George Kliavkoff reveals if he wants to expand Pac-12 after USC Trojans' departure

Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff sent shockwaves throughout the entire college football landscape when he called out the Big 12 on Pac-12 Media Day. Mentioning that the conference hasn't "decided if we're going shopping there or not yet," it was clear that he feels he has great leverage over the other conference.

He revealed that he had "been spending four weeks trying to defend against grenades that have been lobbed in from every corner of the Big 12 trying to destabilize our remaining conference."

While he didn't say if he wanted to go shopping at the Big 12 or not yet, and definitely seems to be leaning to not wanting to, he did say that he is looking to expand the conference after the USC Trojans' departure.

"We are actively exploring expansion opportunities," said Kliavkoff. "As we consider these opportunities, we will look at media value, athletic strength, academic and cultural fit, and geography from a recruiting and student-athlete experience standpoint."

The USC Trojans leaving for the Big Ten has put the Pac-12 in a rough spot.

USC Trojans fans have to respect George Kliavkoff not backing down from what will be a tough journey to survive this massive realignment. Everyone has to respect him. He has refused to go with a "woe is me" attitude, and is going to do everything he can to keep the Pac alive.

With no big brands, expansion very well could be the only option that will work. He doesn't have a program with a brand that's very strong right now (at least not USC-level strong), so he can't sell a partnership to other conferences very easily right now. He also can't afford to remain at 10 teams for that reason as well.

He definitely may have just one option now: adding to the conference. He clearly at least wants to do it, and perhaps he could swipe some of these Big 12 teams without a partnership. It's tough not to feel for the guy, as he was placed into a brutal situation as commissioner due to how awful the last commissioner (Larry Scott) was.