FanHouse Larry Scott

LOS ANGELES -- It's put up or shut up time for the Pac-10 Conference.

With three of the conference's top teams facing difficult games on the road -- highlighted by USC's national showdown at Ohio State - the strength of the Pac-10 will be under the spotlight this weekend.

And arguably, the most important matchup will take place in SEC territory when UCLA second-year coach Rick Neuheisel leads the Bruins into Knoxville to battle Tennessee first-year coach Lane Kiffin and the Volunteers.

Even first-year Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott, who's new to the game when it comes to improving the perception of West Coast football, said,: "Strong out-of-conference matchups capture the public's imagination."

LOS ANGELES -- New Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott made it clear Thursday at Pac-10 Media Day: he plans to examine carefully the major criticisms of his predecessor, Tom Hansen, but made no promises about any changes from the status quo.

The Pac-10 may be the most underexposed major conference in the country, has only one New Years Day bowl commitment and -- along with the Big Ten -- has no revenue-producing conference championship game. Critics chided Hansen because he was resistant to change, and there have been hopes that the younger Scott, who arrived from the Women's Tennis Association, would immediately implement improvements. He made no promises Thursday.

Here are some notes from his Q&A with the media Thursday in Los Angeles:

Women's Tennis Association (WTA) CEO Larry Scott was recently named the new commissioner of the Pac-10, effective July 1. In taking the job he will lead an athletic conference considered at a crossroads and in dire need of fresh leadership. Of late, the conference commissioners in college athletics have become very public, very powerful figures responsible for the makeup of their leagues, their financial wellbeing, and the direction of postseason play.

As such, Scott could end up a major newsmaker similar to SEC Commissioner Mike Slive and the Big Ten's Jim Delany. Scott recently answered questions for the Los Angeles Times that paint a preliminary picture of what direction he might take the conference. Full examination after the jump.

After an extensive search the Pac-10 has named WTA CEO Larry Scott its new commissioner. The 44-year-old Scott will take over on July 1 when current commissioner Tom Hansen steps down. He is credited with transforming the WTA thanks to an $88 million contract with Sony Ericsson and several lucrative television agreements. It doesn't hurt there's a Harvard degree to go along with his name and resume.

The Pac-10 arrived at Scott after it was revealed they were in pursuit of Sandy Alderson, current CEO of the San Diego Padres. This, after having been rebuffed by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Greg Shaheen, the NCAA's Senior Vice President of basketball and business strategies.