Pac-12 looking for media rights deal in 'near future'

Pac-12 athletic director George Klivakoff is in a challenging position early in his tenure, with the future of the conference on the ropes. As UCLA and USC leave before the 2024 season, a new media rights deal is going to be needed as well. Conversations have been ongoing but no signs of a deal have been shown.

As for the timeline, a statement was released on Monday from the Pac-12 saying a new deal should be coming in the “near future.” All 10 conference members were attached, showing a sign of unity amid continual conference realignment rumors.

“The 10 Pac-12 universities look forward to consummating successful media rights deal(s) in the very near future,” the statement said. “Based upon positive conversations with multiple potential media rights partners over the past weeks, we remain highly confident in our future growth and success as a conference and united in our commitment to one another.”

In the current media deal, Pac-12 football games are broadcasted on both FOX and ESPN. However, with the two Los Angeles programs heading east for the Big Ten, there have been questions over whether media entities would have interest.

The likes of Oregon and Washington have had success on the national scale, while Utah has been a team waiting to break out in recent seasons. Kliavkoff has not shied away from saying Colorado hiring Deion Sanders is a massive storyline and could add an intriguing storyline for the conference — even if not everybody agrees.

Pac-12 looking to expand membership to 12

While Kliavkoff and the 10 members are still searching for a television deal, expansion is on their minds as well. Reports have stated SMU and San Diego State as two potential suitors for the Pac-12. One would bring familiarity from a regional perspective, while the Mustangs expand into the Lone Star State.

A visit was made to Dallas recently, with the high-ranking officials at SMU meeting with Kliavkoff. The group attended a basketball game against Temple, where an impressive Moody Coliseum crowd put on a show for their potential suitor.

No potential on potential expansion has been discussed quite yet either. The Pac-12 has not added anybody since Utah and Colorado joined before the 2011 season. The Utes were from a Group of Five conference, like SMU and San Diego State, while the Buffaloes came in via the Big 12.

As with the television deal, you would have to imagine the Pac-12 wants to make some kind of move in the “near future.”