Oh the joys of football offseason! As it seems every year, a rumor here and there is kicked around that the Pac Ten might be making a move on the expansion front. Of course, the months pass and nothing eventful happens.
Is this different?
Who the hell knows. What I do know is that for the last 24 hours, rumors have kicked in that the Pac Ten is ready to pull the trigger on expansion and Utah will be included. This could happen as early as this week. Or not. That's the beauty of rumors - they're generally open-ended.
But one can't deny there are rumblings. Not just from the local press (KTVX tonight talked about the possibility), but even California papers are starting to report on the possibility.
This from the San Jose Mercury News:
Does that mean Scott is considering expansion?
"We’re looking at it very seriously. It wasn’t something identified for me by the presidents when I took the job. But it’s very natural as you look at the value of the conference from a media standpoint. If we were ever going to look at expansion, this would be the logical time" (because negotiations for a new TV deal will begin next year).
* I took that as an indication that Scott is more serious about expansion than he was three or six months ago.
"No, I think I’ve been consistent on that subject."
Emphasis mine.
It's not hard to put two and two together on this one, folks. They're seriously looking at the possibility of expansion and if they were to ever expand, this would be the logical time.
Not a year from now. Or even a month from now. But today.
Personally, I doubt we'll hear anything this week. Or next week. Or a month from now. It'll happen one day (I believe). Not this year, though and maybe not next year.
But for now, it seems like their commissioner is open to the idea. And compared to the last guy, that's a huge step in the right direction.