Bold statement from the Pac-12 Commissioner for USC, UCLA

Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff thinks USC and UCLA will regret going to the Big Ten.

George Kliavkoff isn’t exactly thrilled about USC and UCLA leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten.

While only entering his second year as Pac-12 commissioner, Kliavkoff is dealing with the potentially fatal blow his conference suffered a month ago. USC and UCLA’s decision to leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten in 2024 rocked collegiate athletics as a whole. Kliavkoff’s predecessor, Larry Scott, is responsible for the Pac-12’s sinking, but what should he do?

His commentary on The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman during Pac-12 Media Day pretty much says it all.

“It is clear that UCLA and USC have made a decision to seek short-term financial gain at the expense of their student-athletes,” Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff told The Athletic on Friday. “It’s 100 percent clear to me. It’s really unfortunate, and I think they’re already regretting it given the backlash they’ve received from almost every corner of their communities. I think they will regret it even more over time.”

Let’s face it, what else is Kliavkoff supposed to be doing here? His conference dies an agonizing death.

Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff says USC and UCLA will regret their decision

While USC and UCLA’s move to the Big Ten is a money grab, so is seemingly every team when it comes to realignment. Though Kliavkoff may have hoped USC and UCLA would have stayed long enough to negotiate a new television deal, that’s exactly why the Bruins and Trojans are leaving. The Pac-12 TV deal is an absolute disaster that Scott created years ago.

For USC, they are the pre-eminent football brand in the west. Though the Trojans have been down for over a decade, they appear to have the right head coach in Lincoln Riley to pull them out of their perpetual self-inflicted morass. Admittedly, the relationship between USC and the Pac-12 has been tenuous at best over the past decade. It’s been a long time since Pete Carroll left town.

As for the Bruins, they can save so many Olympic sports by joining the Big Ten. They may be the second-biggest collegiate brand in Los Angeles, but the Bruins are the biggest name in California when it comes to collegiate hoops. Additionally, the Bruins have shown in the past that with the right head coach, they can also field a top-flight 25-class college football team.

While the rest of the Pac-12 and the rest of the West Coast may scowl at USC and UCLA for dropping the conference for greener pastures, there’s no way the Bruins or Trojans will regret that decision. With the Big Ten likely growing past 16 teams at some point, the gap between Los Angeles and Lincoln, Nebraska could close faster than… the Cornhuskers are back.

There may be a lot of emotion running through USC and UCLA right now, but regret isn’t one of them.

For more NCAA football News, analysis, opinion and unique coverage from FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff Rankings, make sure to bookmark these pages.