George Kliavkoff out as Pac-12 commissioner
George Kliavkoff is out as the commissioner of the Pac-12 conference, the league announced Friday. The announcement characterized the departure as a mutual agreement. Kliavkoff's last day will be Feb. 29.
The news, while significant, was also a long time coming. Kliavkoff had been serving as a sort of lame-duck commissioner ever since early August 2023, when the Pac-12 conference lost most of its membership. Ten of the 12 current Pac-12 members will be in new leagues by next fall, with only Washington State and Oregon State remaining behind.
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Oregon State and Washington State had taken legal action against the 10 departing schools over control of the conference, with Kliavkoff, the Pac-12 and, eventually, the University of Washington as defendants. The Washington Supreme Court in December declined to hear an appeal from the University of Washington on a lower court ruling that granted control of the conference to Oregon State and Washington State. Both sides also reached a settlement in principle, and they continue to work out the details.
The two schools now make up the Pac-12 Board, and the Board was finally able to move on from Kliavkoff this week, turning the page to the future.
Pac-12 deputy commissioner Teresa Gould is likely to be promoted to the role, a league source told The Athletic. The source added that the two schools have been working to determine what is needed from the conference office for a two-school conference.
Kliavkoff was initially announced as Pac-12 commissioner in May 2021, replacing the outgoing Larry Scott, and Kliavkoff was hailed as an outsider coming in to shake up and modernize the conference. He was tasked with handling the league's next round of media rights negotiations, asked to make up for distribution and financial deficiencies caused by Scott's approach to the Pac-12 Networks.
The collegiate environment changed quickly in Kliavkoff's short tenure. A massive round of conference realignment began that July as Texas and Oklahoma announced their plans to leave the Big 12 for the SEC. The Pac-12 joined the Big Ten and ACC in the ill-fated "Alliance" meant to slow down realignment change. Instead, just a year later, USC and UCLA announced their plans to leave for the Big Ten. Kliavkoff said he was blindsided by the departures.
Kliavkoff's hopes of keeping the rest of the conference together rested on finding a new and lucrative television deal. But conference presidents badly misread the environment. They aimed too high and then saw the Big 12 jump ahead of the Pac-12 in line by signing its own extension with ESPN and Fox. Kliavkoff tried to salvage and sell an Apple TV+ deal to the conference, but it wasn't enough as schools left for the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC.
In recent months, Kliavkoff continued to represent the Pac-12 in meetings, including College Football Playoff management committee gatherings. He also celebrated Washington's run to the national championship game, which ended up rather bittersweet in the Pac-12's final season as we know it.
Required reading
- Oregon State, Washington State regain control of Pac-12 in court decision
- Pac-12 begins formal process to move on from commissioner George Kliavkoff
- Mandel: Pac-12's demise is story of 12 years of hubris, apathy, astounding mismanagement
(Photo: Jevone Moore / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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