After weeks of trying to defend the Pac-12 from Midwestern and Japanese assaults, Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff went on the offensive as he opened the convention’s media day occasion on the Novo on Friday.
Kliavkoff outlined the Pac-12 contingency plan after UCLA and USC’s defection, defined why he feels “bullish” on the way forward for the diminished convention and the place he hopes school sports activities will head subsequent.
Listed below are the highest takeaways from Kliavkoff’s Pac-12 media day.
No love misplaced
Whereas Kliavkoff mentioned he hoped for the return of collegiality in school sports activities, the commissioner nonetheless fired just a few pictures at UCLA and USC for bolting. Intimating that the choice was pushed by cash, Kliavkoff’s greatest probability for self-preservation was to steer the narrative again towards athlete well-being.
“Elevated income will help us help our student-athletes however a singular give attention to cash will definitely trigger extra hurt than good,” Kliavkoff mentioned in his ready opening assertion. “Our long-term measure for the success of school athletics can't be how a lot cash we consolidate into 10 or 5 or two conferences, however relatively ought to be our means to help the biggest variety of student-athletes whereas nonetheless facilitating competitors between faculties and conferences. We ought to be measuring what number of lives we will change.”
Kliavkoff additionally talked about the impact of journey on athletes, a jab on the prolonged highway journeys that await UCLA and USC after they be part of the Large Ten.
He mentioned he personally instructed everybody to play good for the subsequent two years till UCLA and USC be part of the Large Ten in 2024, however when requested whether or not reconciliation is feasible, Kliavkoff didn’t seem hopeful.
“I feel it’s unlikely,” he mentioned after noting UCLA is in a “troublesome” state of affairs as regents will meet later this yr to assessment the choice. “But when they got here again, we'll welcome them again.”
Going procuring?
Kliavkoff mentioned one of many prime three priorities for the Pac-12 now could be “actively exploring growth,” evaluating potential suitors primarily based on media worth, athletic energy, tutorial and cultural match and geography from a recruiting and “student-athlete expertise standpoint.” Did you catch the veiled shot at UCLA and USC?
He didn’t hassle to carry again when speaking concerning the Large 12, which commissioner Brett Yormark mentioned this week is “open for enterprise.”
“I recognize that,” Kliavkoff mentioned. “We haven’t determined if we’re going procuring there but or not.”
The remark drew snickers and raised eyebrows from the room of reporters. The commissioner later acknowledged the comment wasn’t his most collegial second, particularly after preaching belief and teamwork to make sure the way forward for the Pac-12.
“That comment was a mirrored image of the actual fact I’ve been spending 4 weeks attempting to defend towards grenades which have been lobbed in from each nook of the Large 12 attempting to destabilize our remaining convention,” he mentioned. “I perceive why they’re doing it, while you take a look at the relative media worth between the 2 conferences. I get it, I get why they’re scared, why they’re attempting to destabilize it. I used to be simply uninterested in that.”
Plan B
Kliavkoff mentioned he’s “bullish” on the way forward for the Pac-12’s long-term progress, stability and success and has been instructed by board members to give attention to enhancing the worth of the convention’s media rights and initiating the media rights negotiations along with exploring growth.
Enhancing the media rights contains creating made-for-TV occasions just like the convention baseball and softball tournaments, elevating nonconference competitors and including income streams. Kliavkoff added that the Pac-12 is the primary Energy 5 convention to promote rights to its information.
“Even with the lack of our two L.A. faculties, after the present cycle of media rights offers, we might be very nicely positioned among the many Energy 5 from a income per faculty standpoint,” Kliavkoff mentioned.
Though the Pac-12 will lose UCLA and USC, it doesn’t essentially imply the convention is finished with Southern California.
“Southern California is actually necessary to us,” he mentioned. “I feel there are alternative ways of approaching staying a part of Southern California. We might find yourself taking part in numerous soccer video games in L.A.”
Kliavkoff shot down the suggestion that the remaining Pac-12 faculties would merge with the Mountain West, highlighted by remaining Southern California choice San Diego State. Stanford athletic director Bernard Muir mentioned the Pac-12 has not had “any formal overture from one other convention.”
Recruiting pie
The closet Kliavkoff acquired to speaking about soccer on the soccer media day was answering a query on recruiting, saying his impression that the affect might be “impartial” for UCLA and USC as some West Coast recruits might not wish to play all their highway video games two and three time zones away whereas others might wish to play within the Large Ten.
Kliavkoff ruffled feathers final yr when, throughout his first days on the job, he acknowledged the significance of soccer and males’s basketball whereas showing to downplay the importance of Olympic sports activities success. But with the convention on the defensive, he sang praises for the opposite sports activities that make up the “Convention of Champions” and highlighted what may very well be a recruiting boon.
“We predict the ten remaining faculties are going to considerably profit in recruiting from UCLA and USC’s choice in each sport apart from soccer,” Kliavkoff mentioned.
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