The SEC, The Pac-10, Big Business… And Asia?

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For most SEC fans — and the folks here at MrSEC.com too — expansion isn’t something that many people want to see. 

The Southeastern Conference is currently the baddest bully on the block when it comes to on-field success.  And off the field, only the Big Ten rakes in more network television money.  Why would anyone want to change that?

Unfortunately, want has very little to do with conference expansion. 

This round of realignment will be driven by such things as television contracts, branding, geographic footprints, population shifts and, yes, cash. 

Whether the SEC wants to expand or not, if every other league is moving into the future with bolder visions, Mike Slive and company will need to expand.

For an idea of just how bold some conferences are thinking, check out this recent quote from Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott: 

“I think we’re going to be the first collegiate conference to really have an international marketing plan, which I do envision in the future will include broadcasts of our contests and games internationally as well as competitions.  You’ll see our student-athletes playing in an organized way in Asia.”

The SEC has said that it wants to maintain the status quo.  It isn’t looking to expand and it doesn’t want to be proactive on the issue.  Slive and the SEC’s presidents have said that they prefer to take a wait and see approach.

Meanwhile, the Pac-10 has hired CAA — a Hollywood agency — to help draw up expansion plans and lead its future marketing efforts.  The Pac-10 wants to present itself as “a league of the future.”  It’s even thinking globally.

Like the NFL playing football games overseas and NASCAR running races outside the United States, the Pac-10 is turning an eye to the vast untapped markets beyond our country’s borders.

University officials across the country may still tell you that college sports is not a business, but that’s a bit like me saying, “I’m not old.”  I don’t want to be old, but I am.  Academicians might not want to consider sports as a business, but if it walks like a duck…

Good CEOs know that there are millions of dollars to be had when it comes to collegiate athletics.  And there are millions of unclaimed currencies to be had overseas. 

While the SEC is patting itself on the back for a huge ESPN contract (that has already been passed on a year-to-year basis by the ACC’s new deal), the Pac-10 is looking five steps down the road.

“How can we tap into the Asian market?  How can we get television money from that continent?  How much revenue can we generate in terms of cap and t-shirt sales by creating a few Asian fans across the globe?”

Just to be clear, I’m not a guy who likes for NFL games to be played in London or Toronto or Mexico City.  But NFL executives know that as their costs rise they’ll need to find new revenue streams.  That means breaking down borders.  Literally.

Likewise, the Pac-10 understands that as unappealing as it might be for fans to have to watch their schools play a game in Tokyo once in a while, if it means millions more for the league’s schools in the long run, then fans will just have to suck it up.  Eventually those fans will be happy when bigger bucks roll in, their schools have more to spend, and their teams improve because of it.

So the next time you feel like saying, “I don’t understand why the SEC needs to expand,” remember the Pac-10 and it’s goal of reaching Asian markets.

If business demands that the SEC expand, then it has to do so or else it risks being left behind.  Want has nothing to do with it.  I can guarantee you that no Oregon fan wants to play a football game in Osaka.

But business models change.  Businesses that don’t keep up or aren’t willing to adjust… die.  So conferences had better be ready for change when it comes.  Even if it means playing an occasional game in Asia.  Or in the SEC’s case, expanding beyond its current nine-state footprint.

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