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BIG Sunday Buff Bites - TV Money, Basketball, Recruiting, Conference Alignment and Demographics

Colorado_mediumAbout that 10-year Big 12 commitment  | The Dallas Morning News

Reason #1,342,234 Colorado made the right move by joining the Pac-10:

OK, here's the explanation. Just got off the phone with Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe for a column that will run Sunday. In the process, I asked him about the apparent discrepancy. Here's what Beebe said: As part of their plans for continuing the Big 12 with impending defections, Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor, Iowa State and Missouri agreed to 10-year commitments as a sign to other schools that might have considered joining or remaining in the league. The 10-year commitment now only applies to those five and may not be even applicable given the change in circumstances.

Colorado_mediumCU football should get $14.5 million a year from TV for starters - The Denver Post

With the addition of CU and Utah, Navigate projects the Pac-10's next TV deal should be worth about $14.5 million per member school. That's nearly three times the Pac-10's current deal and more than $5 million more than CU received last year from the Big 12.

Maestas projects the remaining 10 Big 12 schools will receive $13.5 million each, but again, that's before bargaining. "It'll be similar to the Pac-10 per school," he said. "It's not realistic that Beebe's going to give Texas and Oklahoma and (Texas) A&M $20 million (each) and all the have-nots $14 million to $17 million. They can distribute that kind of ratio, but the total pie won't be large enough to add up to that."

Colorado_medium5 Questions with Pac-10 chief Larry Scott | Deseret News

Question: What is the status of Colorado's revenue share? (Utah will become a full member in revenue sharing over three years.)

Answer: "There is an open question about the date that Colorado will come in. When we made the announcement, it was 2012. But when all the dust settles, there is a possibility the timetable will move up to 2011 to start with Utah. When they start in 2012, they will start as a full member in regards to revenue sharing, but if they start earlier we will have to discuss that."

Colorado_mediumColorado in a California state of mind — and vice versa - The Denver Post

CU's jump from the Big 12 to the Pac-10 is merely the latest indicator of our deepening ties with the West Coast. In 1980, 7.4 percent of Colorado's transplants were born in California, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In 1990, it was 7.8 percent. By 2000, the figure had jumped to 11.5 percent, or 243,071 people. That means that almost one in eight transplants living in Colorado that year was born in California.

Colorado_mediumWoelk: Gold mine awaits Buffs in move to Pac-10 - Boulder Daily Camera

Right now, there are roughly 40,000 CU alums on the West Coast. That`s a gold mine in terms of donations and support -- not just for athletics, but for the university in general. The best way to get their attention is to make some noise on the field and on the court. It`s an opportunity CU can`t afford to let slip away. One reason I think television ratings for the Pac-10 in general and Colorado in particular are going to be better than they were for Big 12 games? The number of West Coast transplants in general and the number of California transplants in particular who now call Colorado home.

much more after the jump...

Colorado_mediumMen's NCAA basketball: As Colorado Buffaloes transition, will coach Tad Boyle lead them to relevance? - ESPN

"Can he make the jump?" said Turgeon, who worked hard to help Boyle get the job. "Yes. He played at this level. He's helped major programs. He's the full package. He's an excellent coach, a great recruiter. And before he got into coaching, he was handling people's money [Boyle is a former Boulder-based stockbroker], so he'll be a good fundraiser. He did that at Northern Colorado, and he'll do the same at Colorado." The jump from the Big Sky to the Big 12/Pac-10 shouldn't be a shock anymore. Ben Howland broke the stereotype of needing a middle step when he went from Northern Arizona to Pitt. "I know he'll do the coaching part," Turgeon said of Boyle. "He's the perfect fit for the job. Look at how successful Bo Ryan was at the Division II level before he got to Wisconsin [from UW-Platteville before a stop at D-I Wisconsin-Milwaukee].

