Where does Washington State go from here after collapse of Pac-12?
With the Pac-12 now essentially dissolved, with eight of the 12 teams leaving for new conferences at the beginning of the 2024 season after a chaotic Friday of movement and change, the question remains as to where Washington State fits into the future of college football.
With Oregon and Washington announcing their departures to the Big Ten starting in 2024, where they will join USC and UCLA, and Arizona, Arizona State and Utah following Colorado into the Big 12, only four remain in the Cougars, Oregon State, Stanford and CAl.
Cougars coach Jake Dickert said it wasn't his place to spend time thinking about where the university and its athletic programs go from here, but he did share his reaction -- echoing the thoughts of most WSU fans, alums and supporters.
“The Pac-12 was comprised of 12 amazing state institutions -- high academic institutions, great, tremendous athletic institutions for a long time. I woke up as a kid and the Rose Bowl was Big Ten-Pac-12, Pac-10 back then, and that was a big deal,” Dickert said. "Traveling across the country, you look at the NFL, they've got tons of research on how hard that is and that's for professional athletes. For student-athletes, the guys that got to come back and take an exam and missing class, I think it's tremendously difficult and I think it hits home. ...
"To think it's the end of the Apple Cup, to think it's the end of the Civil War -- I don't know if they can call that that anymore -- but at the end of the day, what's it worth? I understand business. I understand change. Everyone's got to change, we've got to adapt, and Wazzu will find its way. We have for 100 and some years and we will again. I'm not privy to the information. I think in uncertain times, the biggest thing I want to do is double down on the now. I want to double down on this team."
That doesn't make the question, uncertainty and anxiety for Cougars fans (and university leaders) go away, though.
So what are the options?
One can only speculate at this point ...
The university released a statement after the announcements, saying that it is “disappointed” and that WSU will “chart the best path forward” in terms of finding a new conference or replacing the old teams with new members of the Pac-12.
As of now, there has been nothing tangible linking the remaining four schools with the Mountain West, but the obvious connections have been made given the geographical convenience of a potential merger. Under what name would that happen? The Mountain West has the leverage at the moment, as its members would face a steep exit fee estimated at $34 million, per the San Diego Union-Tribune, to leave before 2024 -- when the four remaining Pac-12 teams will need to have a home. That would seem an immovable obstacle if the Pac-12 wanted to restock and pry away the top of the Mountain West and American Athletic Conferences, though nothing can be ruled out.
The best hope might be for Washington State to pine for an invite to the Big 12 to follow its former league mates. That conference is now up to 16 teams already, though, and every additional member means a smaller slice of the TV revenue pie for each school (unless the new additions are deemed to bring in enough market value to up the ante from the TV partners-- in this case ESPN and FOX Sports.)
Without being privy to how the Big 12 made the financials work in adding the other four Pac-12 schools, it's hard to say what is or isn't possible.
Either way, WSU will have to suffer the unfortunate consequences of the “dog eat dog” world of college football, along with three other well-respected institutions.
It's hard to imagine any scenario where the Cougars replace what they're presently earning, which for the 2021-22 athletics year was about $37 million.
The long-term effects are still to be determined -- with the potential of cutting sports, trimming staff, etc., logical concerns -- but those answers will take time, barring a sudden life raft from another conference.
In the meantime, the Cougars are part of a full Pac-12 for one more season, and that's all Dickert cares to focus on at this point.
"I have no time to focus on that -- that's for other people to control," Dickert said of the questions that now hover over his program. "My control is right here, right now."