There are still plenty of questions about the long-term future of remaining Pac-12 schools Oregon State and Washington State, but we now have a much better sense of who they’ll play in football next season. After weeks of discussion around the “Pac-2” striking some level of deal with the Mountain West, ranging from a poaching of schools to a full merger to a scheduling partnership of some kind, we now have details on what that will look like in 2024.
For the moment, that will be a scheduling alliance. It will see the MWC dropping from eight conference games to seven conference games and add a game for each of its 12 schools against the Beavers and Cougars. Those Pac-2 teams will each play six games against MWC schools, and have said they’ll also play five Power Five schools and one FCS school. Here’s more on this from ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura, including the financial part of the deal and the possibility for it to extend to other sports.
Oregon State and Washington State will each play six MWC opponents in 2024, three at home and three on the road. The games will not count toward the MWC standings, and neither school is eligible for the conference championship game.
The two schools will pay the Mountain West a combined $14 million as part of the scheduling agreement, a source told ESPN, confirming a Yahoo Sports report.
“The scheduling agreement will expand the Mountain West footprint and enhance our national brand, while providing our student-athletes with new opportunities, all in line with our strategic priorities,” Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez said in a statement. “The scheduling agreement strengthens the league’s non-conference schedules, and we look forward to having Oregon State and Washington State be a part of the 2024 slate.”
…Friday’s announcement mentioned football only, though sources told ESPN that discussions between the MWC and the two Pac-12 schools are expected to result in similar scheduling agreements in other sports, including basketball.
That Yahoo report from Ross Dellenger comes with the news that there’s an option for a second season. So while this deal itself is very specific (and likely was that way so it could be finished ahead of the football transfer portal opening Monday, providing clarity for both those at the Pac-2 schools and those considering going there on what their schedules might look like), it could wind up being for more than just a year.
And Bonagura notes that there could be a more formal Pac-2/Mountain West merger down the road. But that would likely only take place if the Cougars and Beavers win their legal battle to take control of the Pac-12 conference assets. And it likely wouldn’t happen until the Mountain West TV deals (with CBS and Fox, officially signed in January 2020) expire after the 2025-26 season.
Speaking of those TV deals, that’s an interesting element of this alliance. Those Mountain West TV partners (CBS is the primary partner, with most games on CBS Sports Network) seem likely to benefit from this. Those games against the Pac-2 schools when played as a home game for Mountain West teams (home schools tend to control TV rights) would presumably count in place of the eighth conference game from previous years.
And that looks like an upgrade for those TV partners. Beyond the recent Power 5 status of Oregon State and Washington State (it’s unclear if that will continue), the Cougars and Beavers have also impressed on the field lately, with both ranked for several weeks this year (and Oregon State still No. 20 in the CFP rankings and tied for No. 21 in the AP poll). The Beavers and Cougars finished the regular season 8-4 and 5-7 overall respectively. While a matchup against them isn’t necessarily better than the very top Mountain West matches, it seems more desirable from an audience standpoint than an average MWC game.
This also adds some intrigue to what will happen with the Washington State and Oregon State home games. Those schools don’t currently have a TV deal for 2024 or beyond. But they’re clearly putting together schedules, and if they are able to wind up with five Power Five opponents, six MWC opponents, and a FCS opponent, the home half of that seems like at least a decent proposition for networks or streamers. It’s certainly not clear they’ll get an offer even at the $23 million per school base rate Apple proposed for the whole Pac-12 (which the Beavers and Cougars wanted to take), but there’s some value here. We’ll see who winds up bidding for it and how that goes.
[ESPN]
