Statement from Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott on 2017 autonomy session

Statement from Commissioner Scott:

On behalf of the Pac-12, our 7,000 student-athletes, coaches and administrators, I am very pleased with today's actions to improve the experience of our student-athletes. This issue of time balance has been a big focus for us as we have​ ​worked with our campus leadership, including administrators, faculty, and coaches, in order to ​successfully reform the rules governing college athletics. College represents a period of major personal growth and opportunity for our students and as athletic administrators, it is incumbent on us that they have the necessary time and the flexibility to take full advantage of everything our universities have to offer.
 
We are in a great position in the Pac-12. Our student-athletes come to our schools because they want to win championships and get the best education in the country - we want that too.  Today’s action puts us in a much better position to deliver on ​our promise​ to them​​,​ and I applaud the hard work of our athletics leadership and student-athletes who have made these reforms a reality.
 
The reforms enacted today, through the proposals we co-sponsored with our peer conferences as well as the proposals sponsored solely by the Pac-12,​ ​will give student-athletes more time ​to ​pursue academics and better transparency into their schedules, ​​and will prohibit and limit athletics activity during ​the ​preseason and offseason​. These​ ​reforms ​are major steps forward towards managing the competing demands of athletics and academics on student-athletes’ lives.