LEARFIELD Executive Vice President Deana Barnes sits down with Fresno State Director of Athletics Garrett Klassy and Utah State Vice President & Athletics Director Diana Sabau to discuss the impact of conference realignment on revenue generation opportunities as both institutions prepare to enter a reimagined Pac-12 Conference in 2026.

Sabau and Klassy offer insight into the strategic thinking and action items each department has tapped into as they prepare to kick off a new “challenger brand” alongside the restructured Pac-12, with Sabau noting that the Aggies took a hard look at ticket pricing and have prioritized “future proofing” the department via NIL opportunities and innovative partnerships. Sabau: “I am really engaged with the energy of our fanbase, of our donors, of our investors who believe and they want Utah State to be as competitive in the Pac-12 as we have been in our previous conferences. Utah State has a long lineage of conference memberships, so this integration is very important to us.”

Meanwhile Klassy dives into the regionality of Fresno State’s footprint and opportunities for cross-campus collaboration when it comes to revenue generation. Klassy: “We control our destiny when it comes to the storytelling piece and that becomes our brand value.”

The conversation is indexed below for efficient viewing:

0:48 - Diana, talk about your path - you're a female athletic director in Division I. Talk about how you got there and how you're thinking about revenue.
2:00 - What was your first role under Gene at Ohio State?
2:53 - Do you remember when in your journey you decided "I'm going to go for an athletic director" or did it happen organically?
3:30 - Garrett, over to you.
5:58 - The breadth of finding incremental revenue at different institutional profiles probably helped you get where you are today.
8:21 - How are you going to leverage the Pac-12 brand to start off in a new place within the conference and within Division I athletics?
10:56 - Garrett, how are you thinking about this new, post-realignment opportunity for Fresno State?
13:17 - It's a new beginning for the Pac-12 and you get to be part of defining that new brand and its value.
14:41 - How are you thinking about your NIL strategy with your student-athletes?
17:58 - What are some additional opportunities you're pursuing when it comes to revenue generation?
19:23 - You were intentional about thinking about the campus-wide connections. How did you think about that from Day 1 and what were the first things you did to get that moving?
22:22 - What other opportunities have you tapped into in order to take advantage of campus resources or facilities in order to drive additional revenue for your department?