2018 Pac-12 Football Media Day Preview: How To Watch & Stream

The month of July has been quieter than usual for UCLA Football.

That’s mostly due to the fact that only one Bruin has been named to the watch list of any of the National College Football Award Association awards and that was Caleb Wilson who was named to the Mackey Award watch list.

It’s almost as if the new coaching staff has deliberately avoided submitting the names of anyone for the watch lists. It would be an interesting way to send a message that the team needs to come before individual accolades. It also could be because Chip Kelly and staff don’t feel comfortable submitting the names of anyone based on last year’s performances, especially considering that Chip says that he watched no film from last season.

Whatever the reason for the absence of Bruins from the award watch lists to this point, it has made for a slower than usual July.

That changes tomorrow when the Pac-12 Conference hosts its annual Pac-12 Football Media Day at Hollywood and Highland in Hollywood.

There is a big change this year.

In past years, this was a two-day event which would focus on half the conference one day and the other half the second day. Not so this year as the conference has cut the showcase down to just one day, all at a time when other conferences are actually expanding their events. For instance, the SEC Football Media Days is now a four-day event.

One other change the conference is making has to do with what media outlets are invited to the event. The conference is only allowing fan sites which are credentialed by a member school to attend. The result is that, while other SB Nation sites will be on hand, Bruins Nation will not be there because the UCLA Athletic Department doesn’t credential BN at this time. That also means some other UCLA sites won’t be there either.

But, it’s not all bad news.

There is actually quite a bit of good news with respect to coverage of the annual event. There will be more live coverage than just what you see on the Pac-12 Networks cable channels.

Of course, the Pac-12 Networks will feature their usual live coverage starting with coverage of the Pac-12 North schools from 8:30 am PT until 11:30 am PT. Then, after a short break, coverage will resume at 1 pm PT and go until 4 pm PT with coverage of the Pac-12 South schools including UCLA. Pac-12 Networks will begin the 1 pm coverage with an interview with Chip Kelly while Bruins Theo Howard and Josh Woods will be interviewed at approximately 1:15 pm PT.

But, that’s not all!

There will also be a live stream of Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott’s opening remarks streamed live at 8 am PT to the Pac-12’s Facebook page as well as the @Pac12Network and @Pac12 Twitter accounts, the Pac-12 Networks’ YouTube channel, Pac-12.com and the Pac-12 Now app.

For the first time, all 12 head football coach availabilities at the main stage will be streamed live to the Pac-12’s Facebook page, Pac-12.com and the Pac-12 Now app.

Once each of these live streams has completed, each will be uploaded and available on-demand at Pac-12.com, the Pac-12 Now app and Pac-12 Networks’ YouTube channel.

Additional and extensive coverage across all Pac-12 Networks digital and social media channels, including Pac-12.com, the @Pac12Network and @Pac12 Twitter accounts, the Pac-12’s Facebook page, @Pac12Conference Instagram account, the @pac12conference Snapchat account and Pac-12 Networks’ YouTube channel.

The schedule for this year looks like this:

Notes & Predictions:

A Chip Off Which Block?: Will new UCLA Bruins Head Coach Chip Kelly will be as vague about UCLA as he was during Spring Practice or will the Chip Kelly who was at his introductory press conference show up again? Personally, I think we will get a little bit of both.

Same Side of the Ball: Arizona State and Southern Cal are breaking with tradition by bringing two players from the same side of the ball, instead of one offensive player and one defensive player. ASU will have two offensive players while Southern Cal is bringing two defenders.

The Commish: It should be interesting to see what Larry Scott has to say. The commissioner has come under fire over the past year as it looks like the Pac-12 is falling behind in terms of how much cash each school gets from the conference’s media contracts. Will he finally announce a DirecTV deal? Doubtful.

Must-See Stream: Skip David Shaw on Pac-12 Networks and tune in online to watch Washington State Coach Mike Leach. It will easily be the most enjoyable interview of the day.

The Player To Be Named Later: In case you missed the news earlier today, former UCLA head coach Jim Mora has signed with ESPN and will serve as a studio analyst on ESPN2. Essentially, Mora is taking the job that opened up when Chip Kelly was hired to replace Mora at UCLA. Terms of Mora’s contract have not been disclosed, but whatever he is paid will offset some of his buyout from UCLA.

Get excited! Football season is about to begin!


Go Bruins!!!