Kyle Bonagura, ESPN Staff Writer December 21, 2023, 5:29 am
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- Covers the Pac-12.
- Joined ESPN in 2014.
- Attended Washington State University.
Oregon State and Washington State are nearing an agreement to join the West Coast Conference next year as associate members in multiple sports, primarily men's and women's basketball, sources told ESPN, confirming multiple reports.
It's a similar agreement to the one the schools reached with the Mountain West to play six football games against MW teams next year, but with one big difference. While the Beavers and Cougars' games against MW football schools do not count toward the conference standings, their games are expected to count towards the rankings of other sports in the WCC. They are also expected to be eligible to compete in conference tournaments and represent the WCC in NCAA championship events.
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The deal has not yet been finalized, but university presidents from WCC schools are expected to meet by Thursday to discuss it, according to multiple reports. The agreement follows the Washington state Supreme Court's decision last week not to review a lower court ruling that granted OSU and WSU control of the Pac-12 board.
OSU and WSU intend to rebuild the Pac-12 and will retain the conference's logo on their football fields next season despite operating as a two-team conference.
For a conference to exist, the NCAA requires, among other things, “at least seven active Division I members,” all of whom must sponsor men's and women's basketball, and that the conference must, among other things, sponsor at least 12 Division I sports. In the event of withdrawals, the statutes grant a conference a two-year grace period during which it can exist without the minimum number of schools.
The WCC agreement, like football's, is viewed as a short-term solution that will buy schools time to rebuild the Pac-12. There were similar discussions with the MW about a partnership agreement beyond football, but those talks fell through, sources said.