College football’s offseason calendar turns to the Pac-12 on Friday.
After the Big 12 had its media day last week and the SEC wrapped up on Thursday, Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff will get his chance to respond to the barbs thrown at his conference and chart his own narrative.
Obviously, the main storyline that will follow Kliavkoff is the conference’s impending media rights contract. The moving target to secure a television deal threatens the stability of the conference with each passing day. The pressure is on Kliavkoff to deliver a deal that holds the Pac-12 together.
But that won’t be the only thing discussed in Las Vegas on Friday. Deion Sanders will be the talk of the town, even if he’s not there, as well as a loaded quarterback class. Here is what to watch for as the Pac-12 holds its media day.
Pressure on Kliavkoff
It was never a hard deadline, but July 21 was the date everyone had circled for the Pac-12 to announce its television contract.
It would have made sense for Kliavkoff to use his own media day to announce the deal and finally stabilize the conference. It also wouldn’t hurt for Kliavkoff to deliver some tangible news on the conference’s biggest day of the summer, rather than having to answer countless questions about the conference’s potential demise.
But there are reports out that Kliavkoff will not have a deal done by July 21. It means this week will still be centered on why the Pac-12 has been so slow to secure a lucrative contract — and what that could mean for schools potentially looking to bolt (Looking at you, Colorado).
What makes this worse for Kliavkoff is that even though July 21 was not a firm deadline, this is another setback and delay. Insiders first thought a deal could get done last summer, when the Pac-12 entered an exclusive negotiating window with ESPN and Fox. Nothing came of it.
Then it was believed the Pac-12 could come away with a deal this spring, but that was pushed back to July. And now it looks like this summer might be out of the equation too. It raises red flags.
The perception of missing loose deadlines is one thing. But the Pac-12 dragging its feet has led to some tangible movement in the conference realignment space.
In June, San Diego State wrote a letter to the Mountain West Conference asked to leave the conference. It was widely believed the Aztecs were doing that with eyes on joining the Pac-12. But without a media rights deal, the Pac-12 couldn’t move on SDSU. It nearly left the Aztecs without a conference, only being allowed back into the MWC this week.
Closer to home, the delay also heightens the fear of current Pac-12 members getting poached. Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark is on the prowl to get Pac-12 schools, with Colorado and the Arizona schools of particular interest.
At this point, Kliavkoff has to get a deal in the ballpark of what the Big 12 got (around $40 million per school). If he can’t get that, schools could very well go to where the money is greener.
Beyond that, Kliavkoff has to worry about the structure of the television contract. The Big 12 put the majority of its football games on linear television (ESPN and Fox). It has the most reach and the biggest platform, even as streaming services continue to rise. The Pac-12 must do the same, albeit in a much different television climate than last year when the Big 12 secured its deal
Some reports said the Pac-12 is looking into heavy streaming options, unable to get strong contracts with ESPN and Fox. Last month, Kliavkoff assured member schools the majority of games would be on linear TV.
Kliavkoff will update members on Thursday in Las Vegas, the Denver Post reported.
Deion Sanders comes to the Pac-12, but not media day
On the actual football side of things, the Pac-12 is adding another big name to the fold: Deion Sanders at Colorado.
Last year, it was Lincoln Riley who came to USC. Now this media day will surely revolve around Sanders and his first season in Boulder — even if he is not coming.
Sanders is having follow-up surgery on his foot this week which will keep him from Las Vegas. But that doesn’t mean the rest of the conference won’t be talking about Sanders cutting nearly 75% of his scholarship players this spring. It was an unprecedented move for an incoming coach, even in the transfer portal era.
Last week Oklahoma’s Brent Venables critiqued Sanders’ approach. Venables was also a first-year coach at OU last year, but did not cut as many players.
“I was unlike Deion,” Venables said in an interview with local radio station KREF 94.7 FM. “I gave guys 12 months of grace to figure it out. Here’s three: Go to class, live right off the field, and when you show up here you show up with respect and appreciation for your opportunity.”
(David Zalubowski | AP) Colorado head coach Deion Sanders in the first half of the team's spring practice NCAA college football game Saturday, April 22, 2023, in Boulder, Colo. Sanders won't be at media day in Las Vegas, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the conference won’t be talking about him.
More coaches will have takes, as well as the Colorado players in attendance.
Sanders’ son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, is expected to be in Las Vegas. He will compete for the starting job this fall after transferring from Jackson State.
Utah will play Colorado to wrap up the regular season on Nov. 25.
Caleb Williams and a stacked quarterback class
Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams is coming back for his second year at USC. The quarterback who famously wrote “F--- Utah” on his nails for the Pac-12 championship game will help write what could be the final chapter — at least for the foreseeable future — of the USC-Utah rivalry.
Utah beat USC twice last year, with the Utes ending USC’s chances to make the College Football Playoff and securing their own bid to the Rose Bowl. The unique part about this rivalry is that both Cam Rising and Williams will return this year. The question now is whether a second year of Riley and Williams be enough to flip the dynamic and see USC beat Utah this year.
The Utes will travel to the Coliseum on Oct. 21.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022. Williams leads a stacked quarterback class in the Pac-12 this season.
Beyond Williams, though, this quarterback class is stacked in the Pac-12. Michael Penix Jr. returned to Washington and is a second-team all-conference selection. Bo Nix returned to Oregon and is a potential first-round pick in the NFL Draft next year. Rising is obviously back too, albeit with injury concerns to start the year.
Don’t forget the newcomers either. Former Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei transferred to Oregon State this offseason. Former Notre Dame signal caller Drew Pyne also landed at Arizona State.
Cam Rising and the injury
The back-to-back champion of the league, Utah, won’t have the most fanfare on Friday. But it might have the biggest football question.
Will Rising be ready to start week 1 against Florida on Aug. 31?
Rising tore his ACL on Jan. 2 in the Rose Bowl. Eight months from surgery is pushing an ACL recovery. That doesn’t count the practice time he has missed and how much of a participant he will be in fall camp.
(Marcio Jose Sanchez | AP) Utah quarterback Cameron Rising (7) is helped off the field during the second half in the Rose Bowl NCAA college football game against Penn State Monday, Jan. 2, 2023, in Pasadena, Calif.
Utah did not get a transfer quarterback as a contingency option. So Utah truly will hinge on Rising’s knee.
Rising will be in Las Vegas and give an update on his status.
Kliavkoff and NIL
Here is a bit of an underrated storyline but something to monitor. Will Kliavkoff join the rest of his fellow Power Five commissioners and call for federal legislation on NIL?
Yormark and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey both pitched it as necessary. Their conferences are stationed in the heart of Texas and the south, where individual state laws are starting to undercut the NCAA NIL laws.
Texas, for example, passed a law that allowed colleges and coaches can start to be involved in the NIL deal making process. That would be a big advantage compared with states where that is not allowed. Theoretically, schools have to comply with NCAA laws rather than state laws. But Texas A&M has already said it will follow Texas’ law rather than the NCAA.
The Pac-12 is not in the same position exactly. Most of the states in its footprint haven’t enacted laws as extreme as Texas. But Pac-12 schools are recruiting in those states and against those schools. Plus, California did pass a law that would introduce revenue sharing between athletes and schools.
Utah, right now, does not have a state law. It means Utah must adhere to NCAA NIL guidelines.
So will Kliavkoff call for federal legislation too? And does he think this could be a threat to the long-term talent acquisition in his conference?
