Departing 10 Pac-12 schools to appeal decision giving control to Oregon State, Washington State

After a judge ruled against the Pac-12 and the 10 schools departing the league on Tuesday evening, allowing Oregon State and Washington State sole control, the institutions leaving the league stated they plan to appeal. The appeal will take place in the Washington Supreme Court.

The original case, heard in Whitman County, Washington, where Washington State University resides, sought a preliminary injunction against the 10 schools leaving the Pac-12, arguing that their notification of departure was also a forfeiting of voting power on the board. Whitman County Superior Court Judge Gary Libey agreed with the Cougars and Beavers, leaving the 10 departing schools to issue a strong statement promising appeal.

“We are disappointed with the decision and are immediately seeking review in the Washington Supreme Court and requesting to put on hold implementation of this decision,” the statement said, in part.

Libey put a stay on his order until the end of the week, meaning on Friday, OSU and WSU would take over as the sole voting members on the leagues board. The main concern from the 10 schools leaving, it appears, is that the two schools could then cut off league media payouts to those institutions departing the league.

The Beavers and Cougars stand to take over governance of the league and its roughly $400 million in annual assets.

“As members of the Pac-12, participating in ongoing and scheduled competitions, we are members of the board under the Pac-12 bylaws. We have the right to the revenue earned by our schools during the 2023-24 academic year, which is necessary in order to operate our athletics programs and to provide mental and physical health services, academic support, and other support programs for our student-athletes. We remain committed to the best interests of our student athletes, athletic departments, and university communities and will persist in our efforts to secure a fair resolution,” the statement said.

The 10 schools leaving the Pac-12 are Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Colorado, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Utah and Washington.

The departing schools moved to dismiss the suit in October

The University of Washington decided to represent the 10 outgoing Pac-12 schools in the matter, filing a motion in October to join the lawsuit brought on by Washington State and Oregon State in an effort to dismiss it.

WSU and OSU, who jointly filed the lawsuit on Sept. 9 arguing a breach of bylaws and even went as far as requesting a temporary restraining order, as they saw the other Pac-12 schools as an “imminent and existential threat,” to preserving the conference.

The two remaining Pac-12 teams released a statement, condemning Washington for attempting to dismiss the suit on their way out the door.

“The departing schools continue to undermine our efforts to secure the future of the Pac-12 Conference,” the two schools said in a statement provided by Jon Wilner on X. “They are relying on flimsy arguments to try to escape accountability for their actions. It won’t work. Their decisions directly damaged the Pac-12 and are causing real harm to the Conference, OSU, WSU, student-athletes, and the people of Oregon and Washington.

“We did not create or seek these circumstances, but OSU and WSU will continue to take whatever actions are necessary to protect our universities, ensure accountability and transparency, safeguard the Pac-12 Conference, and preserve our options moving forward. The future of the Pac-12 should be decided by the schools who stay, not those who go.”