Sources say that Oregon State or Washington State have been almost ready to sign a deal to become affiliate members of the West Coast Conference.
Multiple reports say that Oregon State along with Washington State are close to signing a deal to become affiliate members of the West Coast Conference next year in a number of sports, including men’s and women’s basketball.
It’s kind of like the deal the schools made via the Mountain West to host six football games toward MW teams subsequent years, but there is a big difference.
When the Beavers and Cougars play MW schools in football, those games will not count regarding the conference standings. However, those games are likely to count toward the WCC rankings for other sports.
In addition, they should be able to play in conference competitions and represent the WCC in NCAA title games.
Multiple news sources say that by Thursday, the university presidents from all WCC schools will have met to talk about the deal, which has not yet been confirmed.
Last week, the Washington State Supreme Court decided not to review a lower court decision that gave OSU and WSU control in the Pac-12 board of directors. This deal would come after that decision.
Even though the Pac-12 is only made up of two teams, OSU and WSU plan to rebuild it and intend to maintain the conference’s logo on their football grounds next season.
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, for 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.
A lot of people see the WCC deal, which is a lot like the football agreement, as a short-term fix that will give the schools the opportunity to rebuild the Pac-12.
Sources say that similar talks with the MW about an affiliate deal that wasn’t just for football didn’t go through.
Two people who know about the talks told The Associated Press upon Wednesday that Oregon State and Washington State have been negotiating on a deal to join the West Coast Conference for two years to play basketball and other Olympic sports.
Unnamed sources say that a deal could be finished as soon as this week because of the few details that are still needed.
Sports was the first to report that the WCC university presidents had agreed to meet by Thursday to talk about the plan.
As they try to stay alive after the Pac-12 falls apart, Oregon State and Washington State revealed earlier this month that they would be scheduling football games with the Mountain West Football Conference for next season. The other 10 schools will be leaving to join other leagues next summer.
As part of the deal, the Beavers and Cougars will take part in six football games with Mountain West teams and pay the league $14 million.
One of the people said that the schools were talking about adding other sports to the deal with the Mountain West.
They were also looking into other options with the WCC, that involve Gonzaga, a top men’s basketball team.
Oregon State and Washington State would be able to play in league tournaments if they reach a deal with the WCC. Saint Mary’s, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Loyola Marymount, Portland, Pacific, as well as Pepperdine are also part of the WCC.
One of the people said that baseball is not part of the deal that is being thought about right now. In the last 20 years, Oregon State’s baseball team has been one of the best in the country, making it to six College World Series.
Under a deal with the WCC, Oregon State or Washington State could keep the Pac-12 as a two-team league for a minimum of one more year. The NCAA says that a league can have just two teams for a maximum of two years.