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Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff comments on B1G expansion, effects on Pac-12
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The Pac-12 started its Media Day on Friday. Commissioner George Kliavkoff spoke about the recent departure of USC and UCLA to the B1G, and how it effects the conference.
The Pac-12 will be losing 2 of its longest tenured programs in 2024. USC joined in 1922 and UCLA joined in 1928 back when it was called the Pacific Coast Conference. Kliavkoff demonstrated how much it will mean to lose the Trojans and Bruins according to Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports.
“As a conference, we are very disappointed by the decisions of USC and UCLA the leave the Pac-12 after a century of tradition and rivalries.” said Kliavkoff.
Pac-12 Commish George Kliavkoff: “As a conference, we are very disappointed by the decisions of USC and UCLA to leave the Pac-12 after a century of tradition and rivalries.”
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) July 29, 2022
Another thing that is on the horizon for the Pac-12 is its media rights deal expiring in 2024, which is why USC and UCLA are leaving that year. The conference will be losing 2 of its cornerstones and could lose money when the deal is renegotiated. However, Kliavkoff insisted that they still have a lot of interest per Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated and Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.
“We are in the enviable position of being next to market after the Big Ten,” said Kliavkoff. “We have significant interest from partners.”
This echoes what George said in May. He was rooting for the B1G to do a major media deal. He believes live rights are severely undervalued. Problem is, B1G’s deal will include USC and UCLA.
George’s ability to still maximize rights for Pac-12 will be tested. https://t.co/VUxzWK3iSk
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) July 29, 2022
It’ll be interesting to see how the Pac-12 moves forward with all of this.
Grant Bricker covers the B1G for Saturday Tradition. His previous stops include the Williamson Homepage and Nashville Post.