Washington and Oregon to join Big Ten Conference in 2024

SEATTLE – On Dec. 2, 1915, The Pacific Coast Conference – later known as the Pac-10, and then the Pac-12 – was founded in a meeting at the Imperial Hotel in Portland. Washington, Oregon, Oregon State and California were the west coast conference’s charter members.

For 108 years, the conference has evolved around those four schools.

On Friday, it fell apart.

Washington and Oregon have been officially voted into the Big Ten Conference, the league announced Friday. The Huskies and Ducks will become Big Ten members effective Aug. 2, 2024.

“The Big Ten is a thriving conference with strong athletic and academic traditions, and we are excited and confident about competing at the highest level on a national stage,” UW president Ana Mari Cauce said in a statement. “My top priority must be to do what is best for our student-athletes and our University, and this move will help ensure a strong future for our athletics program.”

Added UW athletic director Jen Cohen in the same Big Ten release announcing the moves: “We have tremendous respect and gratitude for the Pac-12, its treasured history and traditions. At the same time, the college athletics landscape has changed dramatically in recent years. The Big Ten’s history of athletic and academic success and long-term stability best positions our teams for future success, and we are energized at the opportunity to compete at the highest level against some of the best programs in the country.”

A Yahoo! Sports report states that both Oregon and Washington “are expected to agree to a cut rate – perhaps as low as 50% – of the Big Ten’s media revenue that could reach $65 million/year per institution. That is still more than the Pac-12’s proposed media deal with Apple TV+, which is estimated to be in the $20-25 million range.”

ESPN later clarified that UW and Oregon will receive a partial revenue share through the conclusion of its upcoming television deal with ESPN, Fox and NBC in the 2029-30 school year. Their shares will reportedly escalate each year “and be competitive with, and perhaps surpass, the payouts of leagues like the Big 12 and ACC.”

Despite those discounts, and despite looming logistical headaches associated with arduous cross-country travel, the Big Ten offers more than just money. The Big Ten and the SEC – which will add Oklahoma and Texas to form a 16-team conference in 2024 – are positioned as college football’s only legitimate power conferences in the year to come. Inclusion in either club brings visibility, exposure and security … as well as revenue to fund all other scholarship sports.

UW and Oregon are not required to pay an exit fee due to the Pac-12’s expiring media-rights contract as well.

UW and Oregon were not the last domino to fall.

Arizona, Arizona State and Utah were unanimously admitted into the Big 12 Friday night, the conference announced.

Multiple reports stated that all nine remaining Pac-12 presidents entered an emergency meeting on Friday morning with the possibility of signing a grant of rights that would ensure the conference’s unlikely survival. Yahoo! reported that leaders at UW and Oregon participated in multiple “positive” Pac-12 meetings over the past three days and suggested they’d be willing to sign a grant of rights.

But per ESPN, Friday’s call ended quickly “because of a lack of comfort moving forward with the primary streaming deal.”

With UW, Oregon, USC and UCLA all headed to the Big Ten in 2024, and Colorado returning to the Big 12, George Kliavkoff’s conference – which he inherited from embattled former commissioner Larry Scott – is suddenly teetering toward total collapse.

Of course, for the Huskies, such a move jeopardizes the future of in-state rival Washington State – as well as the Apple Cup.

Regarding potential legislation that could bind UW and WSU to a common conference, Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, told The Times on Thursday: “I would be very reluctant (to pursue legislation), because I think the Legislature needs to stay out of intercollegiate activities and focus on the core higher education responsibilities.

“But I would be very disappointed, obviously, if UW left the conference, because it takes away from a great rivalry between two research universities that work together except for when they compete on the athletic fields or hard court.”

The in-state series dates to 1900, with Washington holding a 75-33-6 in 114 football meetings. It’s entirely possible the Apple Cup could continue as an annual nonconference series, a la Iowa-Iowa State or Florida-Florida State, but that would require the schools to put aside Friday’s fracture and collaborate.

“We are proud of our rich history with the Pac-12 and for more than a year have worked hard to find a viable path that would keep it together,” Cauce said in a statement. “I have tremendous admiration and respect for my Pac-12 colleagues. Ultimately, however, the opportunities and stability offered by the Big Ten are unmatched.

“Even with this move, we remain committed to the Apple Cup and to competing with WSU across all of our sports.”

The Cougars joined the Pac-12 in 1917 and, outside of a brief stretch as an independent from 1959-61, have been a conference mainstay since.

With Arizona, Arizona State and Utah all following Colorado to the Big 12, the Pac-12’s remaining programs – WSU, Oregon State, Stanford and Cal – are left to essentially scramble for scraps. The Mountain West Conference would “be open” to adding Pac-12 members, according to a report by the Action Network. The two conferences could conceivably merge as well.

“To think it’s the end of the Apple Cup … at the end of the day, what’s it worth?” WSU coach Jake Dickert said Friday. “I understand business. I understand change. Everyone’s got to change. We’ve got to adapt, and Wazzu will find its way. We have for a-hundred-and-some years, and we will again.”

Added WSU president Kirk Schulz and athletic director Pat Chun in a prepared statement: “We are disappointed with the recent decisions by some of our Pac-12 peers. While we had hoped that our membership would remain together, this outcome was always a possibility, and we have been working diligently to determine what is next for Washington State Athletics.

“We’ve prepared for numerous scenarios, including our current situation. With exceptional student-athletes, a strong Cougar tradition and incredible support from our fans, donors and alumni, we will chart the best path forward together.”

Regional rivalries aside, UW must also consider undeniable financial factors – as it projects a $7.8 million deficit in the current fiscal year. The matter of paying off a loan that financed Husky Stadium’s renovation in 2012 will soon become more challenging as well.

After the university sold 30-year bonds to pay for the project, UW Athletics must make annual payments back to the school throughout the life of the loan. Its debt service has been restructured into interest-only payments in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, FY24 and FY25.

But that relief is set to disintegrate.

“Debt service will increase from $9.8 million per year to $17.7 million per year in FY26 due to the resumption of principal payments on ICA loans,” a university document stated in June. “Prior to this increase in debt service, efforts are underway campus-wide to develop a solution that offers longer-term stability to Athletics.”

The Big Ten, it appears, will offer some semblance of long-term stability – though not without sacrifice. Football and men’s basketball essentially fund all other scholarship sports, but it’s still difficult to envision UW volleyball arriving for a Big Ten road game at Rutgers in Piscataway, New Jersey, or the softball team stepping off a plane near the University of Maryland in College Park.

As it relates to College Football Playoff access, there may be a price to pay. The CFP is set to expand to a 12-team format in 2024, with automatic bids going to the six highest-ranked conference champions. For an alternate Pac-12 with Oregon and Washington, that would have provided a direct annual path to the playoff.

Instead, Washington will be tasked with summiting a steeper mountain …

But one that won’t erupt.

This story will be updated.

Seattle Times staff reporter Claire Withycombe contributed to this report.