After settlement, Oregon State, Washington State can begin long Pac-12 rebuild

The protracted, contentious legal wrangling between the Pac-12 Conference’s 10 departing schools and Oregon State and Washington State is finally over, paving the way for the remaining Pac-2 to begin the arduous rebuild of the 108-year-old Conference of Champions.

Consider Thursday’s settlement announcement another victory for Oregon State and Washington State, both of which were abandoned this summer as the league failed to land a palatable media rights deal and the remainder of the league scattered to greener pastures in more stable and lucrative power leagues.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

But as it turned out, the Pac-2 appeared to get everything it could have hoped: retention of league assets and future revenues; an undisclosed portion of departing schools’ revenue distributions this academic year; and protection against future liabilities.

The key portion of the joint statement released by OSU and WSU states the 10 departing schools have “agreed to forfeit a portion of distributions over the remainder of the 2023-2024 year and provide specific guarantees against potential future liabilities.”

The Pac-12’s projected revenue for 2023-24 is some $420 million, which equates to $35 million per school.

Additionally, the statement says the conference will retain its assets and all future revenues. The legal tussle that waged throughout the fall centered on who would have control of the league’s lucrative financial assets, which included some $60 million in NCAA tournament units.

‘A significant step toward stabilizing the Pac-12’

The settlement was not unexpected after the 10 departing schools were left with few options following the Washington Supreme Court last week deciding not to review a lower court’s ruling to grant control of the league to OSU and WSU.

The joint statement by OSU and WSU stated that the settlement “marks a huge victory for our universities and a significant step toward stabilizing the Pac-12 conference and preserving its 108-year legacy … This agreement ensures that the future of the Pac-12 will be decided by the schools that are staying, not those that are leaving.” 

The fact that the 10 departing schools will provide “specific guarantees against future liabilities” is significant in large part because of the huge financial threat hovering over the NCAA and all five power leagues. They are defendants in the landmark House antitrust lawsuit, whose outcome could force the NCAA and Power Five leagues to be on the hook for as much as $4.2 billion owed to thousands of athletes in retroactive NIL pay and broadcast revenue.

The 10 departing schools issued a statement that read in part: “This 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. We will take time in the coming days to work out the final details.”

Pac-12 begins now

OSU and WSU have finalized a football scheduling agreement with the Mountain West Conference for 2024. Additionally, OSU will continue to play rival Oregon in 2024 and 2025, and WSU will continue to play rival Washington through 2028. 

Long term, both OSU and WSU have repeatedly signaled that they would like to undertake the formidable task of trying to rebuild the Pac-12. The NCAA stipulates that conferences must have eight members to formally have FBS status. But there is a two-year grace period. OSU and WSU could move to add schools over the next two years.

The Pac-12 will never again be what it once was. But with control of the league and its future assets, OSU and WSU can now begin the long, slow rebuild of a historic conference. The settlement with the 10 departing schools marked a significant step in that direction.