Saving the Pac-12 conference is already off to a good start. Instead of having Larry Scott stand in front of a burning building during Pac12 Media Day and brag about how impressive his fire-proofing is, there was someone else representing the conference.
New commissioner George Kliavkoff could’ve made fart noises for 45 minutes and it would’ve represented a leadership upgrade for the Conference of Champions.
Now the real test begins for Kliavkoff. Will he make the right decisions to lead the Pac 12 back to some form of college football and basketball glory?
Good news for him, there’s already a golden opportunity staring at him in the face as he begins his tenure.
With Oklahoma and Texas deciding life will be easier in a much tougher conference, the Big 12 is on the verge of total implosion.
If the Pac 12 wants a path to better kickoff times, more prominent national coverage and a chance to reclaim a bigger piece of the college football turf, they need to do one thing:
Gobble up as many Texas schools as possible.
The Pac 12 needs to inject some college football craziness into their ranks. There is no quicker path to accomplishing all of the conference’s goals than adding the state of Texas to the conference.
It doesn’t matter it won't be the flagship programs from the state, if the state of Texas is involved in football they will force people to pay attention.
Texas Tech, TCU, Baylor and Houston should all be added to a Texas-led Pac-12 division.
Oklahoma State can come along for the ride but thats it.
I don’t care if these schools fail to meet the rigid academic requirements of Stanford and UCLA. I went to the University of Arizona, I’m not lying to myself about what the Pac 12 really is.
Neither should University presidents. The academics of your flagship institutions are completely and totally separate from your athletic departments.
To win in college football, you need eyeballs and ears. Texas brings an abundance of both.
If George Kliavkoff really wants to separate himself from Larry Scott, he can start by doing the obvious - add any Texas school he can get his hands on and let history take care of the rest.