By The Athletic
Oregon State University and Washington State University have reached an agreement in principle with the 10 departing Pac-12 schools to settle their ongoing legal battle over control of the conference’s board and assets, the 12 universities announced Thursday.
The outgoing schools have “agreed to forfeit a portion of distributions over the rest of the 2023-2024 year and provide specific guarantees against potential future liabilities,” Oregon State president Jayathi Murthy and Washington State president Kirk Schulz said in a joint statement. The conference will also retain its assets and all future revenues, they said.
The 10 departing schools said in a statement that the agreement “allows OSU and WSU to maintain control of the hundreds of millions of dollars coming into the conference in future years, as we have always maintained they would, while calling for the vast majority of funds earned in 2023-24 to be distributed equally among the 12 members.” The schools added that final details would be worked out “in the coming days.”
Last week, OSU and WSU regained control of the Pac-12 board and the conference’s assets following a decision by the Washington Supreme Court. The court declined to hear an appeal by the University of Washington and the Pac-12, subsequently lifting a temporary stay that weeks ago had halted an original decision last month by the Whitman County (Wash.) Superior Court to give the two schools control of the conference.
The decision gave OSU and WSU control of the league until a trial or settlement between the sides.
OSU and WSU have spent the last several months figuring out their next move in the wake of the Pac-12’s collapse. The two schools’ original case argued the 10 departing members forfeited their rights to be on the board and make conference decisions when they announced their intentions to join the Big Ten, Big 12 or ACC. OSU and WSU were also concerned the departing schools could vote to dissolve the conference and split up the assets.
The departing schools, in turn, had expressed concern that OSU and WSU could withhold all 2023-24 conference revenue while they are still a part of the league, adding that OSU and WSU were welcome to keep all future revenues and assets after they leave next summer.
“Today’s news marks a huge victory for our universities and a significant step toward stabilizing the Pac-12 Conference and preserving its 108-year legacy,” Murthy and Schulz said Thursday. “This agreement ensures that the future of the Pac-12 will be decided by the schools that are staying, not those that are leaving.”
Earlier Thursday, the West Coast Conference voted to add OSU and WSU as affiliate members in most non-football sports for the 2024-25 academic year, a WCC source said — a key step in the schools’ work to sort out short-term landing spots for their teams. Earlier this month, OSU and WSU finalized a one-year football scheduling agreement with the Mountain West for next season.
What does this resolution mean?
We don’t know all the specifics, but based on the statement from OSU and WSU, it’s hard not to view this as the two schools getting basically everything they could’ve reasonably wanted out of this tough situation. This legal fight began when OSU and WSU were worried the departing 10 schools could vote to dissolve the league and split up the assets. Now, the two schools will keep all future assets, keep some of this year’s distribution money from the departing 10 schools and have guarantees from them against future liabilities. What more could you ask for? — Chris Vannini, senior college football writer
What’s next for OSU, WSU?
With this legal dispute in the rear-view mirror, it’s finally time for Oregon State and Washington State to move forward. The two schools have gained control of the league’s assets and governance moving forward, so they can fully explore the idea of back-filling the league and keeping the Pac-12 brand alive. They signed a football scheduling agreement with the Mountain West, so they have a full football schedule for next fall. They are putting most of the rest of their sports in the West Coast Conference, giving those athletes and those coaches schedules to look forward to as well.
These two schools have come a long way from where they were in mid-August, alone and abandoned. They have found transitional homes and temporary solutions, buying themselves the time they need to figure out the long-term. And that’s a big win. — Nicole Auerbach, senior college football writer
I thought universities existed to educate students. Instead we have massive corruption because they want to make money off of organized sports.