Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff “remains employed because the conference needs someone to handle day-to-day operations for the upcoming competition year” and because his buyout would “likely approach” $10M, assuming he signed a five-year deal in 2021 for about $3.5M annually, according to Jon Wilner of the San Jose MERCURY NEWS. Sources said that Kliavkoff is “not heavily involved in strategic matters for the remaining schools,” as Stanford, Cal, Washington State and Oregon State are “plotting their paths, individually and collectively, without him.” Any “serious rebuild" of the conference "assuredly would take place under different leadership.” Kliavkoff is a “deeply decent individual” and “smart business executive who was poorly suited for the task assigned by the presidents and the search firm of record, Turnkey ZRG.” The ADs, who “know the challenges on the front lines," were "not heavily involved in the hiring process -- yet another blunder by the presidents.” How a collection of "super-sharp individuals responsible for multi-billion-dollar universities could make so many bad strategic decisions over so many years would make for a fascinating case study” (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 8/18).
