The Pac-12 introduced new commissioner Teresa Gould on Thursday with a 45-minute Zoom call that was a tad light on news but heavy on inspiration.
Gould, who officially takes over from George Kliavkoff on Friday, was joined by Washington State president Kirk Schulz, chair of the Pac-12 board of directors.
Perhaps the most substantive development came from Gould, who revealed that the Pac-12 Networks’ production studio in San Ramon, California, will remain active for the 2024-25 school year. Although the networks will cease to exist as a media distribution company, the studio will support Washington State and Oregon State “with live events and content,” Gould said. (No specifics were provided.)
She also disclosed the terms of her contract: It’s a two-year deal that coincides with the NCAA grace period allowing WSU and OSU to operate as a two-team conference in football for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. (The schools’ basketball teams and other Olympic sports will be affiliate members of the West Coast Conference during that period.)
Gould and Schulz also fielded a slew of questions about the future of the College Football Playoff — Schulz is on the board of managers — following reports that the Big Ten and SEC want the playoff to expand to 14 teams in the 2026 season.
But the call was notable for two moments of passion.
When asked about the future for Washington State and Oregon State beyond the next two seasons — they could attempt to rebuild the Pac-12 or join another conference — Schulz seemed committed to keeping the conference alive.
“There are lots of ideas about what the Pac-12 should be doing,” he said. “I love the West Coast sports scene and think it’s really important that there’s a top-tier conference on the West Coast for all sports. How do we build it? How do we grow? What’s our vision? And how to do it on the West Coast?”
Gould, who spent decades working in athletic departments before joining the Pac-12 office in 2018, has a three-pronged approach to the job as the first female commissioner of a power conference:
— Lead the Pac-12’s operational arm in a manner that best supports the Cougars and Beavers.
— Represent the conference on the national level, especially in discussions about the College Football Playoff.
— Help WSU and OSU plot a strategy for the future.
“That’s the most important and urgent piece, to partner with the campuses and forge a path for the two programs,” she said.
Gould also used a simple question — why did she take the job? — to outline her view of the Pac-12.
“Since August, there hasn’t been a night that has gone by that I haven’t thought about the more than 1,000 student-athletes on the campuses of Oregon State and Washington State,” she said.
“All I could think about was they need a leader that is prepared to fight for them, that is prepared to fight on their behalf. … I wanted to be the leader that fought on behalf of those student-athletes and their future.”
The answer drew a stark contrast with the approach taken by her predecessor, Kliavkoff, who sided with the 10 outbound schools in the dispute over governance of the conference and has not uttered a public peep in support of OSU and WSU since the collapse of the Pac-12 in August.
“(Gould) will be a great advocate” for the two schools, a source said.
Other notable comments:
— On an eventual merger, or reverse merger, with the Mountain West: “Those conversations haven’t started,” Gould said.
— On reports that the SEC and Big Ten are considering breaking away from the NCAA: “Why not reform what’s there as opposed to ‘Let’s recreate something,’” Schulz said.
— On WSU and OSU using private equity to fund athletic operations: “I don’t have a stance one way or the other but would be happy to have the conversation,” Schulz said.
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