV, according to those with knowledge of the search, but how much is another question. Both assistants, however, fit (AD Desiree) Reed-Francois’ hiring history of seeking up-and-coming coaches.”
• Fresno State needs a coach. Jeff Tedford, who rebuilt Cal in the 2000s and helped Washington win the conference in 2016 (as an analyst), is stepping down for health reasons.
Huddle Up
(Note: The Hotline newsletter includes links to sites that could require a subscription once the number of free views has been reached.)
• CBS Sports columnist Dennis Dodd believes Friday is “the biggest day in the Pac-12 in three years. That was the last time the conference made the College Football Playoff. If college sports is all about football — and it is — then you have to agree. In what is projected to be a half-empty Levi’s Stadium in the middle of rush hour, No. 5 Utah must beat No. 13 Oregon.”
• Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde writes that Utah’s participation in the playoff “would be good for the sport … This is a national sport, with national interest, and it would be better if the playoff is national in scope and not a regional tussle that excludes a large swath of the country.”
• The Oregon-Utah series has been unpredictable, notes the Salt Lake Tribune’s Kurt Kragthorpe.
• One of the challenges for Oregon’s defense: Containing Utah tight end Brant Kuithe, who carved up Colorado and is one of the conference’s top playmakers at the position.
• Before he officially takes charge on Montlake, Jimmy Lake has a recruiting class to sign.
• USC quarterback JT Daniels won’t seek a transfer even though the starting job in 2020 appears to be Kedon Slovis’ to lose.
• Replacing Joshua Kelley’s production and more efficient play from Dorian Thompson-Robinson are two of the key issues for UCLA in 2020.
• Stanford is losing defensive linemen to the transfer portal. The latest: Jovan Swann. (We assume the options for graduate school are dictating the moves.)
• The first installment in a season review of Arizona’s performance looks at the not-so-special special teams.
• Justin Herbert was named the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Fallout on Figueroa
Reaction to USC’s decision to retain Clay Helton …
• Athletic director Mike Bohn “decided against charting a new path and instead decided to sail right into the Bermuda Triangle,” the L.A. Times’ Arash Markazi wrote. “He committed to Helton and doubled down on the mistake of his predecessors.”
• The LAT’s Bill Plaschke weighed in, as well: “By not making a change with Clay Helton, the recently hired USC athletic director just changed everything. Fight On has become Trudge On.”
• The Daily News’ Mark Whicker takes a different approach. “Replacing Helton with Urban Meyer would be defensible … Otherwise, Helton deserved to stay, not least because he has braved the pressures with earnest dignity.” Whicker also roasts the critics who claim success in 2016-17 “only happened because Sam Darnold was quarterbacking, without noting that Helton recruited Donald, who was eyeing Utah.”
• A sampling of the fan reaction. (Leave it to Jake Olson to provide perspective.)
• Meanwhile, USC assistants, including defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast, remain in limbo.
Ticket Counter
• There have been empty seats all season in the Pac-12, and there will be empty seats tonight in Levi’s Stadium. But as the Oregonian’s John Canzano explains in a terrific deep dive, there is no easy answer and the problem extends across college football. Canzano spoke to several athletic directors about the issue. “You’re seeing massive drops in attendance in places where you never thought you’d see it,” Utah AD Mark Harlan said. “We know it’s a real issue.” (For more on the topic, consider this column from Hotline special contributor AJ Maestas.)
On the Hardwood
• As many readers likely know, the Pac-12 is moving to a 20-game conference schedule in 2020-21. This week, the conference announced the additional matchups: One home and one away for each team, and all of them in late November or the first half of December.
• Oregon has played well without its full complement of talent. That roster void will end soon as 5-star freshman N’Faly Dante is expected to become eligible when the current academic term concludes in the middle of December.
• Arizona faces its toughest test of the season Saturday at Baylor — an important game for the conference as a whole — and the Wildcats won’t be at full strength because of injuries and illnesses.
Medal Stand
• Stanford’s women’s teams have had a sizzling year, even by their lofty historical standards. As Elliott Almond of the Mercury News explains, the Cardinal has “rewritten the book on what success looks like.”
• The heart of Washington’s eighth-ranked volleyball team is a trio of seniors who were not heavily recruited — and have designs on the national title.
• Morgan Weaver and Washington State face a mighty challenge — their latest mighty challenge — on Friday in the College Cup: No. 1 seed North Carolina.
• Jessie Fleming, a hockey-playing Canadian turned-distance-runner turned-soccer-star, leads UCLA in the College Cup.
• Undefeated Colorado is playing its first true road game of the season. How will all the freshmen respond?
• With a showdown looming on the ice, the University of Denver’s Twitter account took a shot at Arizona State (and it’s pretty darn funny).
Looking Ahead
What’s coming on the Pac-12 Hotline:
• What’s coming is full coverage of the championship game, the playoff race and bowl selections …
• We’ll have a column this evening on commissioner Larry Scott’s news conference, another column on the game tonight, then returns 24 hours later with Saturday Night Five — a breakdown of all the postseason developments based on saturday’s results — and, finally, we’ll address all the news on Sunday.
• Please note: The CFP pairings will be announced early Sunday (9 a.m./ESPN), but the bowl invitations won’t be finalized until after lunch. See you on the other side.
The next newsletter is scheduled for Monday. Enjoy it? Please forward this email to friends (sign up here). If you don’t, or have other feedback, let me know: pac12hotline@bayareanewsgroup.com.
*** Follow me on Twitter: @WilnerHotline
*** Pac-12 Hotline is not endorsed or sponsored by the Pac-12 Conference, and the views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the Conference.