Conference Update: Larry Scott’s departure, Ducks men’s hoops returns

Welcome to 750 The Game’s weekly Conference Update brought to you by Pacific Seafood, the official meat & seafood provider of the Pac-12 Conference!

This week’s update:

Larry Scott’s exit

After eleven years, Larry Scott’s run as Pac-12 commissioner is coming to a close.  The Pac-12 parted ways with Scott one year prior to the expiration of his current contract.  University of Oregon president Michael Schill joined our own John Canzano in a roundtable discussion on Thursday’s Bald Faced Truth radio show, and said Scott will remain in the commissioner’s role through the end of this June as the Pac-12 CEO group starts the search for his successor.  Among possible candidates rumored for the position include University of Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne, former West Virginia AD and NCAA executive Oliver Luck, and West Coast Conference commissioner, Gloria Nevarez.  Stay tuned to Canzano on the BFT for the latest in the search for the next Pac-12 commissioner and what it means for the conference.

Oregon Ducks men’s basketball returns

After a week-long pause due to covid-19 protocols, the Oregon Ducks men’s basketball team returned to practice this week.  The No.21 Ducks (9-2, 4-1 Pac-12) host the rival Oregon State Beavers (7-5, 3-3) on Saturday night at Matthew Knight Arena.  The Beavers are coming off a pair of nail-biting wins over Arizona State (80-79) and USC (58-56) by a combined three points.  Tip off Saturday is 7:30pm on Pac-12 Network.

UCLA-Stanford highlights a big women’s hoops weekend

No.6 UCLA (8-2, 6-2 Pac-12) goes on the road to visit Tara VanDerveer’s No.5 Stanford Cardinal (11-1, 8-1) in a massive Pac-12 women’s hoops showdown on Friday night (7pm, Pac-12 Network).  The Bruins lost their first matchup with the then-No.1 ranked Cardinal in December, 61-49, but star senior forward Michaela Onyenwere is third in the conference in scoring (18.2 points/game) and her eyes set on a big UCLA win.

As for Kelly Graves and the No.13 Oregon Ducks, they host Washington State on Friday at 5pm before hosting Washington on Sunday afternoon at 2pm.

Tune in to the Bald Faced Truth with John Canzano every Friday for your Conference Update brought to you by Pacific Seafood, and found right here on 750TheGame.com.