After eight teams committed to leaving the Pac-12 conference last week, its future as a whole is in flux with only four teams remaining. Therefore, Stanford, Cal, Oregon State and Washington State have reportedly agreed to bring in a big name to help consult on their future.
Oregon reporter John Canzano reports the remaining Pac-12 teams have hired Oliver Luck as a consultant to help navigate the situation. Luck has been a football executive in multiple places, including as the West Virginia athletic director, vice president for regulatory affairs for the NCAA and commissioner and CEO of the XFL.
Luck also has a personal connection with the Pac-12 as his son, Andrew, was a star quarterback for Stanford over a decade ago.
Can Oliver Luck help save the Pac-4?
The four remaining members have hired Luck as a consultant, I've learned.
Oregon State, Washington State, Stanford and Cal are exploring the options.
Read: https://t.co/imDUSRiAWU
— John Canzano (@johncanzanobft) August 11, 2023
In 2021, Luck consulted with the Big 12 after that conference lost Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC. Two years later, the Big 12 is up to 14 teams and added four more from the Pac-12 in the past two weeks alone.
The Pac-12 has struggled to find a fair media rights deal, as negotiations with ESPN went poorly and the conference has had to most recently negotiate with Apple, which appeared to push away teams like Oregon and Washington. Now, the conference is in shambles with just four teams committed and no TV deal in sight.
