The Pac-12 is under siege as its highest-profile teams either leave the league or are the focus of speculation that they might do the same. That clearly has not impacted the league commissioner’s willingness to fight for whatever he has left.
George Kliavkoff spoke to the media Friday on the first day of the conference’s media days, and he came out firing. Kliavkoff delivered a sharp barb at Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark, who had declared that his league was “open for business” when it came to expansion.
The Pac-12 commissioner turned the remark around and essentially threatened to nab some of the Big 12’s schools.
Kliavkoff takes a direct shot at the Big 12 and Brett Yorkmark's "open for business" comment. Kliavkoff says of the Big 12: "We haven’t decided if we’re going shopping there yet or not."
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) July 29, 2022
This is just the beginning of the public strife that is likely to come from conference realignment. The Pac-12 is scrambling with UCLA and USC leaving for the Big Ten, and rumors are that other schools may follow them to the exit. All Klaivkoff can really do is present a confident front as he tries to figure out what he can salvage.
The good news for the Pac-12 commissioner is he still seems to have at least one athletic director on his side.
