OSU and WSU say goodbye to PAC-12, and hello to West Coast Conference

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - Despite a flurry of chaos amidst the dismantling of the PAC-12, OSU and WSU have finally landed themselves a home for the next two years. July 1 marks the start of Oregon State University and Washington State University’s affiliation with the West Coast Conference.

After accepting invitations to join the conference in December 2023, Monday is the official entrance date of OSU and WSU into the WCC.

In the 2024-25 academic year, the universities will be introducing a handful of their programs to the WCC, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s soccer, volleyball, men’s golf, women’s golf, women’s cross country and women’s rowing. OSU will also be competing in the WCC in men’s soccer and softball, and WSU in women’s tennis and men’s cross country.

OSU and WSU will be joining a conference composed of universities across the states of Washington, Oregon and California: Gonzaga University, the University of Portland, the University of San Francisco, Santa Clara University, St. Mary’s College of California, University of the Pacific, Pepperdine University, Loyola Marymount University and the University of San Diego.

The WCC has now gone from being a nine team conference, to an 11 team conference and will be competing in 12 NCAA sports.

The OSU and WSU football programs are one sport who will be exploring other options, due to the lack of football programs within the WCC. The programs will both be entering schedules that allow for competition within the Mountain West Conference, as well as further independent scheduling.

WSU entered a scheduling agreement with the Mountain West that has allowed them to schedule six-games in the MWC, alongside a matchup with OSU and 11 other non-conference meetings. You can view the full 2024-25 Cougars football schedule here.

OSU has entered a similar scheduling agreement with the Mountain West, and has created a schedule streaked with matchups against power-5 opponents. You can view the full 2024-25 Beavers football schedule here.

As for the OSU and WSU baseball programs, another sport from the universities that will not be participating in WCC competition, decisions are to continue to be made and released regarding future scheduling.

Both universities have agreed to a two-year term with the WCC, and will continue to explore their options for when the contract ends in light of rapid change within the climate of conference realignments.