Commissioner Larry Scott mentioned in June, while addressing the possibility of a 16-team league, that he planned to market the conference to Asia.

There was talk of broadcasting Pac-10 games in Asia and even sending basketball players to play in exhibitions.

In an SI.com story that coincided with Tuesday's launch of the new Pac-10 brand, Scott said he spoke last week with his contacts in Beijing about the possibility of showing conference sporting events on Chinese television.

"I don't think it's far-fetched to think that five years from now, you'll see Pac-10 teams competing in Asia, hosting teams over here, and the brand of the Pac-10 starting to built over there and exposed on TV," Scott said. "That's going to provide some great opportunity for student-athletes." He also hopes it might pave the way for more academic collaboration between Pac-10 schools and Asian universities.

A "logical byproduct," Scott said, is the potential to eventually recruit athletes from Asia. Yao Ming turned an entire nation into NBA fans. Imagine the economic impact if a Chinese basketball player starred at Stanford or Cal or Arizona. Scott has.

Economics, of course, is what really is driving the changing face of the Pac-10. The conference currently has a below-market television deal, and well, the schools and their athletic programs need money.

According to the Contra Costa Times, Cal in fact could see some of its sports programs cut after the athletic program was criticized for its spending habits and chronic deficit.

So if Asia is the way to go for additional revenue and a path toward self-sustainability, well then it's about time for those in the conference to start learning Mandarin or Japanese.