Podcast of Champions hosts Ryan Abraham and David Woods were in Las Vegas for the 2023 Pac-12 Media Day, the first such event in Vegas and the last event that USC and UCLA will be a part of. Commissioner George Kliavkoff hasn’t spoken publicly this calendar year despite all of the negative press surrounding the Conference of Champions’ lack of a media rights deal. Most felt the unofficial deadline for announcing the new TV rights was on Pac-12 Media Day, but Kliavkoff made it clear from the jump that there would be no such announcement yet. He wanted the focus to be on the football (which should be the best we’ve seen in a decade) but unfortunately there has been so much buildup and anticipation for this media rights deal that the focus couldn’t be on anything but the survivability of the conference.
Everyone knows that without at least a decent TV contract that brings much needed revenue to the Pac-12 athletic departments there is a legitimate chance that at least one or two members could bounce. If that happens it is debatable if the conference could even survive after losing USC and UCLA last year. Kliavkoff and the athletic directors are still confident there will be a good deal and everyone will stay put, but until it happens the speculation will continue to run wild and overshadow any football boom the Pac-12 teams could have on the field of play.
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