Can Washington State and Oregon State afford to buy themselves like California and Stanford in the latest conference realignment drama?
The joining of California Golden Bears, Stanford Cardinal, and SMU Mustangs to the Atlantic Coast Conference has created a different aspect for conference realignment. The teams have accepted to join the ACC at the beginning of the 2024 college football season and will be not getting conference money for the first handful of seasons with the conference.
Speculation has it that the Oregon State Beavers and the Washington State Cougars could accept a similar deal. They are the only two remaining teams that have not left the Pac-12 Conference as of yet. While the conference continues to dwindle, it will be interesting to see how things work out for these two programs.
Will they follow suit with what the California Golden Bears and the Stanford Cardinal did? Can they afford it? The remaining duo of teams in the Pac-12 will have to figure out the next step for their future.
Will the two remaining Pac-12 teams follow suit with Stanford and California?
Many people are claiming that Stanford and California "bought" their way into a Power Five conference. However, this does pave the way for Oregon State and Washington State if they believe a short-term financial hit is worth a long-term financial gain.
Even though these two teams do not necessarily feel like a Power Five football team, but if they were to be with a Power Five conference, it would be the Big 12. Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark has not shied away from adding teams from the Pac-12. Big 12 expansion has been all over the country but failed to hit California as of now.
That is okay as they have hit strong media markets already across the continental United States and have greatly improved both in football and basketball. With Big 12 Mexico set to begin as well, adding two more programs can help gain more exposure.
However, if they are unable to join the Big 12, then a Group of Five conference like the Mountain West will most likely be their destination. There would be a significant decrease in media rights than what they are used to, but the competition level for their programs would make a lot more sense.
With conference realignment being the hottest part of college athletics, seeing conferences disband will likely become the norm. Oregon State and Washington State have to figure out their next move for the future and officially end the Pac-12