Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Larry Scott's tenure as Pac-12 commissioner had no shortage of controversy

Commissioner Larry Scott speaks during the Pac-12 NCAA college basketball media day, in San Francisco, on Oct. 8, 2019.
D. Ross Cameron
/
The Associated Press
Commissioner Larry Scott speaks during the Pac-12 NCAA college basketball media day, in San Francisco, on Oct. 8, 2019.

On Wednesday the Pac-12 announced that commissioner Larry Scott's tenure would end in June, a year before his contract was set to expire. KNKX sports commentator Art Thiel says that over the 12 years that he ran the Pac-12, Scott had a rather lavish lifestyle that came as a great expense to the organization.

He set his salary around $5.5 million a year, rented expensive office space in San Francisco and would often take private jets and book expensive hotel rooms.

But Thiel says the biggest controversy was how he went about creating and managing the Pac-12 Network, the distributor of Pac-12 sports for television.

In this conversation, hear about what went wrong and the likely reason why Scott and the Pac-12 are parting ways.

Kevin Kniestedt is a journalist, host and producer who began his career at KNKX in 2003. Over his 17 years with the station, he worked as a full time jazz host, a news host and produced the weekly show Sound Effect. Kevin has conducted or produced hundreds of interviews, has won local and national awards for newscasts and commentary.
Art Thiel is a co-founder and writer for the rising sports website Sportspress Northwest. In 2003 Thiel wrote the definitive book about the Seattle Mariners, “Out of Left Field,” which became a regional bestseller. In 2009, along with Steve Rudman and KJR 950 afternoon host Mike Gastineau, Thiel authored “The Great Book of Seattle Sports Lists,” a cross between historylink.org and Mad Magazine that has become mandatory reading for any sports fan who has an indoor bathroom.