Oregon State, Washington State Attempt to Control Pac-12 Opposed by Departing Schools

Divorces are messy. The end of the Pac-12 is no exception.

The departing Pac-12 universities following the 2023-24 seasons filed a motion on Thursday attempting to block Oregon State and Washington State’s motion to take control of the conference board and all revenue from the current season, per Chris Vannini of The Athletic.

They released the following statement:

The Pac-12 has had an exodus of schools that will become official next season, with Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA off to the Big Ten; Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah departing for the Big 12; and Stanford and Cal heading to the ACC.

Only Oregon State and Washington State remain and made the argument that the other 10 schools shouldn’t be considered current board members since they announced their departures effective on Aug. 1, 2024.

Per Vannini, “The filing cited past comments from [Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff, also a defendant in the filing] that USC and UCLA were removed from the board when they announced their Big Ten plans last year and a text message on Aug. 4 where Kliavkoff claimed the league had only four board members left (OSU, WSU, Cal and Stanford).”

Thursday’s filing has countered, however, that USC and UCLA were never actually withdrawn from the board and that Oregon State and Washington State’s lawsuit “stems from a flawed interpretation of the Pac-12 bylaws, which were drafted and ratified by all 12 schools to ensure an equal revenue distribution for every member who remains in the conference throughout the current media rights deal, which ends in summer 2024,”

The two schools previously were able to ensure, legally, that the departing schools were unable to dissolve the conference entirely and the departing schools are only permitted to meet as a board with court approval.