WCC adds Washington State, Oregon State as affiliate members for two-year term

Roughly 48 hours after reports suggested the West Coast Conference would bring Washington State and Oregon State aboard as affiliate members for a two-year term, the conference announced Friday it would be adding both schools across 12 sports beginning in 2024-25.

WSU and OSU, the lone remaining schools in the Pac-12 Conference following the 2023-24 academic year, will compete in all WCC-sponsored sports with the exception of baseball. WSU and OSU recently announced a football partnership with the Mountain West Conference for the 2024 season and there’s been speculation that the schools’ baseball programs would potentially explore independence.

WCC presidents and the conference’s executive council approved affiliate membership during a vote on Thursday morning, according to a report from the Oregonian.

“As we explore long-term solutions for the Pac-12 Conference and Washington State University, we appreciate Commissioner Stu Jackson and the West Coast Conference for their partnership in providing 10 of our programs affiliate membership,” WSU Director of Athletics Pat Chun said. “The WCC allows an opportunity for our 10 teams to have access to championships as well as high-level competition.

“We are grateful to our student-athletes and coaches who have been patient and supportive as we work through the best path forward for WSU.”

On Thursday, the departing Pac-12 members agreed to end litigation in its lawsuit with WSU and OSU and forfeit a portion of its revenue distribution for the remainder of the 2023-24 academic year.

The short-term expansion plan gives the WCC 11 teams in men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s soccer, volleyball and women’s cross country; 10 teams in men’s golf and women’s tennis; nine in men’s soccer, men’s cross country and women’s rowing; and six in softball and women’s golf.

For the 2024-25 and 2025-26 academic years, the conference will comprise WSU, OSU, Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Pacific, Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, San Diego and Portland.

The WCC confirmed that WSU and OSU would be eligible to compete in postseason championship events and earn the conference’s automatic qualifier spots for NCAA championships. The schools will also be included in the WCC’s media rights agreement.

“The WCC has a great history of national success, and we look forward to continued excellence with the addition of Oregon State and Washington State as affiliate members of the conference,” Jackson, the conference’s first-year commissioner, said in a WCC news release. “These are two prestigious institutions with a robust athletics profile that each embody the intrinsic values of the WCC.”

The additions of WSU and OSU could help create natural travel partners within the WCC. WSU and Gonzaga are separated by 80 miles .

WSU men’s basketball coach Kyle Smith, who had three stints in the WCC as an assistant at San Diego and Saint Mary’s and a head coach at San Francisco, weighed in on the move during a postgame news conference following the Cougars’ 66-61 win over Boise State at the Arena on Thursday.

“My first thought is like, if I can get the scaffolding … where I can nail the crucifix up at the watch tower, because it’s a Catholic league, right?” Smith said. “We’re in the WCC, so I’m just making sure. Are we Jesuits or Christian brothers? No, hey, it’s just a funky time. It’s a great basketball league, nobody knows it better than me. So it’s just, the irony of it is pretty funny.

“They did a heckuva job. Obviously, it’s been a tumultuous time, but that lawsuit getting buried and finally settling the Pac-12 thing, we can see a path forward. That’s just healthy for everyone that’s a Coug fan and we’re going somewhere, hopefully.”