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George Kliavkoff is entering his third year as commissioner of the Pac-12 and to get here, it has been an interesting run.
Kliavkoff started his career as a lawyer before deciding on a career switch and enter the sports and entertainment field. In his first job in the new field, he joined the MLB as an executive vice president for business with MLB Advanced Media in 2003. He then joined NBCUniversal as the chief digital officer, which also led to a role with Hulu.
In 2016, Kliavkoff was named the CEO of Jaunt XR, a virtual reality content studio. However, after he held that role for two years, he left to join MGM Resorts International where he was named the president of entertainment and sports. In that role, he served on many Las Vegas-based boards, including the WNBA, T-Mobile Arena, Cirque du Soleil and BetMGM.
In 2021, George Kliavkoff was hired as commissioner of the Pac-12, which was a unique hiring, and he also got a five-year deal. Kliavkoff was not among the candidates many expected, but as he is in his third season, he has some work to do with the conference.
Expansion and media deal needed for Pac-12
The first order of business for George Kliavkoff is to get a new media deal, which has taken longer than many expected. The media rights deal is massive for the conference as it gives each school additional money while also allowing fans to watch their favorite sports.
Although no deal has been reached, it is expected a media rights deal will be reached in the very near future.
The next thing George Kliavkoff is interested in doing is expansion for the Pac-12. With USC and UCLA leaving the conference after this year, Kliavkoff has been vocal about adding teams:
"Our 10 schools are together, aligned and committed to our conference ... There is great interest in the marketplace due to the strength of the schools' brands ... We remain open to expansion that makes sense."
With Pac-12 media day set to go down Friday, Kliavkoff will speak about the future of the Pac-12 and he will be asked about the media rights deal and expansion.
