I have a little vacation going on this week which means that I will be pretty brief in comments and stories until I return next Monday.
Recruiting
DT Uriah Grant visited Ole Miss this weekend and committed on the spot. That was a little bit of a surprise to me. thought he would end up at UW despte the fact that he is from from Florda.
OT Paulay Asiata visited Colorado but dd not commit. He reportedly will announce on signing day.
QB Derrick Brown has reneged on his commitment to Utah and has decided to be a Husky. Brown reminds me quite a bit of Jake Locker. He has a strong arm. He is built like a brick you know what. He runs extremely well. He needs to work on his accuracy. Do I like him better than Joseph Gray? Oh ya.
RB Bishop Sankey visited and we have not heard anything as of yet...or at least it hasn't been reported yet.
Huskies sweep at home
Arizona State gave the Huskies some trouble but UW pulled away to win 88-75. Matthew Bryan-Amaning led the Dawgs wth 30 points and nine rebounds. Washington's record improved to 15-4 overall and 7-1 n conference play.
Tormey back in the Pac
Longtime UW assistant coach Chris Tormey has accepted a coaching job at WSU. Tormey has spent the last two years coaching in Hawaii.
Chow headed to Utah
Norm Chow has accepted a position on the staff of Utah.
Sark's new contract
The deal is consistent with the national market value, and increases Sarkisian's guaranteed compensation from $2 million to $2.25 million for this year, to $2.4 million for 2012 and to $2,550,000 in 2013. The additional years will pay Sarkisian a guaranteed $2.7 million in '14 and $2.85 million in '15.
"I love my job," Sarkisian said. "I've got a great job. I love coaching for Scott Woodward. I love being a Husky."
USC Appeal
The Trojans made their case Saturday in Indianapolis that the NCAA infractions committee's penalties, handed down in June, were too harsh. A final decision will come out sometime in February.
Texas Two Step Continues
Texas announced that it is putting together its own TV network in conjunction with ESPN. The Longhorn channel will be worth up to $15 million per year to UT. In addition to that they also will get approximately $12 -$15 million per year from what is left of the Big 12. To put this deal in perspective it dwarfs the deals put together by the Big Ten and SEC for its members. The Big Ten share is $22 million per member while the SEC is $17.42 per member.
So how does the rest of the Big 12 feel about the deal?
Missouri, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State - It's good news because it keeps the league together.
Oklahoma - The Sooners will try to assemble their own network.
Texas Tech, Oklahoma State - They will go along with everyone else.
Texas A&M - If the Aggies are able to get around $20 mill per year as promised I guess they will just deal with it. If they don't they could always revisit the idea of joining the SEC.
Notre Dame currently gets $15 million per year from their exclusive TV contract with NBC which expires in 2015 and they also get another couple of million from the Big East for basketball. I could very easily see the Irish putting together their own TV network if the Texas network is a financial success.
Here is how the current TV deals across the country are ranked:
Texas $25-$30 Million
Big Ten $22 Million
SEC $17.42 Million
Notre Dame $17 Million
ACC $13 Million
BYU $7-$9 Million
The Pac-10's current five-year deal with ABC/ESPN for football was valued at $125 million, and its five-year deal with Fox SportsNet for football brought in $97 million. Expect those numbers to dramatically increase starting in 2012.
The first piece of the puzzle to fall in place was the conference championship game rights which FOX purchased for $25 million for just 2011. Next up is preparations for the Pac 12 Network, a new cable deal, and national TV rights which are currently held by ABC/ESPN.
Analysts are predicting that the combined package will net conference members $13-$15 million per year. Those numbers could potentially grow if the Pac 10 Network becomes a hit like the Big 10 and SEC Networks have.