Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff takes shot at Big 12 being 'open for business'

Conference realignment is one of the titular storylines of the 2022 summer across college athletics. No victim among the power five conferences suffered worse losses in that regard than the Pac-12. They lost their Los Angeles base, with UCLA and USC agreeing to terms to join the Big Ten in the coming years. The premier market for he Pac-12 was just swept from under them, as were two notable academic and athletic institutions.

So, in order to combat those losses, the Pac-12 is going on the offensive. They’re looking to expand as well. Or at least recoup the losses of USC and UCLA in the form of other major programs. When Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff took the stage at Pac-12 Media Days this week, he emphasized that the Pac-12 is fully in the expansion arms race. And the Big 12 could be a conference the Pac-12 looks to add from, according to Kliavkoff.

“With respect to the Big 12 being open for business, I appreciate that,” he said. “We have not decided whether we’re going shopping there or not.”

He later addressed on that comment:

“That remark was a reflection of the fact I’ve been spending four weeks trying to defend against grenades that have been lobbed in from every corner of the Big 12 trying to destabilize our remaining conference,” Kliavkoff continued. “And I understand why they’re doing it. When you look at the relative media value between the two conferences, I get it. I get why they’re scared, I get why they’re trying to destabilize us. But I was just tired of that, and that was probably not the most collegial thing I’ve ever said.”

Pac-12 exploring expansion

He also added that the Pac-12 is, in fact, investigating possible expansion.

“We are actively exploring expansion opportunities,” Kliavkoff said. “As we consider these opportunities, we will look at media value, athletic strength, academic and cultural fit, and geography from a recruiting and student-athlete experience standpoint. As you would expect, we have had significant inbound interest and are in the process of evaluating opportunities.”

Regardless of the results of the realignment, Kliavkoff is certain the Pac-12 conference will remain a valuable asset ahead of their new media rights negotiations. But with the negotiations coming up, adding a few more enticing programs could be a nice boost.

“We still believe that after the current cycle of media rights deals, we will be very well positioned among the Power Five from a revenue-per-school standpoint.”