WSU president 'shocked' by Pac-12 exits, felt deal was imminent - ESPN

Washington State president Kirk Schulz, in a letter to «Cougar Nation» on Monday, said the recent decisions by Washington and Oregon to join the Big Ten «sealed the fate of the Pac-12,» noting he was «shocked» on Friday morning when they announced their intent to leave.

Schulz, in his letter to the school community, confirmed that on Aug. 1, Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff presented the league's presidents and chancellors with an Apple streaming deal for its television contract that expires after this school year; the approach proposed by Apple was to be a subscription-based model similar to its partnership with Major League Soccer.

It was the only deal left, as Schulz said multiple media partners dropped out «at the last minute, mostly due to the rapidly changing sports media environment.»

Schulz called the streaming deal «an innovative and forward-looking partnership proposal with Apple» and said it provided an opportunity «to significantly grow the revenue coming into each school over the next several years.»

Schulz said the guaranteed annual money «was not at the current level of support that all schools receive, but there was a general acknowledgment that streaming Pac-12 media was clearly the direction media consumption was going.»

«After several board meetings and robust discussion among all nine schools, we finished our board meeting on Thursday evening with a strong feeling of staying together, pursuing a new partnership with Apple, and moving forward with conference expansion,» he wrote. «I genuinely felt that on Friday morning, we would sign the needed paperwork, finalize the deal with Apple, and move the Pac-12 toward a new and brighter future.»

Instead, within hours, Oregon and Washington had bolted for