This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Joining the Pac-12 Conference obviously has opened to the Utah Utes a whole new world of places to play.
Seattle, Tempe, Corvallis …
Beijing?
Hey, it could happen, within just a few years.
League commissioner Larry Scott has intended since he took over two years ago to increase the Pac-12's exposure in the Pacific Rim, and plans to spend a week later this month traveling to China to meet with government officials, event promoters and potential broadcast and online partners to start laying the foundation for expanding the league's presence in that part of the world.
"We think we're uniquely positioned as a conference," Scott said before the league's inaugural football championship game on Friday, "given the international makeup of our student body, the international brand recognition of the schools, our geographic location, to make a big impact."
Scott said the league's presidents and chancellors view increased exposure in Asia as a crucial part of the university mission (read: a way to attract more students, fans and money), and believe sports can help enhance that.
Of course, the Utes won't have to worry about learning how to say "ni hao" right away.
The commissioner emphasized the league's effort is a long-term one, and guessed that it might take "five-plus years" before the Pac-12 is making concrete moves into some of the Asian countries.
But if and when it happens, Scott imagines all kinds of opportunities — from broadcasting its soon-to-be-launched Pac-12 Networks in Asia to streaming league content online or perhaps actually playing games there.
"All of the above," he said.
Football really isn't part of the equation beyond perhaps an occasional promotional "stunt," Scott said, given its absence from the sporting consciousness in Asia.
But the Olympics are exceptionally popular there, and Scott said that fits well with the Pac-12's history of excellence in sports such as swimming, track and field, tennis and volleyball.
In fact, the league is promoting the progress of its athletes toward the 2012 London Olympics next summer, and said that "very much resonates" in places such as China, where he believes "people will recognize the prestige of the Pac-12 Conference, across the board."
Asked about which sport might be best suited to the league's vision, Scott immediately answered basketball.
"It's a very hot sport right now," he said.
Scott said he has been told that China has some 300 million avid basketball fans, which is more than enough to make revenue-chasing administrators salivate.
Imagine, then, the Utes one day playing the Huskies in Shanghai, or meeting the Trojans in Guangzhou. There might come a time when travelers in China can flip the channels on their hotel television and find the Pac-12 Networks showing league tournaments or maybe even games taking place in Salt Lake City.
A whole new world, indeed.