George Kliavkoff has to make one puzzle piece fit for the Pac-12

It’s worth noting that Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff, who has to figure out ways to adjust the Pac-12 football schedule to maximize value for upcoming media rights negotiations, has not commented on one piece of the larger scheduling puzzle.

(h/t Jon Wilner of The Mercury News).

As far as I’m aware, Kliavkoff has not commented publicly on scheduling strategies around Week Zero.

I cannot say whether he has been asked by other reporters, but the Hotline has not broached that subject with him.

(He probably would be in favor of exploring the idea, given that he’s in favor of exploring just about anything that could benefit the conference competitively or financially.)

The Hotline has pondered the idea of opening Week Zero to every FBS and FCS team, partly because of the second bye it would generate, partly because of the flexibility it could provide for the postseason calendar.

There is considerable resistance within the industry, much of it based on player health and safety.

Starting the regular season on Week Zero would force teams to open training camp that much earlier — in late July — and many campus officials are hesitant to push for more time on the field.

We suspect coaches would resist, too, because of the impact a calendar change would have on their summer schedules, both for vacation and recruiting.

My hunch is that playing on Week Zero will gain popularity over time but not become the official start date for all of major college football.

More Week Zero games means more inventory for ESPN and other football broadcasters. This seems like a natural path for Kliavkoff to explore, but as with other scheduling matters, other conferences have to move in the right direction in order for the Pac-12 to gain more leverage and pursue more opportunities. We’ll see what happens with this story.