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USC and UCLA’s eventual move to the Big Ten has caused some strife within college football, leaving the Pac-12 in a bit of a scramble mode. During the conference’s media day, it was clear that its leadership is still reeling over what occurred.
In September, Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger reported the Pac-12, Big Ten and ACC agreed to form the Alliance, which would both work together and not poach each other’s schools after the SEC took Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12. Dellenger described the Alliance as a “Gentlemen’s Agreement” between the three conferences.
In case there was any lingering doubt, that seems to be over.
When Dellenger asked Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff whether the Alliance would continue, Kliavkoff had a one-word answer: “No.”
It is clear that there’s no love lost between the formerly allied conferences. According to Dellenger, Kliavkoff gave a cryptic answer when asked about his relationship with Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren.
“The way I live my life is I give people respect and trust until they prove to me that they don’t deserve it,” he said, via Dellenger.
According to Kliavkoff, the Pac-12 teams are actually going to have an advantage in recruiting with two of their flagship opponents leaving.
“Recruits have told our coaches at other schools, ‘I’m not going there because of that decision—I’ll go to your school,’” he said, via Dellenger. “Literally, we are picking up recruits.”
