You’ll never guess where George Kliavkoff was during Oregon State-Washington State Pac-12 legal hearing
First things first: If a legal proceeding is occurring over Zoom, it doesn’t make a big difference where the various parties are located. What matters is that the participants attend the hearing, state their case, and abide by the instructions of the court.
With that having been said, the Pac-12 Conference — which has been dismantled piece by piece due to a series of terrible decisions made by people who have been largely out of touch with reality — does not need yet another instance of bad optics. You would think the conference, in the middle of this miserable and unwanted situation (of its own making), might finally realize the value of good optics and creating the right appearance, especially as it gets taken to court by Washington State and Oregon State.
We noted that Wazzu and OSU are taking the Pac-12 to court, intent on controlling league assets due to the 10 other schools leaving the conference. WSU and OSU feel that they should be allowed to make the decisions governing what is left of the conference, with the other 10 schools having no say since they’re already out the door.
In the pursuit of their shared goal, Washington State and Oregon State were part of a legal hearing on Monday. They were seeking a restraining order blocking the Pac-12 and commissioner George Kliavkoff from convening a board meeting later this week.
The judge at the hearing divulged a piece of information which — while not damning — is certainly not a good look for the Pac-12. The conference is winning a lot of football games, but it is losing a lot of battles with optics.
Here’s the big revelation about George Kliavkoff, followed by more details plus reactions from fans and commentators:
THE BIG REVEAL
The judge has informed us that George Kliavkoff is currently in Montana. He's got a house there.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) September 11, 2023
THE MATTER AT HAND
Watching Oregon State and Washington State argue for a temporary restraining order to not allow the Pac-12 to have a Board Meeting on Wednesday & we have just learned that the outgoing schools wanted to use Pac-12 money to cover part of their transition costs.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) September 11, 2023
YOU CANNOT MAKE THIS STUFF UP
A Zoom account named Cougs17 just interrupted the meeting for a second before being asked to mute itself.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) September 11, 2023
THIS IS A BIGGER MESS THAN JUST WASHINGTON STATE AND OREGON STATE (WHICH IS BIG IN ITS OWN RIGHT)
The Pac-12 is asking for interim protections that allow the conference to "keep its lights on and its critical employees in place" and an agreement among the parties about how money is spent for daily/monthly needs.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) September 11, 2023
CONTEXT
The #Pac12 is rolling on the field. Meanwhile, it has 1,000 games to produce over 9 months, $400m+ at stake, employees looking for work and a retention-and-severance plan that's on hold b/c board chaos:https://t.co/KbXoe2u7AQ
— Jon Wilner (@wilnerhotline) September 9, 2023
9-MONTH WINDOW
Pac-12 attorney making the case to allow Sept. 13 meeting in order to approve a retention plan to make sure conference stays staffed for the next 9 months
— Jon Wilner (@wilnerhotline) September 11, 2023
THE JOKES WRITE THEMSELVES
He was in Montana on 6/30/22, as well https://t.co/1cZiF0mTrU
— Jon Wilner (@wilnerhotline) September 11, 2023
MONTANA? FANS WERE READY WITH REPLIES
at least Kliavkoff is preparing for his move to FCS already
— DucksFC (@DucksFC11) September 11, 2023
BIG SKY JOKES FLY
Montana, thats Big Sky country. Kliavkoff to run the Big Sky Conference!?
— Will Novak (@WillNovak13) September 11, 2023
PANDORA'S BOX
We’re promoting the big sky into the new pac 12. Wazzu, OSU, Boise, Montana, Montana St, Weber St, Eastern Washington, Idaho, sac state plus Fresno state, San Diego state and ideally stealing North Dakota state, South Dakota state and UND from the MVC. Gonna be siiiiick
— Dodger Dave (@DA_big_G1) September 11, 2023
TRULY A CIRCUS
— Tommy Byrd (@32tbyrd) September 11, 2023
PILING ON
I've seen the show… John Dutton will kick him out. No rich Californians wanted in Montana. 😃
— NBAJazzChat… 🗨 🎶🏀 (@NBAJazzChat1) September 11, 2023
ZOOM MEETING MADNESS
There is no truth to the alleged reporting that Cougs17 is joining the ACC.
— Alex Parker (@ParkerSports) September 11, 2023
SIMPLE SUMMARY
— Shane Smith (@ShaneSm32300163) September 11, 2023
THE 10 DEPARTING SCHOOLS
https://t.co/QFsdhFp6wi pic.twitter.com/KNfIVhveCr
— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) September 11, 2023
WHAT A DEAL IF YOU CAN GET IT
That's like leaving a job for a new one and expecting the job you're leaving to cover your moving expenses.
I like it. https://t.co/eUPlvaeOJD
— Geoff Grammer (@GeoffGrammer) September 11, 2023
CAL JUST NEEDS TO ASK UCLA FOR MORE MONEY
It’s not in cals best interest to say this but I don’t agree w using pac12 money to cover the costs of teams to help them leave the pac12. It’s complicated for cal
I get that https://t.co/SliExU3U8b— TwistNHook (@TwistNHook) September 11, 2023
MUNCH, MUNCH
Are you Coogs and beavs eating those nachos just checking https://t.co/cprMRrfH4p
— Lorenzo Cortes is 45 ! ✈️ (@Hoyatexas) September 11, 2023
COLLEGE SPORTS!
incredible https://t.co/bfU8HpxaPI
— Lindsay Schnell (@Lindsay_Schnell) September 11, 2023
THE OUTCOME OF THE HEARING: JUDGE RULES IN FAVOR OF WASHINGTON STATE AND OREGON STATE
Judge Gary Libey GRANTS Oregon State and Wazzu's motion for temporary restraining order against George K and the Pac-12 holding a full-conference meeting Wednesday.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) September 11, 2023
REACTION TO THE JUDGE'S RULING
Seems like the first off-field win for OSU & Wazzu in the last couple months https://t.co/G75WsGYxKd
— Lindsay Schnell (@Lindsay_Schnell) September 11, 2023
NO CHEERING IN THE PRESS BOX, BUT YES IN THE COURTROOM!
When the hearing ended, a handful of Go Beavs! and Go Cougs! were tossed about by folks listening in by zoom.
— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoAP) September 11, 2023
AN EXPERT WEIGHS IN
OK, here's the deal (imo):
Keeping the conference up and running is a legitimate concern, but the 10 departing schools have *zero* case for board seats based on precedent since June 30, 2022.
There should be a way to execute the former while adhering to the latter.
— Jon Wilner (@wilnerhotline) September 11, 2023
A FEW MORE DETAILS
Judge Gary Libey orders the parties to "transact business in the normal course." And adds that he's going to "put the brakes" on any further Pac-12 board meetings.
Members can vote "unanimously" in writing to approve an employee retention plan or any subject or action.
— John Canzano (@johncanzanobft) September 11, 2023
STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT DRAMA
Suddenly the urgency to vote on employee retention no longer exists and they won't bother moving forward with that
— BeavRecruiting (@BeavRecruiting) September 11, 2023