John Canzano

1 week ago | johncanzano.com | John Canzano

The Pac-12 Conference’s expansion plan is moving along, but the conference’s mediation with the Mountain West remains in the starting blocks. Will UNLV join the Pac-12? Or maybe Texas State? Or Memphis — in football-only? I have information and thoughts on the expansion front, but first, a quick dive into the court proceedings. The Pac-12 is suing the MW for allegedly imposing a $55 million “poaching penalty” to inhibit competition.

1 week ago | johncanzano.com | John Canzano

I get the best questions in the Monday Mailbag. This week a reader asked me about my greatest regret as a sportswriter. Q: Through your coverage and storytelling, you give us experiences we otherwise couldn’t attain on our own. Is there a game or event that you had an opportunity to attend, but did not, and in hindsight wish you did? — @turner_319I was sent to Augusta National Golf Club in 2004 to cover The Masters.

1 week ago | johncanzano.com | John Canzano

The residents of Gulf Shores were thrown for a loop this weekend. The beach town on Alabama’s Gulf Coast was busy letting its hair down, enjoying the NCAA beach volleyball championship tournament on its sugar-white sand, when a bizarre thing happened. USC and UCLA left town. The Trojans and Bruins are national powers in beach volleyball. USC and UCLA have won every beach volleyball national championship since the inception of the sport in 2016.

1 week ago | johncanzano.com | John Canzano

Scott Barnes struck an upbeat tone this week. And why not? The Pac-12 announced a media rights deal that puts Oregon State’s football team on ESPN twice next season. “What you get with ESPN is this engine, this marketing engine that goes way beyond the broadcast of the game,” Barnes, the OSU athletic director, told me. “It’s the promotional aspects during SportsCenter and other pieces as they lead up to the game, and then following up after the game.

2 weeks ago | johncanzano.com | John Canzano

The Pac-12 Conference has finalized its media rights contracts for the 2025 football season. ESPN and CBS Sports will combine with The CW Network to broadcast the 13 home football games of Oregon State and Washington State next season, this publication has learned. The financial details have not yet been released. Bob Thompson, the retired president of Fox Sports Networks, told me: “Putting dollars aside, I think this is a great outcome for OSU and WSU for the 2025 season.