How close was Arizona to sticking with the Pac-12 Conference and not making a massive change? Less than 12 hours before officially announcing a move to the Big 12 for 2024, school president Dr. Robert C. Robbins said he thought the UA and the other eight remaining Pac-12 schools were prepared to agree to a media rights deal with Apple.
“We were showing up together to sign in blood our grant of rights over to the Pac-12 Conference,” Robbins said Monday.
That was despite concerns about the deal, which Robbins confirmed would have paid each school about $23 million per year, would be streaming only, and would put the onus on schools to get fans and alumni to sign up for annual subscriptions.