Pac-12, Commissioner George Kliavkoff Part Ways
Feb 16, 2024, 12:48 PM | Updated: 1:05 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – It should come as no surprise that the Pac-12 (soon to be Pac-2) conference and commissioner George Kliavkoff have agreed to part ways according to multiple reports.
The Conference of Champions only has a few months of existence left before USC, UCLA, Washington, and Oregon head to the Big 10, Utah, Arizona, ASU, and Colorado head to the Big 12, and Stanford and Cal join the ACC.
That of course leaves Oregon State and Washington State to carry on the Pac banner and due to failures to keep the conference together under his leadership, it makes sense that Kliavkoff would be out.
BREAKING: @pac12 announces George Kliavkoff will part ways with the conference.
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 16, 2024
Pac-12 Releases Statement On New Leadership
The Pac-12 Conference released an official statement on the matter via email:
The Pac-12 Board of Directors announced today that the Conference and George Kliavkoff have mutually agreed to part ways, effective February 29, 2024. More details about new leadership of the Pac-12 will be announced next week.
How The Pac-12 Ended Up In Their Current Predicament
Everything started going south for the Conference of Champions on June 30, 2022, when USC and UCLA declared they were joining the Big Ten in 2024. At the time, the remaining 10 members of the Pac posted their allegiance for each other and keeping the conference otherwise intact while pursuing new media rights.
That messaging remained unchanged all the way through this past Pac-12 Media Day where conference commissioner George Kliavkoff doubled down on rumors the Pac was about to splinter. Colorado announced they were out the door about a week later. Fast forward nearly one more week and Arizona along with ASU were out the door with Utah following suit after Oregon and Washington let it be known they were heading to the Big 10.
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A Timeline Of Failures For The Pac-12
There are a lot of points along the way that can be attributed to the Pac-12’s failure to survive.
Hiring Larry Scott as the conference commissioner and retaining him for too long is a big fault on the part of the now former Conference of Champions.
Being innovative (Pac-12 Network) but not understanding the undertaking or distributing the product properly was another failure. Add in having opportunities to remedy the situation and not checking off the list.
The Pac-12 also miserably failed at keeping pulse of where their teams were at, not only with the SoCal schools, but with Colorado, Oregon, and Washington as well.
Arizona could be considered one more failure as it was alleged they were out the door before things lightened up the morning of a meeting between the remaining Pac-12 members that ultimately resulted in the conference’s disbandment.
Utah and ASU held out the longest and were some of the remaining Pac’s staunchest supporters, but a lack of a T.V. deal and trust ultimately tipped the tide in the Big 12’s favor.
