Timing is everything, or so it has been said. San Diego State making the Final Four while being considered for membership by the Pac-12 invites all sorts of questions about how Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff should plan his next moves.
While it is true that we are talking about a basketball team’s success within a context of media rights negotiations that focus mostly on football — the main revenue driver in college sports — the reality of a school’s increased prominence can spill into football from basketball and enhance that school’s value in the marketplace.
George Kliavkoff has a lot of phone calls to make today and during the week. We’re not going to presume that the sequencing of actions is obvious — it isn’t — but what is clear is that San Diego State has given the Pac-12 a more attractive poker chip to use in various negotiations and discussions. This isn’t game-changing money we’re talking about, but the Pac-12’s media rights price point has certainly gone up with the Aztecs being a part of the larger picture. The main question: How much can Kliavkoff leverage this development?
Let’s discuss and explore: