When we heard this week that the Pac-12 Conference was parting ways with Commissioner George Kliavkoff, our reaction was, “There’s still a Pac-12 Conference?”
Apparently, there is, although the members next season will be Washington State and Oregon State.
The conference and Kliavkoff have announced (Pac-12, commissioner George Kliavkoff agree to part ways) that they’ll end their relationship – and let me say, wow, has it been a great one – and that his last day will be soon. Very soon. In fact, it’ll be Feb. 29.
Kliavkoff is a former MGM Resorts International executive, taking the position in 2021, replacing Larry Scott.
Under Kliavkoff’s leadership, both Southern Cal and UCLA both defected to the Big 10; the media rights contract deal never materialized; Oregon and Washington also left for the Big 10; Colorado, Arizona, and Arizona State are all headed to the Big 12 (wow, that’ll look weird); and Cal and Stanford are joining – insert head shake here – the ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE.
Let’s be frank: it was actually Colorado that said, ‘hey, y’all turn out the lights, we’re out,’ after Kliavkoff made a presentation in summer, 2023 that was a subscription-based streaming service deal for the conference associated with Apple that was to expire after the 2023-24 school year. Colorado announced its plans to join the Big 12 shortly after.
So here’s the answer to that conference question: yes, Washington State and Oregon State will stay together and in football, operate as a two-team conference, with an agreement with the Mountain West for the next two seasons (doesn’t that make them a de facto member of the Mountain West?).
