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<\/p>\nWhen Teresa Gould agreed to become the commissioner of the Pac-12 Conference on February 19, 2024, it appeared that she was taking on a preposterous proposition. Ten schools had already announced their intentions to jump ship, bequeathing a lonely and uncertain future for the two schools left behind, Oregon State and Washington State. The Pac-12, it seemed, was a dead league walking. The only thing left for Gould to do was preside over the funeral.<\/p>\n
As it turned out, the Pac-12 was only mostly dead. Instead of delivering a eulogy, Gould has engineered a remarkable resurrection. She has been on the job just 20 months, but during that time she has stabilized the league\u2019s finances, streamlined its infrastructure, replenished its ranks and negotiated a pair of big-league TV contracts. It\u2019s unclear just how bright the future is for this new-old league, but at least it has one. \u201cIf you had told me at the time the whole thing fell apart that we would be in this position, I wouldn\u2019t have entirely believed you,\u201d Oregon State president Jayathi Murthy told Hoops HQ. \u201cIt was such a dark time. I still feel quite incredulous that we were able to get to this place.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
There are many reasons why the Pac-12 is still breathing, but the steady, tenacious leadership of Gould ranks near the top. The groundbreaking nature of her ascension \u2014she is the first female commissioner of an Autonomy Five conference \u2014\u00a0is of secondary significance to the deft way in which she has helped the league navigate the storms that besieged it. \u201cNothing rattles her,\u201d said Gonzaga athletic director Chris Standiford, whose school decided last fall to join the new-old league. \u201cShe\u2019s one of the most ethical people I know. Her approach was perfect. There was no hyperbole, no oversell on any component. She was very authentic and that really resonated with everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Gonzaga is one of seven new schools headed to the Pac-12 in 2026<\/p>\n
Denver Post via Getty Images<\/p>\n
The newfangled Pac-12 will officially launch operations next July 1, and while Gould is not looking to plant a flag on anyone\u2019s 50-yard line just yet, she has reason to feel optimistic about what lies ahead. \u201cThere hasn\u2019t been a new league launched in over 25 years. I actually think the timing is perfect,\u201d Gould, 59, told Hoops HQ. \u201cThe fact that we\u2019re doing it at a point in time when everything around us is changing in the industry affords us an opportunity. It\u2019s easier when you\u2019re starting over and building a new league versus being a historic league that has done things the same way for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
It helped greatly that Gould brought a quarter century of history with the conference into the job. She earned her Masters in Education at Cal and worked in athletic administration at that school for 13 years, including one year as the interim athletic director. Gould served for six years as the Pac-12\u2019s deputy commissioner before being elevated to the top job following the forced resignation of her predecessor, George Kliavkoff. \u201cIt helped that we knew her, and knew her to be a competent person,\u201d Murthy said. \u201cThe people who worked in the Pac-12 had a high level of regard and confidence in her. We needed somebody with that level of credibility and commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gould acknowledged that when she agreed to take on the job, \u201cPeople who didn\u2019t know me thought I might be crazy. But the people closest to me \u2014 my mentors, my family, my team \u2014\u00a0knew exactly why I took it.\u201d At the top of her to-do list was off-loading the ten departing schools and nearly 200 staffers in the conference office. Mostly, she was ultra focused on the athletes at the two schools who were being left behind. \u201cI felt very strongly about the position those student-athletes were put in,\u201d she said. \u201cThey deserved to have somebody jump in the foxhole and fight for them and work on their behalf to create whatever the best possible future was going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tide started to turn three weeks into Gould\u2019s tenure when Oregon State and Washington State finalized the settlement of their lawsuit against the ten departing schools, which netted $65 million in exit fees. The settlement also gave them control of the league\u2019s assets and access to future revenue opportunities, although it was far from clear that there would be any.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Teresa Gould has overseen a remarkable resurgence of the Pac-12. Here are the key events of the last three years.<\/p>\n
Under an agreement that was reached in late 2003, Oregon State and Washington State competed in the Mountain West Conference (for football) and the West Coast Conference (for all the other sports) while they worked with Gould to decide whether they should join other leagues or try to refashion a new conference. That was the more preferable option, and Gould realized early on that it was a viable one as well. \u201cIt became obvious pretty quickly that the Pac-12 brand and legacy meant something in our business,\u201d she said. \u201cIt really felt reassuring given the amount of inbound interest we had. We realized we can control our own destiny here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new league needed at least eight schools to retain its autonomy status, which comes with access to the College Football Playoff Management Committee, among other benefits. Armed with cash from the settlement and a foothold in the marketplace, Gould hit the hustings to recruit potential candidates. Her work culminated last September when the Pac-12 announced that it was adding Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and Utah State.<\/p>\n
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