Oregon State and Washington State have reached an agreement with the withdrawing 10 Pac-12 schools to end their legal dispute. While the exact details of the ceasefire are still being worked out, the agreement ends a controversial conflict that dragged on for several months and multiple courts.
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement in principle that ends the litigation,” all twelve member schools said in a joint statement.
Oregon State President Jayathi Murthy and Washington State President Kirk Schulz said ESPN that the retiring members have agreed to “forego a portion of distributions” in the 2023-24 school year and to provide “specific guarantees” for possible upcoming liabilities that the conference may face. The “Pac-2” is also guaranteed the rights to all existing assets and income for the future.
“This agreement ensures that the future of the Pac-12 will be decided by the schools that stay, not those that leave,” the president's statement to ESPN said. “We look forward to what the future holds for our universities, our student-athletes, the Pac-12 Conference and millions of fans.”
Washington State and Oregon State gained voting control of the Pac-12 on December 15 after the Washington State Supreme Court declined to hear arguments. The decision to move the case upheld an earlier decision by the Whitman County (Wash.) court that Oregon State and Washington State should be the only two voting members of the Pac-12 board. The schools cited the precedent of USC and UCLA being removed as voting members after declaring their intention to move to the Big Ten.
“We have reached an agreement that provides support for all of our student-athletes and gives us the opportunity to vote on how the funds earned by all 12 schools this year will be used,” the departing 10 schools said in a joint statement. “This agreement allows OSU and WSU to maintain control of the hundreds of millions of dollars flowing into the conference in the coming years, as we have always maintained, while demanding that the vast majority of the funds flow into the conference in 2023-24 earned funds will be distributed equally among the 12 members. We will take our time in the coming days to work out the final details. For now, we are grateful to have resolved this dispute and look forward to competing in the Pac-12 over the next few months.”
For both sides, the primary issue was the future of the Pac-12 Conference and its assets. The 10 schools that dropped out claimed that Washington State and Oregon State were trying to cheat them out of legitimately earned revenue. Conversely, OSU and WSU claimed that upon leaving the conference, the retiring members could vote to liquidate assets and profits and avoid paying a portion of outstanding liabilities, including future litigation. The agreement helps reach closure on both fronts.
Washington State and Oregon State began preparing for the future of their non-football sports today. The schools will join the West Coast Conference as affiliate members in all sports except football and baseball for the next two seasons. The football teams have a separate scheduling agreement with the Mountain West for the next two years. Baseball teams will explore options; Oregon State's program is considered one of the best in the country.