A release containing decisions from Pac-12 CEO Group, which is made up of presidents and chancellors of member schools (including Stanford, Arizona State University and the University of Oregon), announced that the conference intends to televise eSports on their Pac-12 Network stations.
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After several years of declining attendance throughout the league, the Pac-12 has modified its agreements with its major television partners to eliminate a few games that begin after 7 p.m. on Saturdays.
What the Pac-12 is going to do is create make all Pac-12 Networks games kick off at 2:30 p.m. or 6 p.m., and overlap with the ESPN and Fox exclusive TV windows. The fine will be $25,000 for first offense, $50,000 for the second and $100,000 for the third.
Then again, the Pac-12 being the first conference to come out in full support shouldn’t surprise anyone, as their schools have been known for their prowess in the eSports landscape.
“The court storming policy is important”, George said. We just have to be thoughtful about that.
“I think it’s great”, CU Athletics Director Rick George said.
“It’s become a viable sport and I learned a lot about it in our recent Pac-12 meetings”, George said.
And warm up your game controllers, students: The conference will start showing video-game competition on Pac-12 Networks.
Specific esports and event formats have yet to be decided.
“I’m going to be fine”. The tour also revealed many positive, collaborative practices taking place on Pac-12 campuses, and one goal coming out of this process is to share best practices both inside and outside of the Pac-12. The group stressed the importance of rebalancing time demands of student-athletes as part of the overall effort to modernize intercollegiate athletics.
The Pac-12 also released the results of a study on student-athlete time demands.
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“Esports is a natural fit for many of our universities located in the technology and media hubs of the country”, Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said.
