George Kliavkoff was not single-handedly responsible for the collapse of the Pac-12 Conference, but he carries the brunt of the load and will forever bear the burden. The 56-year-old commissioner allowed the Conference of Champions to crumble under his watch.
USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington are off to the Big Ten. Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado are off to the Big 12. Only Oregon State and Washington State remain, and they will play a primarily Mountain West schedule.
Kliavkoff will be tasked with trying to salvage a two-team conference. The outlook is grim.
To make matters worse, he pulled the most cowardly move on Friday night.
As the Huskies gathered to celebrate their win over the Ducks, Kliavkoff joined them— briefly. That in itself was strange, considering that the Pac-12‘s demise took place under his watch. Perhaps it would have been better to allow someone else to handle the postgame duties.
Kliavkoff stood on stage during the initial interviews, quickly passed the trophy to the champions, and got the heck out of there. He was gone faster than you can say his last name.
No speech, no commentary, nothing. It was as lily-livered as it gets.
Kliavkoff got crushed online. Rightfully so.
“George Kliavkoff kept his back turned to the camera like when your mother had a death stare and you tried to scurry back out of the room like she didn’t already see you,” said John Lund.
“They really had George Kliavkoff give the champ. trophy for the conference that disintegrated on his watch what an absolute embarrassment. 108 years of history down the drain. Dude has zero shame,” chimed Brian Mullen.
“George Kliavkoff with a VERY quick trophy handoff. Good to see he still exists,” quipped Pat Forde.
“George Kliavkoff just hiding on stage, handing the trophy and then bailing without ever taking the mic is the perfect summary of his time as commissioner,” said Lundy.
“George Kliavkoff ducked the assembled media for an entire season after presiding over the death of a hundred-year old conference. Still haven’t heard from him! Didn’t talk before this game,” added Alex Kirshner.
“Only The Flash could have scooted off the stage as fast as Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff after handing over the Pac-12 trophy. Wow. Didn’t even face the camera,” noticed Brandon Marcello.
“George Kliavkoff got off that podium faster than Homer Simpson into the hedges,” laughed Josh Furlong.
“Kliavkoff presenting the trophy was the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen. He looked like a puppy that just got in trouble for pooping on the rug,” thought CFB Fight Club.
“George Kliavkoff refusing to take the microphone is so f—— cowardly,” said No Truck Stops.
George Kliavkoff avoided the boos, which was likely his intent. Lame move.