Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff says losing members to Big 12 is 'not a concern'

Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff brushed aside the potential threat of conference members being poached away by other leagues, even with the lack of a new media rights deal adding a lingering layer of uncertainty to the conference’s future.

Last year, Pac-12 members USC and UCLA accepted invitations to the Big Ten in a shocking move that put the conference on shaky ground. Since then, Big 12 leadership — particularly commissioner Brett Yormark — has not been shy about its desire to potentially add new members. Several Pac-12 schools have been widely reported as candidates, but Kliavkoff said Friday at Pac-12 media day in Las Vegas that losing members to the Big 12 is “not a concern.”

“Our schools are committed to each other and to the Pac-12,” Kliavkoff said. “We'll get our media rights deal done, we'll announce the deal. I think the realignment that's going on in college athletics will come to an end for this cycle.”

Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah have been the four Pac-12 schools most commonly linked to the Big 12. Colorado, in particular, has had contact with the Big 12. In Utah’s case, athletic director Mark Harlan was firm in the Utes’ commitment to the Pac-12 on Friday.

“We are a proud member of this conference and look forward to its future success,” Harlan said while on stage with Kliavkoff in Las Vegas.

There’s been an uneasiness surrounding the Pac-12 in the past year, so much so that Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger asked Kliavkoff about the ongoing narrative that the league could collapse. Kliavkoff hinted that the origin of that narrative could be emanating from the Big 12.

“I see the commitment all of our schools have to each other. I also kind of know where the sources of that is coming from,” Kliavkoff said. “I discount that because I know the truth.”

While Yormark has been very vocal, Kliavkoff said the Pac-12 has opted to “take the high road” rather than engaging in back-and-forths through the media.

“We decided to focus on the future of the conference. That’s why we haven’t engaged,” Kliavkoff said.

Pac-12 won't explore expansion of its own until media rights deal is reached

The top priority remains finalizing a new media rights deal, a process that has experienced repeated delays. The league’s current TV deal with ESPN and Fox expires next July.

Once a media rights deal is reached, the remaining 10 Pac-12 presidents and chancellors have to sign a grant of rights to keep the league intact. Of course, schools signing on would depend on their satisfaction with the new deal, though Kliavkoff said Friday the grant of rights has “already been negotiated.” But if the deal is not comparable (in terms of financial value and visibility) to other Power Five conferences, namely the Big 12, defections are certainly possible.

Kliavkoff said the longer the conference has waited to strike a media rights deal, the “better our options get.”

“There's an underlying shift in the media market that's happening. We're long-term taking advantage of that. Short-term it may have provided some hiccups,” Kliavkoff said.

The Pac-12 has had expansion discussions of its own. Kliavkoff said the conference office completed its due diligence on possible candidates “many months ago,” with the focus narrowed down to a select number of schools. But expansion cannot move forward until the media rights deal is in place.

San Diego State seems to have learned that the hard way.

Last month, SDSU sent the Mountain West a letter announcing its intention to withdraw from the league. The Pac-12 has long been the anticipated destination for San Diego State, but that apparent arrangement could not come to fruition before the Pac-12 finalized its media rights deal, and now SDSU will remain with the Mountain West.

Kliavkoff was specifically asked about the league’s reported engagements with SDSU and if the Pac-12 communicated an imminent invitation to the Aztecs. He would not get into any specifics.

“I'm not going to disclose my conversations with any potential expansion candidates,” Kliavkoff said. “I will tell you, generally speaking, we've never given anyone an indication that anything would be different than the sequence I just mentioned, which is get our media rights deal done, grant of rights signed, and then we'll consider expansion.”