This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Call him the Four Million Dollar Man.

According tohttp://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2016/05/18/pac-12-commissioner-larry-scott-salary-pay-compensation-league-revenue/84543652/";> the Pac-12's most recent federal tax return obtained by USA Today, conference commissioner Larry Scott was credited with $4.05 million in compensation in 2014 — making him the most handsomely paid conference commissioner in the country.

Leading the conference since 2009, Scott has "dual roles" as both conference commissioner and chairman of Pac-12 Enterprises, which includes the league's television network. His pay rose from $3.5 million in 2013.

The USA Today report also shows why Scott's income continues to rise: The Pac-12 is seeing more money than it ever has before.

Even in Utah's first year of earning a full share of conference revenue, the Pac-12's per-school revenue rose to $25.1 million. The overall earnings of the league in the 2015 fiscal year was a reported $439 million, which represents a 17 percent rise from the 2014 fiscal year.

Among its peers however, the Pac-12 is trailing. The SEC reported $527 million in revenues in the first year of its deal with ESPN to produce the SEC Network. SEC schools earned between $31.2 million and $33.9 million in revenue each. When the Big Ten's next television contract kicks in by the 2018 fiscal, those schools are also expected to outpace the Pac-12 by a similar margin.

In a conversation with the Tribune last week, athletic director Chris Hill said the revenue margin was discussed at Pac-12 meetings in Arizona earlier this month (Hill did not personally attend). Hill said while the league's schools are somewhat concerned about the gap between the Pac-12 and their Power 5 counterparts, there may be no immediate way of bridging it. http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2016/04/28/pac-12-larry-scotts-future-guerrero-incident-changing-dynamics-ceos/";>The conference has shown thus far it is willing to keep full ownership of the Pac-12 Networks even as SEC and Big Ten deals with partners have proven lucrative.

So yes, the Pac-12 is making more money than ever before, and yet is still behind. And that may be the status quo for some time — a status quo which seemingly includes Scott leading the way.

More news and notes from around the league and the country …

• Jakob Poeltl still looks like a top 10 pick following the NBA Draft lottery. http://www.draftexpress.com/";>Draft Express has Poeltl at No. 10 on the board, where he's suddenly a popular pick in mock drafts now that we know the order. http://espn.go.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/15568240/chad-ford-nba-mock-draft-70-teams-ben-simmons-brandon-ingram-order-set";>ESPN, http://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/2016-nba-mock-draft-brandon-ingram-looks-like-a-good-fit-for-sixers/";>CBS Sports andhttp://www.foxsports.com/nba/story/2016-nba-mock-draft-philadelphia-76ers-los-angeles-lakers-ben-simmons-brandon-ingram-051816";> Fox all have Poeltl headed to Milwaukee to play with Jabari Parker and the Bucks. It's worth noting that Milwaukee picked Utah's last lottery selection, center Andrew Bogut, and Larry Krystkowiak coached the Bucks in 2007 and 2008.

• A small but potentially impactful development: Schools can now cover the full cost of summer school for any athletes receiving aid. It's a voluntary option for all DI schools, but in today's athletic environment, it means everyone will start doing it. http://chronicle.com/article/NCAA-Eases-Scholarship/236495/?key=ZlHYcFJbFWWlkTEhbHH-iIUuhx6l9QhorlA1ufvdFxx4dHY0aWpfODlFZ2F0TnpzcF9oWFdfR3FUUkFCaXdmSnYxdGxwbWlXd3JZ";>The Chronicle of Higher Education delves into the disparities this rule change could create — and really it applies to other forms of voluntary aid that will end up costing millions.

http://bit.ly/1T9tWYV";>Utah baseball's rise in the Pac-12 has stunned everyone, and particularly schools that now are on the outside of the postseason bubble looking in. http://www.oregonlive.com/college-baseball/index.ssf/2016/05/college_baseball_stunning_rise.html#incart_river_index";>The Oregonian offers some conference perspective on how the Utes' surprising run has hurt the chances for traditional contenders including Oregon State and Oregon. It's worth noting the Utes themselves must win the league to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009 and for only the second time since 1960(!).

kgoon@sltrib.com
Twitter: @kylegoon