Larry Scott’s Tenure As Pac-12 Commissioner Officially Over

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Larry Scott’s time as the commissioner of the Pac-12 Conference has officially ended after a 12-year stint in the position.

The Pac-12 announced on January 20 that Larry Scott would remain in his position until June 30 to help assist in the transition. Now, George Kliavkoff will take over as the new Pac-12 commissioner.

For his first order of business, Commissioner @Kliavkoff penned a letter to all current Pac-12 student-athletes. 📜⤵️

Welcome (OFFICIALLY) to the Pac-12, Commissioner!#BackThePac https://t.co/I8T2o5NUkE

— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) July 1, 2021

Larry Scott took over as the commissioner of the Pac-10 on July 1, 2009 after spending nearly six years as the chairman and CEO of the Women’s Tennis Association. The New York City, native was a professional tennis player before spending a decade as president and COO of ATP Properties, a division of the Association of Tennis Professionals.

During his time as commissioner, Scott expanded the conference from 10 teams to 12 in 2011 when he officially added Utah and Colorado to the “Conference of Champions.”

Many have been critical of Scott’s decisions, which includes a long list such as a long media rights deal that doesn’t include many digital assets. Another was starting up the Pac-12 Network, which was a good thing until certain TV providers didn’t carry the network. To this day, DirecTV does not carry the Pac-12 Network.

Last job ended yesterday. New job officially begins July 1. Work starts now… pic.twitter.com/4OACFDrmPB

— George Kliavkoff (@Kliavkoff) June 5, 2021

Scott also moved headquarters to a commercial building in downtown San Francisco where rent was outrageously expensive.

Despite all of the flaws (which could go on and on), we are not certain if Utah would be in the Pac-12 if it wasn’t for Larry Scott. That is something we simply will never know.

A new vision is ahead as George Kliavkoff is tasked with bringing the Pac-12 back to being competitive in major sports such as football and men’s basketball. Another task that will be observed heavily is the negotiations for the next media rights deal.

Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for KSLSports.com and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports. You can download and listen to the podcast, here.