Colorado_mediumTad Boyle: Big basketball promise in CU's jump to Pac-10 - The Denver Post

What is your early assessment of next year's freshman point guard Shannon Sharpe? Former coach Bzdelik had commented that Shannon Sharpe was the best athlete on the team prior to his injury last season. Also, could you discuss the skill levels of your two new recruits, Ben Mills (center) and Andre Roberson (small forward) and explain how they will help the team next year especially in rebounding and inside scoring. --Jack, Boulder

TB: We've had one week to work Shannon out. Three 40-minute sessions. I was impressed with his body, with his explosiveness, especially because he's coming of a pretty big knee injury. From what I've heard, he's back to his level. He'll bring a toughness and a grit that will help us win some basketball games that maybe we didn't win last year. We're excited. Mills and Roberson will be very good players at this level - eventually. Physically, they have some adjustments to make. They're here this summer, playing pick-up ball and working out in the weight room. We're gonna need both those kids to help shore up some areas of deficiency. You never want to count on freshman, but you hope you can get some production from them to help win a few games. But Andre will help us on the defensive end and rebounding. Mills, at 7-feet-1, will give us a presence down low. Both those guys will be tremendous players at Colorado.

Colorado_mediumMike Montgomery would be 'shocked' if Cal split from USC, UCLA - The Dagger - NCAAB  - Yahoo! Sports

If expanding to 12 schools causes the Pac-10 to place Cal and Stanford in the opposite division from UCLA and USC, count Bears coach Mike Montgomery among those who would not be pleased. Montgomery said Thursday that he'd be "disappointed, shocked and dismayed" to only play UCLA once a year in basketball, citing nearly a century's worth of history between the UC System's two flagship schools.

Colorado_mediumPac-10: Aligning the divisions rough | Berry Tramel's Blog

Which is why the new Pac-12 will have trouble slicing up the divisions. Colorado officials said they had agreed to be in a Pac-12 South with Utah, the LA schools and the Arizona schools. But that apparently has brought angst from the North schools — Stanford, Cal, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington and Washington State. All recruit greater Los Angeles and reap the benefits of a game a year in southern California.

Colorado_mediumUtah won't immediately see a windfall - College Football Nation Blog - ESPN

So basically, Utah will only get a portion of the revenue sharing for the first three years because it's coming from a nonautomatic qualifying conference and it has to prove itself. To be clear, there’s no reason for the Utah faithful to panic. The Utes still get a full share of revenue from the Mountain West after the 2010-11 school year. And after that, even a portion of the Pac-10’s revenue will be an improvement. Pac-10 schools currently receive between $8 million and $10 million in TV revenue, and Scott is about to renegotiate the television deal.

Colorado_mediumCasa's Sherry commits to Colorado | PressDemocrat.com

"He's 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds and he's not even fully matured," Herzog said. "He hasn't even reached half of his potential. He's totally raw." Sherry's lack of experience was evident at times last year when he completed 163 of 288 passes for 2,413 yards with 24 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in his first varsity season. In two of the Gauchos' biggest games — a loss to crosstown rival Petaluma and a playoff defeat to Montgomery — Sherry threw five interceptions.

But Montgomery offensive line coach Frank Scalercio, the former head coach at Sonoma State, saw Sherry as a rare talent. And a few months ago, Scalercio called Hawkins, his former teammate at UC Davis and friend of 30 years, and told him about a prospect in his old neighborhood. Hawkins also spent a year coaching with Scalercio at Sonoma State. After Sherry's visit this week, Scalercio says Hawkins called and raved about the quarterback's character, leadership ability and intelligence. A student with a GPA around 3.8, Sherry's smarts translate to the field. On Monday, Hawkins put Xs and Os on a whiteboard and grilled Sherry on football minutiae. "I guess they threw some zingers at him," Scalercio said. "And he answered all of them."

Colorado_mediumCU, Utah to renew football series - Boulder Daily Camera

Utah's move from the Mountain West Conference renews a football series that saw the Buffs and Utes play 57 times from 1903-1962, with CU holding a 30-24-3 edge. The two schools played in the same conference from 1910-1948 and kept the series alive for several years after CU went to the Big Seven.

Colorado_mediumBuffaloes to keep recruiting in Texas - Boulder Daily Camera

Since the CU sports information department began tracking recruiting numbers in 1973, the football program has landed more than six prospects from Texas in only three years. Former coach Gary Barnett did it twice with 10 players from Texas in 2002 and eight in 2003. Chuck Fairbanks recruited eight Texans in 1981. Coach Dan Hawkins has recruited a total of seven players from Texas in his four years in Boulder. So maybe there is little reason to be concerned about leaving Texas behind.

Colorado_mediumK-State’s Snyder likes the new Big 12 — not the schedule - KansasCity.com

With the end of the North and South divisions and the start of round-robin play, the Wildcats will face league powers Texas and Oklahoma yearly. They will also play a three-game nonconference season instead of a four-game.