Forbes on the Pac-12: ‘The Dam is About to Break’
The Pac-12 has been slowly dissolving for months now, but the process has sped up considerably in the last couple of weeks.
Last Thursday, Colorado made the decision to leave for the Big 12, expediting the issues that the Pac-12 has on its hands.
George Kliavkoff has been working on a media rights deal for over a year now, and the best he could come up with is a streaming option with Apple TV+, which doesn’t appear to be enough to keep the Pac-12 together.
So, how close are things to falling apart out west? Well, if you ask Forbes’ Jim Williams, there’s not much hope for the Pac-12 at this point.
In a recent interview with 365 Sports, Williams says he just sees how the Pac-12 survives at this point.
“Honest to gosh guys, I’ve run every possible scenario in my head and I just don’t see how [the Pac-12 survives], Williams said. “Even if they have the perfect streaming setup there, I just don’t see Arizona buying it. If Arizona doesn’t buy it, that takes [the Pac-12] down to eight [schools], even if Arizona State and Utah wanted to stay there. I just don’t know. At this point in time, the dam is about to break.
“Honestly, I wish I could say that the Pac-12 can survive this, but I just don’t see how it’s going to happen.”
The Arizona Board of Regents is set to meet again on Thursday to discuss two items, including an athletics issue.
After a review of assignments for Arizona State President Michael Crow and Arizona President Robert Robbins, the board will discuss “possible legal advice and discussion regarding university athletics.” The board represents both Pac-12 member schools.
This comes after the board mets two days ago, after the Pac-12 presidents were presented with the framework of a potential media rights deal for its intercollegiate sports that would begin in 2024-25.
It appears that the Pac-12’s last stand might not have been enough, and now, it’s just a waiting game to see where the pieces fall.
