Dan Lanning responds to questions on Pac-12 media rights discussion, potential conference realignment

Oregon has found itself at the center of the conference realignment conversation this week — one that’s evolving almost by the hour. The Ducks have come up as a potential target for the Big Ten while the Pac-12 tries to keep itself together amid media rights negotiations.

At the same time, Dan Lanning and the Oregon football team is starting training camp. After Wednesday’s practice, he declined to answer a question about the rumblings about the future of the Ducks and the Pac-12.

“I’ve been worrying about practice today,” Lanning said. “I do not have time to read the nightly news. Maybe I’ll catch up on it around midnight tonight.”

Questions about the Pac-12 have swirled all week after commissioner George Kliavkoff presented “primary streaming deal” with Apple on Tuesday as the conference continues its quest for a new media rights agreement. After that meeting, the Arizona Board of Regents held a meeting and scheduled another one for Thursday night.

In addition, the Washington Board of Regents will meet later Thursday night, as well. The Huskies, along with Oregon, are at the center of rumors connecting the two schools to the Big Ten. Yahoo! Sports’ Dan Wetzel reported the Big Ten started “exploratory discussions” about possibly expanding beyond 16 in 2024 when USC and UCLA come in.

When asked about whether he’s talking about what could lie ahead in realignment, Lanning again declined to get into specifics.

“I’m talking about what’s next,” he said.

The Big Ten appears to be circling the wagons as the Pac-12’s future comes further into question. According to The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy, the league has “everything it needs” to add Oregon and Washington if it decides to go that direction. However, as Wetzel told On3’s Andy Staples, the conference doesn’t want to be the one to “kill” the Pac-12.

Oregon and Washington aren’t the only two Pac-12 schools in the realignment conversation. Arizona has been seen as a potential target for the Big 12, which has already raided the Pac-12 by bringing Colorado back. On3’s Eric Prisbell has reported Brett Yormark’s interest in bringing the conference to 14 teams depending on what happens with the media rights deal.

That media agreement might be the most important piece of the puzzle. The deal with Apple that Kliavkoff presented would net the Pac-12 about $20 million per year, according to Yahoo! Sports. That’s far less than the Big Ten’s multi-billion dollar deal and below the Big 12’s agreement, which has a $31.7 million payout.

As On3’s Matt Zenitz reported, a deal such as the one with Apple might not be enough to keep everyone in the Pac-12 happy.

“My gut tells me this thing’s falling apart and they’re not going to pull it back together,” an athletic director told On3.