Pac-12 moves to 'separate' from league commissioner George Kliavkoff, per report
Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff will soon find himself out of a job. On Tuesday, The Mercury News’ Jon Wilner reported that the league has formally begun the process of separating from Kliavkoff.
“The Pac-12 Conference Board has given the departing 10 schools notice of a proposed leadership transition with an invitation to provide comment,” the conference office said in a statement provided to Wilner. “We expect to provide more information following a decision in the coming days.”
Kliavkoff took over the Pac-12 in 2021, stepping in to replace Larry Scott at a time of serious unrest within the league. He signed a five-year deal and walked into a tinder box.
The president of entertainment and sports at MGM Resorts International before his foray into college athletics, Kliavkoff was tasked with negotiating a new media rights deal for the conference that would keep the league competitive with its peers while also keeping everyone together.
One day before his one-year anniversary on the job, USC and UCLA announced they were leaving the league to join the Big Ten, a move that made Kliavkoff’s primary objective immeasurably harder.
The Trojans and Bruins wagered that their financial futures were more secure in the Big Ten. That wager proved correct. Shortly after news of their switch was made official, Kliavkoff and the Pac-12 began negotiations for their media rights.
That process stretched into the summer months of 2023 and included shifting timetables, plenty of conflicting reports, public statements of unity, and private backchanneling between the remaining Pac-12 schools and other leagues.
In August of 2023, with Kliavkoff unable to secure a viable deal, Oregon and Washington announced they would be following USC and UCLA to the Big Ten. Subsequently, the two Arizona schools and Utah revealed plans to join Colorado in the Big 12. Stanford and Cal later found themselves a lifeline in the ACC.
Washington State and Oregon State were left behind to either pick up the pieces and try to form a new league under the Pac-12 flagship or shut the lights off on their way out the door.
The schools sued the conference to gain control over the board. That lawsuit ultimately ended in a settlement, with the 10 departing universities agreeing to give up parts of their distributions for the rest of the school year while the conference retained its assets and future revenues.
WSU and OSU have agreed to a two-year scheduling alliance with the Mountain West. Under NCAA guidelines, a conference that dips below seven active Division I members has a two-year grace period to rebuild its membership. The Beavers and Cougars are looking to do exactly that with the Pac-12’s branding.