Utah Utes sports: Pac-12 announces new TV deal

ESPN and Fox will have the premier selections for use on its family of networks. The Pac-12 Network will air 350 live events each year, including football and basketball.

Among the benefits of the league-owned carrier, Scott noted, is the ability to showcase Olympic sports — something the conference is prolific in. It'll also meet another critically important priority and that is "to connect the dots between athletics and the educational mission of these universities."

All in all, the newly signed media deal met three pillar goals Scott was hoping to achieve — increased revenue, improved national exposure and the creation of a Pac-12 Network.

Utah joins the mix, obviously, at a very lucrative time.

"As we've all thought, every aspect of moving to the Pac-12 is a tremendous step, a big step, for everything from exposure to competition to resources, the whole thing," Hill said. "The bar goes up and we've all got to perform."

The clocking is ticking. There are facilities to upgrade and build, plus programs to bolster.

"There's no question that we've got our projects that we've got to do. We need, as always, the support from our community," Hill said. "It's not a time to do anything other than get into this league and do as well as we can. We need everybody's support."

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