'It makes all the sense in the world for Gonzaga to be a new Pac-12 member'
While the Gonzaga Bulldogs hosted Eastern Oregon on the hardwood Tuesday, a much more anticipated battle in college athletics took place 75 miles south in Whitman County Court.
With control of the Pac-12 and its incoming revenue on the line, Judge Gary Libey ruled in favor of Washington State and Oregon State, declaring the two schools as the governing bodies of the conference. Libey sided with the plaintiffs after hearing arguments from the Pac-12 and the University of Washington, which acted on behalf of the nine other departing schools. It's expected that the outbound schools will appeal.
Oregon State and Washington State argued that Pac-12 bylaws stated that when schools announced they were joining other conferences, they immediately surrendered their seat on the conference board. They referenced the bylaw's use when UCLA and USC left for the Big Ten and again when Colorado defected to the Big 12.
The Pac-12 played a neutral role in the hearing, even suggesting that the two remaining members would be better off with the status quo and no board control. The outbound schools, meanwhile, tried to argue that they hadn't broken bylaws and stated their concern that Oregon State and Washington State would hoard the forthcoming revenue set to be distributed this academic year. Libey assured that all sides would be treated fairly, though it wasn't made clear how.
The conference is set to deal out $420 million in 2023-24 revenue from its media partners to the member institutions. Even revenue distribution to all 12 schools is likely but not a guarantee as of now.
Aside from finances, the ruling from Tuesday pushes the reality that a "Pac-2" conference could exist in 2024. It would be a costly operation for the Cougars and Beavers, not to mention a scheduling nightmare, but a two-team league is permissible until the end of the 2025-26 season under NCAA rules. After that, the conference would have a lot of work to do.
"As you know, the NCAA requires us to build up to eight teams. We've got two years to do it," Oregon State University president Jayathi Murthy said in an interview with NPR. "So we'll be looking for alliances and paths forward. I know how good we are. I know that we've got plenty of fight in us."
In the short term, the Beavers and Cougars could look to the Mountain West Conference as a scheduling life raft while trying to rebuild the Pac-12. In the long run, the Pac-12 will have to be aggressive in bringing in other members to meet the threshold. That could mean poaching MWC members or, perhaps, reaching out to a West Coast school that has been at the forefront of conference realignment talks.
"It makes all the sense in the world for Gonzaga to be a new Pac-12 member," ROOT Sports announcer Richard Fox said on an episode of Gonzaga Nation. "But I have no confidence that the Pac-12 leadership is even thinking about it that way. They might be in such survival mode that they’re trying to deal with the problem in front of them … they’re just reacting.”
Indeed, the Pac-12 has taken scrutiny over the last two years for its perceived lack of assertiveness. The opportunity to expand after Oklahoma and Texas left the Big 12 was missed. The media rights deal that took so long to assemble was rejected by the member institutions. The conference has become a cautionary tale for schools and leagues that aren't proactively searching for the best opportunity to stay afloat in the new landscape of college athletics, which is why Gonzaga has been linked to the Big 12 for over a year.
Still, Fox shared plenty of reasons for Gonzaga to be a part of a rebuilt Pac-12.
“Is there like a reverse merger, where you see [the Pac-12] basically poach the Mountain West? And now it makes sense. This is certainly a step-up in competition and money, on the West Coast. We still, as the Pac-12, have a seat at the table with these networks. We’re able to compete as a conference against these other conferences," Fox said. "From a geographic perspective, from a travel budget perspective and also from a style of play.”
If a move is to be made from either side, it would have to happen soon according to Fox, certainly within the two-year window the Pac-12 is granted. Especially with the Big 12 knocking on the door, the Pac-12 would have to move swiftly and with good reason to steal Gonzaga away.
