Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff talks expansion and alignment of remaining 10 schools

The Pac-12 appears to be up to something in terms of expansion and media rights deals

Despite today being Pac-12 Media Day for women's basketball, media members around the country have been frequently distracted by a couple of other subject matters regarding the Pac-12.

Dating back to the departure of both USC and UCLA from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten, the country has been watching the conference to see what their next move will be. It has been a rollercoaster of a couple months, as at one point the conference was expected to flop, teams were looking elsewhere, and now there is nothing but confidence that the conference will stick together and move forward.  

Something that Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff emulated today when asked about the future of the conference, and the Pac-12's mindset about expansion moving forward saying:

"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."

This is the most we have heard from the commissioner himself in maybe a month, and while he didn't say much there he also said everything we need to know. The conference is obviously gaining interest from media conglomerates, which also may coincide with what John Canzano was explaining when he said he believed a new deal would be done around Halloween. The Pac-12 has been believed to be searching for a TV/streaming deal, and the commissioner's confidence in the statement hints to me that maybe things are trending in that direction. 

His comment about expansion is interesting, because he seemed like he thinks there's a world where the conference sticks with 10. Something that I think would be fine had the Big 12 not gone out and added four schools to get back to 12. I think the issue that the Pac-12 is facing is there aren't the options for expansion that there once was. Just a year ago they had current Big 12 teams begging to be in the conference, and now their only options are Mountain West schools and a couple of American schools should they choose to go that route.

I still think San Diego State and SMU are the best move available, and then maybe adding a UNLV and Boise State if the conference wants to have 14 schools. 

It does seem like we are nearing some sort of news on the media rights front, which is huge for the conference's future longevity.