George Kliavkoff will not be the commissioner of the Pac-12 in March. His tenure will end in February, ending a story marked by failure, flops, and foul-ups. Kliavkoff isn’t the man who is solely responsible for the demise of the Pac-12, but he certainly shoulders part of the blame along with Larry Scott, the Pac-12 CEO Group, and other people who made other decisions which undercut the conference in various ways over the past decade.
Kliavkoff memorably failed to get a media rights deal done which would have provided enough revenue to keep the Pac-12 intact. He was unable to earn the trust of the CEO Group, but he also didn’t insist on moving forward with certain plans and was indecisive in moments of crisis. He needed to listen to Pac-12 school presidents and chancellors, but he also needed to lead them and guide them with a strong hand in moments when he needed to take charge. Kliavkoff did inherit a huge mess from Larry Scott, and he was never dealt a strong set of cards, but he also didn’t seem to grasp the dynamics of the conference he entered. Not providing an authoritative presence was a failure of leadership, and it’s why the Pac-12 has splintered.
Kliavkoff’s exit raises natural questions about whether the Pac-12 — more specifically, the Pac-2 of Washington State and Oregon State — will seek a commissioner or will adopt a different governance and leadership model.
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