George Kliavkoff justifies Pac-12 fallout and failures to acquire a Pac-12 media deal in his latest radio interview: "In a difficult financial place"
The Pac-12 is in a tough position after failing to land a long-term media rights deal. Its inability to do so has led to three programs announcing that they will leave the conference in 2024. The UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans will join the Big Ten, while the Colorado Buffaloes will join the Big 12.
To make matters worse, there are at least five schools in talks with other conferences. The Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies have been targeted by the Big Ten, while the Arizona Wildcats, Arizona State Sun Devils and Utah Utes are all reportedly in talks with the Big 12.
While the conference is seemingly falling apart, commissioner George Kliavkoff offered an explanation for its inability to secure a long-term media rights deal.
"In the last three, six, nine months, the media companies and the technology companies have been in a very difficult financial place, so until they come out of that, it's difficult for them to write big checks," Kliavkoff told David Kelly of Wildcats 1920. "It's difficult one day to lay off 50,000 people and the next day agree to a big media rights deal. It's just not a good look.
"We've been patient with them, and, by the way, they've been patient and great with us. Our media partners are terrific. We're kind of waiting it out, and I think now we're in a place where you have to balance waiting it out against the stability of the conference and people being not antsy about sticking around, and I think we're now in a place where we have to get the deal done."
Check out George Kliavkoff's comments below.
What will happen come Monday?
In our @DavidKelly1290's conversation with #Pac12 commissioner #GeorgeKliavkoff it sounds like he understands urgency of moment. pic.twitter.com/iFbiuc6BOe
Paul Finebaum suggests Pac-12 could be headed towards collapse
Following the departure of the Colorado Buffaloes from the Pac-12, college football personality Paul Finebaum suggested that the conference could be headed towards a collapse.
"With this departure, I think you have to honestly look at the Pac-12 no longer as a Power Five conference, and I'm talking about in '24," Finebaum said on "SportsCenter." "You're losing your biggest name in USC, and now, moving forward, you're losing your biggest star in Deion Sanders.
"This league is slowly coming undone and might as well just be pushed off into the Pacific because it is no longer, moving forward, a relevant conference in college football."
Check out Paul Finebaum's comments on the impact of Colorado's departure below (starting at the 0:43 mark).
The conference will look to rebound from the loss of the Los Angeles media market, as well as the attention brought by Deion Sanders. The losses, however, will likely further impact the Pac-12's ongoing media rights deal negotiations.