3 questions for Oregon football and the Pac-12 ahead of Media Day

With the Pac-12 commissioner, coaches and players set to descend on Las Vegas Friday, Pac-12 Media Day will offer the first look at the upcoming football season.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning will be joined by quarterback Bo Nix and linebacker Jeffrey Bassa. Lanning will speak at 1:35 p.m. and Nix and Bassa will get going at 2 p.m.

Here are three questions for Pac-12 conference leadership and the Oregon Ducks ahead of Media Day.

Where does the Pac-12 media-rights deal stand?

Still without a deal in place, the Pac-12 will undoubtedly field questions about what is going on with its media-rights deal, currently being negotiated by the conference.

There have been plenty of reports and rumors, but it is still unclear where the conference will go with its new deal and what the timeline looks like.

Reports surfaced earlier this week that the Pac-12 would not announce a new media rights agreement ahead of Pac-12 Media Day, with ESPN’s Heather Dinich reporting that taking the “wait and see” approach has led to more bidders in the conversation.

The Pac-12’s current deal is set to expire following the 2024-25 season, and with USC and UCLA set to leave for the Big Ten next year, questions abound.

Still, it will be interesting to hear what Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff and conference leadership have to say about why the process to secure a new deal is taking so long, especially after a joint statement by the conference’s chancellors and presidents promising to focus on a new deal in the “very near future” was issued in February.

Is the timeline still important? What will streaming look like for fans? What about the conference revenue share?

It will be intriguing to hear what the conference has to say.

Which teams will step up in a crowded Pac-12?

The Pac-12 has likely never been deeper since it expanded to 12 teams in 2011 than it is in 2023. The hype surrounding the legitimate depth of the conference has reached new heights even after failing to make the College Football Playoff in the last six seasons.

So much so that oddsmakers set the win totals for six different Pac-12 programs at or above 8.5.

The playoff has been expanded to 12 teams, all but ensuring the conference earns its first berth in over half a decade. But it is nowhere near a foregone conclusion which team or teams will make the final cut.

The same could not be said for the conference for most of its history since the playoff debuted in 2014, when at most one or two Pac-12 programs had a shot at the end-of-season playoff for a national title.

So how does the Pac-12 intend to capitalize on its depth and the all-but-assured possibility of competing in the playoff?

Reporter John Canzano reported last month that Pac-12 schools had negotiated, “incentivized sharing of postseason revenue,” as part of a Grant of Rights, which won’t be officially signed until the media rights deal is completed. Under the current deal, Pac-12 schools equally share any money distributed to the conference for one of its members making the playoff.

If the conference has at least one team make the playoff in future seasons, how will it split up the money for those that make it?

Could the Ducks be one of those teams? How will they approach taking the next step and making their first College Football Playoff since 2014?

Which Oregon newcomers will have an impact this fall?

Oregon relied heavily on its new faces in 2022, with former Auburn quarterback Nix taking the reins on offense, tailback Bucky Irving earning the lion’s share of the carries after transferring from Minnesota, and others playing right away after transferring.

Which players could have that same impact in 2023?

Will Nix’s adoptive brother, Tez Johnson, step up and provide a nice change of pace in the wide receiver room after an impressive spring? What about former Alabama wideout Traeshon Holden, and former Fresno State corner Evan Williams, or former South Carolina five-star defensive lineman Jordan Burch?

How often does true freshman blue-chip prospect Jurrion Dickey see the field in a crowded receiver room?

A lot of those answers won’t come until the Ducks take the field at Autzen Stadium in September for their season opener against Portland State. But Lanning, Nix and Bassa could supply some answers to those and other questions come Friday.

How to watch Pac-12 Media Day

For the first time, Pac-12 Networks' live coverage of the event will be available for all to watch through the Pac-12 Now app, Pac-12.com, and Pac-12 Insider. The conference will also have replays available of coverage after the event ends on its YouTube and other social media channels.

Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, women's basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@gannett.com and you can follow him on Twitter @AlecDietz.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: 3 questions for Oregon football and the Pac-12 ahead of Media Day