By GREG BEACHAM, AP Sports Reporter
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff says his conference is far from over, despite defections from Southern California and UCLA.
Kliavkoff confirmed the Pac-12 was actively exploring expansion and delivered several fiery jabs at the Big 12 during a turbulent keynote at his conference’s football media day on Friday — likely his last on the second largest media market in the country.
While painting a promising picture of the league’s future even after USC and UCLA leave for the Big Ten in 2024, Kliavkoff said the Pac-12 intends to keep its current members. while welcoming new additions.
The commissioner also acknowledged his frustration with the upheaval created by the defections, saying he had spent the last month “trying to defend himself against the grenades thrown from all corners of the Big 12 trying to destabilize our remaining conference.”
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Kliavkoff responded to Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark’s recent statement that his league was “open for business” in expansion by suggesting those moves could include Big 12 schools, instead of the reverse.
“As far as the Big 12 being open for business, I appreciate that,” Kliavkoff said. “We haven’t decided whether we’ll shop there or not.”
“I understand why they do it, when you look at the relative media value between the two conferences,” Kliavkoff added later. “I get it. I get why they’re scared, why they’re trying to destabilize him. I was just fed up. That’s probably not the most collegial thing I’ve ever said.
The Pac-12 has lost its Los Angeles flagships after nearly a century of history, and Kliavkoff acknowledged widespread speculation about the long-term health of his relatively underfunded West Coast conference. The commissioner insisted that the Pac-12 will have a stronger footing after its new media rights deal, and that footing could lead to expansion.
Kliavkoff naturally did not identify specific schools as candidates for expansion, although San Diego State was repeatedly mentioned by others. He reiterated the league’s determination to maintain a football presence in the talent-rich and heavily populated California tip.
“Southern California is really important to us,” Kliavkoff said. “I think there are different ways to approach staying in Southern California. We could end up playing a lot of football games in Los Angeles.
Kliavkoff speculated that the remaining Pac-12 schools are likely to get a significant boost in Southern California’s fertile recruitment in all sports except football, given that many Olympic sports athletes do not won’t want to regularly fly to the Midwest and East Coast for competition.
He reiterated that the Pac-12 expects to keep its remaining members despite widespread speculation about the Big 12 and Big Ten looking to expand. Oregon and Washington were linked with a future move to the Big Ten immediately after USC and UCLA announced their departures, while the Big 12 has been linked with numerous Pac-12 schools.
Kliavkoff is confident after holding “two board meetings a week for the past four weeks” with his members.
“Looking my colleagues in the eye, understanding their commitment, that their first priority is to make sure the Pac-12 survives, thrives, grows and succeeds,” Kliavkoff said. “They are attached to the conference.”
It also opened the door to a highly unlikely comeback for UCLA: The public school was torn apart by California Governor Gavin Newsom over the move, and the UC Board of Trustees ordered a review of the decision at a hearing scheduled for October 11. 17.
“I would say UCLA is in a really tough position,” Kliavkoff said. “There are a lot of voters tied to UCLA who are very, very, very unhappy with the decision. Student-athletes, families of student-athletes. Faculty, staff. Politicians, fans, alumni … I can’t give you a percentage chance. I think it’s unlikely. But if they came back, we would welcome them.
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