'Please be discreet:’ Pac-12 records show more about commissioner’s exit in 2021

Pac-12 Conference university officials carefully crafted their communications last year when they decided to part ways with Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott, saying they "mutually" agreed with Scott to end their relationship more than a year before his contract expired in June 2022.

But emails obtained by USA TODAY Sports indicated Scott was "let go" after Pac-12 university presidents scheduled a meeting behind his back several weeks earlier. And while that’s not exactly shocking news, the records also provide a glimpse into how the public messaging of such a decision was managed behind the scenes at the top levers of power in college sports.