A day after conference expansion Armageddon was avoided with the Pac-12 taking a pass on Oklahoma and Texas, commissioner Larry Scott was in good cheer.  And why not? Scott’s conference still has the richest TV deal and is the most unified and stable in the nation. “We could have expanded, but the deal didn’t make any sense at the end of the day for us, especially given the position that we are in,” Scott said. “There is a very high bar. It’s hard to imagine very many scenarios for our conference to expand because the bar is so high.” And Oklahoma, Texas, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, were not able to clear that bar, a determination Scott made over the weekend, which he recommended to the Pac-12 presidents on Monday and Tuesday. Thus the statement from Scott’s office Tuesday night that the conference would remain at 12 teams . The decision to not expand was greeted favorably from all corners of the conference. Said Washington State athletic director Bill Moos, “I like the way the conference is now and I’m pleased the decision was made to keep it at 12 members.” Said USC athletic director Pat Haden, “I don’t think there is any rush for us to get to 16.” On Wednesday, a source told The Oklahoman that Oklahoma was using the Pac-12 for leverage to get some concessions from the Big 12: “But frankly, we wanted the impression out there that we might go to the Pac-12 because that gave us some leverage,” the source said. “We were using that as leverage to say, ‘Hey, you want us to stay?

Originally posted here:
Larry Scott: ‘We could have expanded’