Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff allowed his conference to crumble around him in a year where the Washington Huskies will play in the College Football Playoff National Championship. The irony is rich.
Oregon, USC, UCLA and Washington are off to the Big Ten. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah are leaving for the Big 12. Cal-Berkeley and Stanford will join the ACC.
Only Washington State and Oregon State remain in the Pac-2. George Kliavkoff, who is somehow still employed, will be tasked with rebuilding the conference from the ground-up in just two years.
That’s a later problem. In the meantime, a college football team that is technically still in his league is on the verge of winning a national title.
He was in attendance at the Sugar Bowl. It was like the guy in the group project who gets an ‘A’ despite not doing any work.
Especially as he stood on the stage during the trophy presentation.
And to make matters worse, Kliavkoff shaved his goatee. Boo!
The biggest reason for the Pac-12’s collapse stemmed from a lack of lucrative television deal. Kliavkoff failed to present a package that would provide equal or greater compensation to other conferences.
It was not entirely his fault. It was mostly his fault.
And yet, his statement immediately following the Sugar Bowl couldn’t have been more petty. Kliavkoff failed to take any responsibility for his failures. There was zero accountability.
Happy for the kids. They don’t deserve all of the nonsense going on around them. We were focused on rebuilding football. Took 2.5 years. I wish it would have happened quicker. If some our schools would have been a little more patient, it would have paid off.
— Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff
Hmm…… That is certainly one way to look at it!
Perhaps Kliavkoff could own his role in the fall of the Pac-12. Perhaps he should realize that as he points a finger at the schools that left, four fingers point right back at him.
George Kliavkoff essentially helped to usher in the first national championship that consists of entirely Big Ten teams and proceeded to blame everyone but himself. That’s a shame.