Pac-12 fans unleash fury on ex-commish over realignment amid Big 12 poaching turmoil: "Larry Scott will go down as the person who ruined..."

Even though Larry Scott left his role as the Pac-12 commissioner in 2021 after an 11-year tenure, he is still being blamed for the current challenges the conference faces.

The former commissioner was guilty of many decisions that didn't turn out well during his time. His inability to fix the DirecTV issue, the failed gamble on the Pac-12 Network, and the huge rental payment in San Francisco highlighted some of the failures of Larry Scott.

While George Kliavkoff has done a good job in undoing the damage of Scott's era, the conference's future remains in the air. With the exit of USC and UCLA, the conference now faces an existential threat as it struggles to secure a new media deal.

The fans haven’t stopped blaming Larry Scott for the damage he’s done to the Pac-12. One user on Twitter wrote:

"Larry Scott will go down as the person who ruined the Pac 12."

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Larry Scott blames the schools for his tenure failures

Pac-12 Championship - Utah vs. USC

During his exit interview, Larry Scott directed the blame for the failures of his administration on the member schools. The former Pac-12 commissioner noted he never expected the number of changes in the leadership among members of the conference.

“I didn’t anticipate the amount of change amongst our leadership, presidents, chancellors and athletics directors that were really aligned about a long-term vision. And as we had changes in leadership on our campuses, the focus became much more on short-term pressures,” Scott said.

Scott also expressed regret in committing to a long-term media deal with ESPN and Fox instead of a much shorter one. The decision to sign a 12-year television contract with the networks tied them into an agreement that has proven detrimental to their interests.

“And in hindsight, if we had done shorter TV deals, even if it meant leaving some money on the table, I think our members would have appreciated being able to redo our TV contracts a little bit sooner. But I think the long-term, bold nature of our strategy will pay off handsomely for the league when it re-does the deals in 2024,” he said.

After months of negotiations, the Pac-12 is now struggling to seal a new media deal. The fact that other Power Five conferences of the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference were able to renegotiate their new media rights deal before the Pac-12 put them at a disadvantage.

Scott had the mindset to reshape the world of college sports with his bold ideas. However, not many of his gambles worked out in favor of the Pac-12, as fans still think his tenure left the conference in shambles.