Adhering to court order, Pac-12 approves staff retention plan to stave off possible mass exodus

The Pac-12 presidents approved an employee retention-and-severance plan Tuesday designed to ensure the collapsing conference remains staffed to the level necessary to produce roughly 1,000 live events and meet contractual obligations to its media partners, according to a source with knowledge of the development.

With 10 schools departing for other leagues next summer, executives are concerned that a mass exodus of conference employees could jeopardize the production of competitions worth more than $400 million in media rights revenue from ESPN, Fox and other partners. A significant decrease in staffing also could undermine the experience for thousands of Pac-12 athletes across all sports in 2023-24.

All 12 presidents and chancellors signed off on the retention and severance plan but did not take a formal vote, per court order.

On Monday, a Whitman County (Wash.) judge issued a temporary restraining order that prevents the Pac-12’s board of directors from meeting until the court determines the proper makeup of the board in the aftermath of the collapse.

Washington State and Oregon State believe their presidents are the only remaining members of the board and requested the restraining order to preclude the outgoing 10 schools from forming a voting bloc that dictates the future of the conference.

Judge Gary Libey granted the request but included a carve-out in his order that allows the Pac-12 to conduct normal business as long as approval of any measure is unanimous.

The retention-and-severance plan requires significant administrative work and likely will be rolled out at the end of the month:

— The severance component applies to all 192 full-time employees and includes both COBRA and outplacement support, according to the source.

— The retention piece applies to more than 90 percent of the employees.

Commissioner George Kliavkoff, who reports directly to the board of directors, is not included in the retention-and-severance plan.

A separate scope-of-services plan, to determine which Pac-12 services should be continued as normal, downsized or eliminated, has not been approved by the schools. It will require a formal board vote once the restraining order is lifted.

The Pac-12 hired an independent, outside firm to advise Kliavkoff on the retention-and-severance plan.

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