Uncertain times in Pac-12 as conference tries to handle scandal
A few weeks ago, a new story emerged about a years-old scandal in the Pac-12. Several years ago, two men hired by Larry Scott failed to do their jobs properly. George Kliavkoff and the new regime in the Pac-12 Conference unearthed this reality and fired those two men on Friday, January 20.
We made note of this, writing that “Pac-12 Networks president Mark Shuken and CFO Brent Willman were both hired under Larry Scott’s watch. They were dismissed by Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff on Friday, with approval from the Pac-12 Board of Directors, for failing to report overpayments from a media distribution partner.
“It’s a tangled story, but the heart of it is that the overpayments were supposed to be reported to the Pac-12 Board of Directors and sent through the appropriate channels, and they weren’t. The overpayments distorted the budgetary realities for the conference and its member schools.”
One has to wonder how harmful this scandal is — and will be — given that the Pac-12 and Kliavkoff have not yet nailed down a new media rights deal, and have not yet extended an offer to San Diego State or any other school to join the conference.
Is this scandal getting in the way of urgent business for the Pac-12?
We talked to Mark Rogers at The Voice of College Football:
