Why did the Pac-12 fall apart? Analyzing George Kliavkoff's last season stumbles that resulted in Pac-12's collapse

In a widely anticipated move, the Pac-12 fired George Kliavkoff as commissioner on Monday, marking the end of his tenure in charge of the conference. The administrator took over the league's helm in 2021, replacing Larry Scott, who left the conference in an embattled situation.

Kliavkoff was brought in to tackle the many problems the league faced at the time. However, he failed to meet the expectations as the conference crumbled under him. In less than three months, 10 of the league's 12 members departed as chaos reigned.

Why did the Pac-12 fall apart?

On the broad aspect, the fall of the Pac-12 came as a result of many poor administrative decisions made under the leadership of Larry Scott and George Kliavkoff. These include the long-term television deal, the Pac-12 Network’s failure, irresponsible spending and a host of others.

However, the last straw that broke the camel's back was the inability of Kliavkoff's leadership to secure a new media deal. For several months, the conference was in limbo about its potential media deal, as it couldn't reach an agreement with its long-term television partners.

The conference was reportedly offered a deal that would pay each team over $30 million in media revenue annually by ESPN. However, the league's president asked Kliavkoff to reject it for a better deal. ESPN moved on to seal a deal with the Big 12 instead.

Kliavkoff eventually reached an agreement with Apple on a five-year subscription-based streaming deal. The deal initially offered to pay each school $23 million, but a counteroffer lifted that figure to $25 million. It also comes with incentives based on subscribers.

However, many Pac-12 teams were not comfortable with the deal and decided to take the exit door. Many had already perfected the plan to potentially leave if the numbers of the media deal were not satisfactory.

Which schools left the Pac-12 under Kliavkoff?

Under George Kliavkoff's leadership, 10 teams exited the Pac-12 to join other Power Five leagues. USC and UCLA were the first to make their way out in 2022, joining the Big Ten. This was spurred by the realignment of the Big 12’s Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC.

Colorado became the third team to exit the league as it returned to the Big 12 in the summer of 2023. The Buffaloes, through the influence of donors, did not wait to see the numbers of the media deal. Their departure happened after the agreement with Apple.

Failing to sign the grant of rights, Washington and Oregon moved to the Big Ten; Arizona State, Arizona and Utah joined the Big 12; while Stanford, Cal and SMU moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference. The league was left with Oregon State and Washington State.