It pays to be USC ... and UCLA
If you heard that USC led the Pac-10 with about $6.5 million in TV revenue from football last year, you would probably yawn and go back to reading Pete Carroll's tweets from the middle of yesterday's 5K.
What's more interesting is that UCLA, with a 4-8 record and no bowl game, raked in $4.9 million -- good for second in the conference. And that Washington, at 0-12, was fourth with $4.7 million. One simple explanation is that the Bruins and Huskies are in two of the nation's largest media markets, though Stanford, Cal and Arizona State didn't seem to get as significant of a boost.
A full chart is available at the bottom of this article about Washington AD Scott Woodward calling for revenue sharing. Outgoing Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen told Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times that the issue comes up at nearly every meeting, but that it's unlikely to happen. A change requires eight votes, meaning a unanimous vote from schools located outside Los Angeles.
-- Adam Rose
Photo: USC and UCLA may not have to dominate the BCS rankings to dominate the Nielsen ratings. Credit: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times.
