Both Oregon State or Washington State have agreements with Pac-12 schools that are leaving.
The 12 universities said Thursday the fact that Oregon State or Washington State had reached a “agreement in principle” with the 10 universities that are leaving the Pac-12. This ends the ongoing lawsuits over who controls the conference.
Last week, the Washington State Supreme Court decided not to review a lower court’s ruling that let OSU and WSU run the Pac-12 board of directors. This led to the agreement.
Of the 10 schools that are leaving, an undisclosed amount of revenue distributions for the rest of the 2023–24 school year will be forfeited as part of the agreement. The schools have also given “specific guarantees towards potential future liabilities.”
“In September, Oregon State University along with Washington State University, the last two schools left in the Pac-12 Conference, had to act quickly to protect the future of the Pac-12.”
The strong will of Beaver Nation or Cougar Nation, along with the hard work of our athletes, teachers, and staff, has brought us closer to our goal, said OSU president Jayathi Murthy as well as WSU president Kirk Schultz in a joint statement.
“Today’s news signifies a huge victory for our colleges and universities and an important milestone to stabilizing the Pac-12 Conference or preserving its 108-year legacy.”
This change makes it possible for everyone to move on. For Oregon State and Washington State in particular, it gives them a better idea of their finances as they begin their rebuilding of the Pac-12.
It was revealed earlier this month that OSU and WSU had agreed with the Mountain West Union to play six MWC teams in football over the 2024 season.
Another deal with the Pacific Coast Conference is almost complete, which will let them host most of its other sports, including men’s and women’s basketball. ESPN was told that the deal with the WCC may be made public as soon as this week.
The NCAA says that a conference must have “at least seven active Division I members,” and all of those members must sponsor both men’s and women’s basketball.
The conference must also sponsor at least 12 Division I sports, among other things. If a school leaves the conference, the rules say that it can still operate without the required number of schools for two years.
Once the two years are up, OSU and WSU should have added enough new teams to meet NCAA standards. This could include an inverted merger with Mountain West teams.
Murthy and Schulz stated, “The schools that are staying, not those who are leaving, will decide the future of the Pac-12.”
“We look forward to learning what the future holds for our universities, our athletes, the Pac-12 Conference, or millions of fans.”
For next season, both athletic teams will have to make other plans. For instance, the WCC doesn’t offer swimming or track and field, so those sports still don’t have a clear home.
The Cougars could compete against each other in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, which hosts 11 sports and possesses affiliate people from schools all over the country, such as Cal, Stanford, UCLA, and USC. However, most of the schools that are affiliated are on the West Coast.
According to Oregon State President Jayathi Murthy and Washington State President Kirk Schulz, the members who are leaving have agreed to “forfeit a portion of distributions” over the 2023–24 school year as well as “provide specific guarantees” against any future problems the conference might have. Along with that, the “Pac-2” will keep the rights to all assets and future profits.
The president told ESPN, “This agreement makes sure that the schools that are staying will decide the future of the Pac-12, not the schools that are leaving.” “We look forward to what tomorrow holds for our universities, our athletes, the Pac-12 Conference, along with millions of fans.”