Oregon State and Washington State have reached an agreement with the departing 10 Pac-12 schools to end their legal battle. While full details of the truce are still being finalized, the agreement ends what has been a contentious conflict that has played out across multiple months and courts.
"We are pleased to have reached an agreement in principle that ends litigation," all 12 members schools said in a joint statement.
Oregon State president Jayathi Murthy and Washington State president Kirk Schulz told ESPN that the departing members have agreed to "forfeit a portion of distributions" during the 2023-24 school year and "provide specific guarantees" against potential upcoming liabilities that the conference could encounter. The "Pac-2" is also guaranteed the rights to all existing assets and revenues heading forward.
"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 presidents' statement to ESPN reads. "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 were given voting control of the Pac-12 on Dec. 15 after the Washington State Supreme Court declined to hear arguments. The decision to pass on the case affirmed a previous decision made in Whitman County (Washington) Court that Oregon State and Washington State should be the only two voting members of the Pac-12 board. The schools pointed to the precedent of USC and UCLA's removal as voting members after declaring intent to leave for the Big Ten.
"We have reached an agreement that provides support for all of our student-athletes and our ability to vote on how money earned this year by all 12 schools is allocated," a joint statement from the departing 10 schools reads. "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. For now, we are grateful to resolve this dispute and look forward to competing against each other over the next several months in the Pac-12."
At primary issue for both sides was the future of the Pac-12 Conference and its assets. The departing 10 schools claimed that Washington State and Oregon State would try to cheat them out of rightfully earned revenue. Conversely, OSU and WSU claimed the departing members could vote to liquidize assets and profit on their way out of the conference and avoid paying any part of outstanding liabilities, including future court cases. The agreement helps bring closure on both fronts.
Earlier today, Washington State and Oregon State began preparing for the future of their non-football sports. The schools will join the West Coast Conference as affiliate members in all sports except football and baseball over the next two seasons. The football teams have reached a separate scheduling agreement with the Mountain West over the next two years. The baseball teams will explore options; Oregon State's program is considered one of the nation's best.