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Las Vegas • Enjoying it at the MGM Grand? Having a good time? Winning a little money? Taking in a little basketball?
Good, Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said, come back next year.
The Pac-12 is extending its deal with the MGM Grand to bring back the conference tournament next March. The one-year deal could serve to bridge the gap for when the Pac-12 may move into the under-construction Las Vegas Arena in 2017.
The league has enjoyed robust ticket sales this year for the MGM Garden Arena-hosted tournament, thanks very much in part to well-traveling Arizona fans lured by the No. 5 Wildcats. Utah fans also made the drive to watch the resurgent Utes in the No. 3 seed. The Pac-12 announced before the tournament began that the semifinals and final had sold out.
The league wants to keep the conference tournament in Vegas — that much is for sure. Whether staying at the MGM or moving to the LVA is up for debate.
"We're delighted with the success that we've had and have every intention of continuing long into the future," Scott said. "Over the next year, as we get ready for another tremendously successful 2016 event here at the Garden Arena, it will give us a chance to evaluate the new arena and consider it as a potential option to what we've built here."
That might be the best news Scott had to offer when he met with the media Friday afternoon. There wasn't much to report on other contentious fronts, particularly a long-mired discussion to bring Pac-12 Network to DirecTV.
Scott said there was "no new news" or progress in discussions with DirecTV, continuing the standstill between the two sides. The Pac-12 hasn't wanted to compromise the same deal it has with other providers, allowing other leagues to pass it by. Scott said there was a "glimmer of hope" with the thought that AT&T might acquire the satellite television provider, allowing the Pac-12 to use its much more "positive" relationship with the telecoms giant to hammer out a deal.
While a report from the San Jose Mercury News this week suggested the Pac-12 will lose ground in TV revenue to the SEC and Big Ten in coming years, Scott said the Pac-12 was in an "enviable position" comparatively to its peers because it owns 100 percent of its own network. But he left the door open to reconsidering the ownership model.
"We're delighted that we've been able to do what we've been able to do [with Pac-12 Network]," he said. "But as the landscape changes, if it makes sense to take different types of partners down the road, we've got the flexibility to do it."
On the topic of bringing back the '70s-era concept of freshman ineligibility, Scott intoned that any real resolution from the conference was a long way off. The Pac-12 is truly interested in solving what Scott described as the one-and-done "issue," which the league feels cheapens the value of athletic scholarships. Scott said he was in favor of allowing players to once again enter the NBA out of high school if they're not interested in pursuing education.
One of the newsiest bits from the news conference is that the Pac-12 is playing a regular-season game in China. Building on the conference's summer tour with an all-star team — which was coached by Larry Krystkowiak in 2014 — Scott announced that Washington will play Texas on Nov. 14 in Shanghai.
Twitter: @kylegoon