Report: USC, UCLA not part of recent meeting between Pac-12 athletic directors

At Pac-12 Media Days, the big question is what’s next. The league is gearing up to lose USC and UCLA starting in 2024, meaning it has to evaluate what it can do to offset those departures.

Those two schools won’t be part of those conversations, though.

Pac-12 athletic directors met with commissioner George Kliavkoff in Los Angeles ahead of Pac-12 Media Day — without USC and UCLA, according to Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger. Stanford athletic director Bernard Muir confirmed that and commented on why that decision was made.

“When we are talking about the future, they don’t need to be involved,” Muir said, via Dellenger.

USC and UCLA are planning to leave for the Big Ten by 2024, the same year the Pac-12’s media deal is set to expire. That means the Pac-12 could expand to help alleviate the losses.

“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.”

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

Kliavkoff took a different tone from other conference commissioners about expansion. While Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said his league is open for business, Kliavkoff had a different sentiment — and took a shot at the Big 12 in the process.

“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.”

“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 added. “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.”