Dec 28, 2010
4:04:05pm
4:04:05pm
A slightly different take
The '78 expansion was driven by UCLA chancellor Charles Young and Arizona president John Schaefer and not by TV revenue.
In May 1976, Young announced he would send UCLA vice president John Sandbrook to Tucson and Tempe to explore the possibility of expansion. This time, the Pac-10 hired a Hollywood marketing agency.
Said Schaefer in 1976: "I've said on numerous occasions that I want the University of Arizona associated with the best in academia on a national level."
Didn't hear much about "academia" in this expansion, did you?
In 1976, Schaefer and the UCLA administrators completed their research and dialogue in about 10 months. This time, Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott and his associates took what seemed like 10 minutes to invite Utah and Colorado.
The addition of Arizona and ASU met some notable resistance. Kush, of all people, didn't want to leave the WAC. "They need us more than we need them," he said. He was right, of course.
The old Pac-8 had no depth in football, played to about 55 percent capacity, and the basketball programs at Cal and Stanford were basically intramurals with scholarships. The Arizona schools immediately gave the league a buzz. Arizona soon led the Pac-10 in basketball attendance, and ASU was immediately the runaway leader in football attendance.
Academics drove the '78 expansion the way finances drove the 2010 expansion.
In December 1976, Washington president John Hogness said he would not ratify the UA-ASU expansion. The deal required a unanimous vote. "I've consistently said I'm opposed to the two Arizona schools joining the league," Hogness said. "I still feel that way."
Hogness also indicated that Stanford president Richard Lyman "didn't believe the Arizona schools are academically compatible with Stanford."
Whatever. On Dec. 12, 1976, Hogness and Lyman voted for expansion. That generated opposition from WAC commissioner Stan Bates. He sent a telegram (we're talking olden days here) to Sidney Woods, the president of the Arizona Board of Regents, saying that the WAC would not permit Arizona and ASU to escape its five-year football schedule commitment through 1981.
A few weeks later, diplomacy reigned. The WAC let go of Arizona and ASU.
http://azstarnet.com/sports/college/wildcats/article_18df111d-b967-5ac4-bf50-53d0998762ab.html
In May 1976, Young announced he would send UCLA vice president John Sandbrook to Tucson and Tempe to explore the possibility of expansion. This time, the Pac-10 hired a Hollywood marketing agency.
Said Schaefer in 1976: "I've said on numerous occasions that I want the University of Arizona associated with the best in academia on a national level."
Didn't hear much about "academia" in this expansion, did you?
In 1976, Schaefer and the UCLA administrators completed their research and dialogue in about 10 months. This time, Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott and his associates took what seemed like 10 minutes to invite Utah and Colorado.
The addition of Arizona and ASU met some notable resistance. Kush, of all people, didn't want to leave the WAC. "They need us more than we need them," he said. He was right, of course.
The old Pac-8 had no depth in football, played to about 55 percent capacity, and the basketball programs at Cal and Stanford were basically intramurals with scholarships. The Arizona schools immediately gave the league a buzz. Arizona soon led the Pac-10 in basketball attendance, and ASU was immediately the runaway leader in football attendance.
Academics drove the '78 expansion the way finances drove the 2010 expansion.
In December 1976, Washington president John Hogness said he would not ratify the UA-ASU expansion. The deal required a unanimous vote. "I've consistently said I'm opposed to the two Arizona schools joining the league," Hogness said. "I still feel that way."
Hogness also indicated that Stanford president Richard Lyman "didn't believe the Arizona schools are academically compatible with Stanford."
Whatever. On Dec. 12, 1976, Hogness and Lyman voted for expansion. That generated opposition from WAC commissioner Stan Bates. He sent a telegram (we're talking olden days here) to Sidney Woods, the president of the Arizona Board of Regents, saying that the WAC would not permit Arizona and ASU to escape its five-year football schedule commitment through 1981.
A few weeks later, diplomacy reigned. The WAC let go of Arizona and ASU.
http://azstarnet.com/sports/college/wildcats/article_18df111d-b967-5ac4-bf50-53d0998762ab.html
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