Will the Washington State Cougars join the Mountain West Conference? Exploring the alternatives for President Kirk Schulz ahead of the 2023 season
The Washington State Cougars are one of four schools that remain in the Pac-12 as the conference has been decimated by realignment. The Cougars are weighing realignment options of their own, according to school president Kirk Schulz, who recently spoke with Enrique Cerna.
Brett McMurphy of The Action Network shared Schulz's comments, tweeting:
"Washington State president Kirk Schulz tells @enriquecerna, WSU has 3 options: join Mountain West, join AAC or rebuild Pac-12. 'The third option would be to sort of reconstitute or rebuild the Pac – I'll say Pac-X right now, there's 4 members left, but that could change literally w/in hours,' Schulz said. 'And so I think each of those we're pursuing in a parallel pathway & we want to evaluate what's going to be best for WSU.'"
Check out Brett McMurphy's tweet here.
Could the Washington State Cougars join the Mountain West Conference?
The Washington State Cougars' future is likely dependent on the remaining members of the Pac-12, particularly the California Bears and Stanford Cardinal. While the Cougars and Oregon State Beavers' futures may be linked, if the Bears and Cardinal decide to leave, the Pac-12 will likely dissolve altogether.
The Atlantic Coast Conference recently held a vote on adding both programs, with Brett McMurphy of The Action Network sharing that the potential expansion fell one vote short of approval, tweeting:
"Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina & NC State are the ACC schools against adding Stanford & Cal, sources told @ActionNetworkHQ. 1st report by SI. W/only 11 of 15 schools (including Notre Dame) in favor, ACC expansion is 1 vote shy of required 75% (12 of 15) to add new members"
Check out Brett McMurphy's tweet here.
Although the Pac-12 is looking to expand by adding programs, if one ACC school changes its vote and the Bears and Cardinal join the conference, the Washington State Cougars will likely be looking for a new home as well. It is unclear if they would wind up in the Mountain West, however, they do not have many options if the conference dissolves.
The Pac-12 has watched eight schools announce their plans to leave the conference in 2024.
The Oregon Ducks, UCLA Bruins, USC Trojans and Washington Huskies will join the Big Ten. Furthermore, the Arizona Wildcats, Arizona State Sun Devils, Colorado Buffaloes and Utah Utes will join the Big 12. The departures were driven, in large part, by the conference's inability to land a long-term media rights deal.