SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Pacific 10 Conference commissioner Larry Scott stopped by the press box in the Alamodome prior to kickoff. Here’s what Scott had to say:
On his impressions on the Pac-10 in San Antonio:
“”Really excited to have added the Alamo Bowl to our lineup. It’s obviously a new addition. Great to see this kind of matchup, Oklahoma State a hot team, Arizona a great opportunity, national stage. When I see the way ESPN is positioning this game, who’s doing the radio, the commentary, the TV slot, there’s a big-time national profile with this game so I’m really happy. It’s a great opportunity for Arizona to end the season on a high note and will hopefully help the credentials of the conference after a great season.””
On the challenges with the distance from Arizona to San Antonio:
“”I don’t have a historical perspective on this but it’s kind of what the conference wants. We don’t want to just play within our (states), we want the opportunity to play in Texas. It’s great for recruiting. You look at a lot of star players in the conference, the makeup of the Arizona team, Texas is obviously a recruiting hotbed. To be in some of these TV slots that are getting big-time national exposure. This is what we want. There are some tradeoffs, not as easy for fans to get to, you can’t drive, not as easy as San Diego perhaps. But if I look at the bigger picture this is the kind of matchup we want.””
On the Arizona turnout:
“”I think it’s strong. If I look at how some of the other big time national programs have done and some of the other teams have done in the Alamo Bowl, all things comparable. You always want bigger, you always want better. I know talking to Greg Bryne, there’s a lot he’s trying to do by changing the culture by traveling and following the team as well. I think an event like this will help.””
On the Cam Newton allegations and Ohio State suspensions:
“”I commented on the Newton thing at the time. Ohio State, the decisions got a lot of people a little bit confused about how something can warrant a five-game suspension and not warrant a next game suspension. I don’t think the NCAA’s done a great job at explaining that rationale. It seems like there’s a disconnect and unfortunately people are reading into intentions and motivation is not correct, I think the NCAA does need to do a better job of transparency and communicating better about their rationale of their decisions because there is a lot of people confused, therefore reading the worst.””
On what Pac-10 bowls he’s attending:
“”I’m not going to make it to the Holiday Bowl. I’m going from here on to the Orange Bowl. It’s rare because the Pac-10s got two BCS Bowl teams so I wanted to make sure to be at the Orange Bowl for all of the activities, starting with a coaches luncheon on Friday. I really want to support that. It’s been since 2002 that we’ve had two BCS Bowl teams.””
