The newly-created Pac-12 Enterprises company — the umbrella that will include the television, digital and property arms of the conference — announced Gary Stevenson as the first president yesterday, according to Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott.
He will head the Pac-12 that recently signed on to six regional cable networks, along with deals with national networks in Fox Sports and ESPN. The new television deal has an estimated worth of $2.7 billion over 12 years.
Stevenson is considered an expert in the sports marketing world, having worked for the NBA, the PGA Tour, the Golf Channel, and the president of the consulting firm, OnSport.
“Gary is one of the true visionaries of the sports and entertainment world,” said Scott in a release. “He will lead Pac-12 Enterprises at an exciting time in our conference’s history, just as we are poised to serve millions of our fans via our innovative new media platforms.”
Stevenson’s appointment comes as Scott hopes to expand the Pac-12 network beyond television, as its digital network aims to bring the conference’s sports, especially women’s and Olympic sports, into the realm of new media.
That will help push the league both internationally and even to the East Coast, where time zone differences have been just one of the reasons for the Pac-12 not being recognized amongst the NCAA’s other big-school conferences.
“I have worked with many of the top organizations in the sports world, and I can safely say that there is none that is more exciting, or that has more promise, than the Pac-12,” Stevenson, who holds a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and a master’s from The George Washington University, said in the release.
“As innovative as our new national and regional network deals will be, we also have a vision to bring our world-class competition to an even wider audience and to our fans around the world,” he added. “I am excited to be working with Larry Scott, who has been the architect of this remarkable new opportunity, and with the extraordinary member institutions of the Pac-12 toward making that bold vision a reality.”
— Kevin Zimmerman
