Is rebuilding Pac-12 still an option for George Kliavkoff despite failing to strike a media deal ahead of the 2023 season?

The Pac-12 has been decimated by conference realignment as the conference is on the verge of falling apart altogether. The Washington State Cougars are one of just four teams that have not announced plans to leave the conference. In comments shared by Brett McMurphy of The Action Network, Cougars president Kirk Schulz discussed the program's options with Enrique Cerna.

"Washington State president Kirk Schulz tells @enriquecerna, WSU has 3 options: join Mountain West, join AAC or rebuild Pac-12," Murphy tweeted.

"'The third option would be to sort of reconstitute or rebuild the Pac – I'll say Pac-X right now, there's 4 members left, but that could change literally w/in hours,'" Schulz said. "'And so I think each of those we're pursuing in a parallel pathway & we want to evaluate what's going to be best for WSU.'"

Check out Brett McMurphy's tweet here.

While Washington State could look to rebuild the 'Pac-X', as Schulz labeled the conference, that will likely be determined by the remaining members as well. The California Bears and Stanford Cardinal, the two most coveted of the remaining four prorgrams, have reportedly been targeted for realignment.

The Atlantic Coast Conference recently held a vote on adding both programs, with McMurphy sharing that the potential expansion fell one vote short of approval, tweeting:

"Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina & NC State are the ACC schools against adding Stanford & Cal, sources told @ActionNetworkHQ. 1st report by SI. W/only 11 of 15 schools (including Notre Dame) in favor, ACC expansion is 1 vote shy of required 75% (12 of 15) to add new members"

Check out Brett McMurphy's tweet here.

How has conference realignment affected the Pac-12?

The Pac-12 has been unable to secure a long-term media rights deal, and it inability to do so has led to several departures. The UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans were the first schools to announce their departure, having done so in June 2022. Both programs will join the Big Ten, costing the Pac-12 the Los Angeles media market.

In July 2023, the Colorado Buffaloes were the next to announce their intention to leave, joining the Big 12, as conference officials struggled to secure a long-term media rights deal. After the remaining nine schools were presented with a media rights offer, there was a mass exodus earlier this month.

The Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies announced that they will join the Big Ten, while the Arizona Wildcats, Arizona State Sun Devils and Utah Utes will join the Big 12.

The California Bears, Oregon State Beavers, Stanford Cardinal and Washington State Cougars are the only schools that will remain in the conference in 2024.