Pac-12 Commissioner Reveals: 'Significant Interest' From Schools Regarding Expansion Opportunities

Summarized points from Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff's address to the public at Pac-12 Media Day in Los Angeles, Calif.

Author:
Claudette Montana Pattison
Publish date:
Jul 27, 2021 12:05 PM EDT

Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff took the stage early Tuesday morning at Pac-12 Media Day in Los Angeles, California to publicly address the public for the first time. Kliavkoff covered an array of topics including COVID-19 vaccinations, NIL opportunities, Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC, a CFB Playoff expansion and a possible Pac-12 expansion.

Here are some highlights from the commissioner's remarks:

No. 1 - Kliavkoff on the Pac-12's vaccination ratio

"We plan to have safety protocols in place that include regular testing for any student-athlete who is unvaccinated as well as for anyone vaccinated or unvaccinated who is symptomatic. 33 days out from our first football game, two-thirds of our teams have already achieved more than 80% of their players being vaccinated. And half of those teams are above 90%. We're very proud of that."

No. 2 - Kliavkoff on Texas and Oklahoma's move to the SEC conference

"We believe the move by Texas and Oklahoma strengthens our unique position as the only Power 5 conference with teams in the Mountain and Pacific time zones."

No. 3 - Kliavkoff on possible Pac-12 expansion

Kliavkoff said the Pac-12 does not believe an expansion is required. However, he admitted that the league has received interest from others in joining the conference.

No. 4 - Kliavkoff on possible Pac-12 Network distribution

"I wish distribution was better. But some of our current and existing distribution contracts make it very difficult to expand distribution under the current model. I think we have to look forward to 2024 and set our fans' expectations. That's when we'll be able to reset the distribution. I wish more people could see the incredibly high quality and good content that our network produces. But just being honest, the distribution is not where I would like it to be."

No. 5 - Kliavkoff on the priority of the Pac-12 conference

"I want to be 100 percent clear that going forward, the Pac-12 will make all it's decisions in football."

No. 6 - Kliavkoff on discussed expansion with Texas Tech

Kliavkoff declined to answer a question on whether the league has discussed a possible expansion with Texas Tech. He noted that if the league were to consider an expansion, the new schools do not need to have AAU accreditation.