This year, officials at the Pac-10 decided to move towards a more aggressive media outreach plan and it appears to have paid off.

It started with a new brand for the conference in the shape of a redesigned, sleeker, logo that encompasses a wave inside a mountain.

Ted Miller, Pac-10 blogger for ESPN, writes:

As I am typing this, Stewart Mandel and Andy Staples are to my left doing video for SI.com, giving their summary of the Pac-10 press conference from the W Hotel in Manhattan.

They are talking about the wide-open Pac-10 race, how the conference isn't afraid to schedule tough nonconference games, how the Pac-10 -- top-to-bottom -- might be as good as any conference in the country and how the conference seems certain to produce a leading Heisman Trophy contender.

The reason I note what these two national, non-ESPN.com writers are doing is this: Both are based on the East Coast. And both would not be doing this video together (and in coats and ties!) if the Pac-10 were again holding media day on a single afternoon inside a business-traveler hotel by LAX.

It is no accident that the conference's rebranding effort begins just a few short months before negotiating a new television contract.

The rebranding of the Pac-10 comes months before Scott and his team will sit down with television executives to hammer out the conference's new media deals. There, Scott hopes to correct an imbalance that left the Pac-10 last among the six BCS automatic-qualifying conferences in revenue. In fiscal 2009, the Pac-10 made $96.8 million. The same year, the Big Ten made $220 million. This year, the SEC distributed $209 million to its 12 member schools.

The trip out east opened the door to more national coverage but also provided four of the conference's elite quarterbacks, including Arizona's Nick Foles, an opportunity to travel to Bristol, Connecticut and visit ESPN's headquarters.

Nick Foles will join three other Pac-10 quarterbacks at ESPN's headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut today as part of the conference's media push to garner more national attention.

The ESPN cycle, referred to as "the car wash," is part of a Pac-10 media push designed to get the conference more national attention. The four quarterbacks will do interviews on "SportsCenter," "First Take" and "College Football Live" and make appearances on the ESPNews and ESPNU channels. They'll meet with writers from ESPN Rise, a prep sports magazine, and take part in a podcast. [...]

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Check out this must-read story from the Arizona Daily Star about Rob Hankins, four star linebacker commit from Dallas.

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This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011

Tailgating Traditions.  What else can you say?  The Mall.  No question about it, this is Arizona's main thing.  The Mall on gameday is a place like nowhere in the country.  Hundreds, if not thousands during some games, flood to The Mall to set up their tents and settle in for an entire day of sun, co-eds, good food, plenty of beer and lots of football watching. 

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Senior wide receiver Delashaun Dean has been suspended indefinitely from the football team due to a violation of team rules, the Arizona Daily Star reports. 

Dean was charged over the past weekend with one count of misconduct with weapons. Dean was widely expected to be a large part of the Wildcats offense this season, which will be expected to carry the team with the significant losses on the defensive side of the ball. 

Coach Mike Stoops has confirmed the suspension.

Dean is presumed to be innocent, until proven guilty, but what the stupid Dela?!?!?  Let us all hope for a quieter off-season from here on out.

We may have our first look at Arizona's new football jerseys, Ryan Finley of the Arizona Daily Star reports.  The leak came from EA Sports' NCAA Football 11. 

If the screenshots are to be believed as the new uniform, it looks like the classic white helmet is back. Three cheers from me for that decision.  Although, I am not digging the mono-chromatic setup of the red, white, and bue tops/bottoms. Here's to hoping that the Cats mix up the colors a little bit, and show off the classic blue top/white pants combination.

Also, the pixelated pants stripe? 

What do you all think?  What would you have liked to see the Cats do differently?  Do you even believe these will be the real jerseys?  They have not been officially unveiled by the school, so we may end up seeing something completely different.  Although, it has been rumored that Arizona was going back to a more old-school look, and the white helmet certainly fits that.

Direct link to the EA Sports screenshot.

Nebraska Logo3

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Well, well, well.  There has been so much news on the expansion lately that I will let some others fill you in.  All signs point to Nebraska going to the Big Ten in a much anticipated "deadline" that supposed Texas Longhorns and the rest of the Bix XII put on the Cornhuskers and Missouri. 

The departure of Nebraska to the Big Ten will decimate the Big XII and leave the other 11 schools looking for a move.  There is LOTS of talk about the Pac-10 expanding with Colorado, Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.  This would leave Baylor, Iowa State and Kansas State out in the cold.  What does this mean for the Pac-10, or should I say Pac-16?

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(Foles will lead the Cats this year and national audiences will be watching!)

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