SEPTEMBER 2025 – John Canzano is a well known sports pundit in Oregon today, a sports radio host and columnist for Portland’s newspaper, The Oregonian. Back in November 2018 Canzano wrote a lengthy (4 part) and damning report on the business operations of the Pac 12 Conference, then based on San Francisco. The report is a takedown of the Conference’s then commissioner, Larry Scott, whose ambitions to create a TV network and generally leverage the schools’ sports teams fast became financially untenable. Canzano explored almost every chapter of what became the now-famous mess of the Pac 12 Conference. In fact, his work largely predicted what would soon happen – that is, the ultimate dissolution of the conference.
Yes, Canzano for much of his career covered the Oregon Ducks – probably the most restive member in the conference. Still, Canzano’s work is a great example of the high-profile news person – with “institutional knowledge” from his day-to-day work – who is in the best position to examine a sports organization. Years later now, his work on the Pac 12 deserves special recognition.