Big 12’s Yormark Shares What He Told Pac-12’s Kliavkoff After Pilfering League

Brett Yormark helped bring a century-old league to death's door.

The storyline of the summer—and of the 2020s more broadly—in college sports has been the gradual stripping of the once-proud Pac-12 for parts.

Oregon and Washington are headed to the Big Ten, following USC and UCLA's stunning defections in the summer of 2022. Arizona, Arizona State and Utah are set to follow Colorado to the Big 12. All will begin play in their new (and in Colorado’s case, old) homes in 2024.

Meanwhile, California, Oregon State, Stanford and Washington State sit in no man's land.

This sequence of realignment begs the question: what do you say after participating in the destruction of a 108-year-old league? On a yet-to-be released episode of The Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said he took an honest approach to the situation in a conversation with the Pac-12’s George Kliavkoff.

“’This was something that we had to do. And this was something that the board and our key stakeholders encouraged. I’m sorry that my gain is your loss,’” Yormark recalled telling Kliavkoff. “We had a very collegial conversation. George was fantastic, and I’ll be seeing him again in a couple of weeks at some industry meetings.”

Because of the Big Ten and Big 12’s machinations, what appears to be the final season of Pac-12 football (barring unexpected additions to the league) will kick off on Aug. 26 when the Trojans host San Jose State.