2 Pac-12 teams to become homeless in 11 months if Mountain West or other Group of 5 schools don't come to rescue

The Pac-12 has been decimated by conference realignment as ten of the 12 programs are set to leave the conference ahead of the 2024 season. The Oregon State Beavers and Washington State Cougars are the only two programs that have not found a new home and their future remains murky, at best.

While the AAC appeared to be an option initially, that looks to have changed as Commissioner Mike Aresco minimized their interest in the programs. Mark Zeigler of 'The San Diego Union Tribune' recently discussed the remaining two options for Oregon and Washington, saying"

"One is to simply join the Mountain West, which is more geographically favorable than the AAC but could mean abandoning tens of millions of dollars in Pac-12 assets that presumably would be divided 12 ways instead of two if they stay.” (via sandiegouniontribune.com)

"The other is to have Mountain West schools join them under the Pac-12 banner, either poaching a breakaway group from the Mountain West’s upper tier or a reverse merger with between nine and all 12 current members," he added.

He continued:

"The problem with the former plan is it invokes exit fees of $16.6 million with one year’s notice and $33.2 million inside that, and Oregon State and Washington State will be homeless in 11 months. A merger would involve voting to dissolve the Mountain West and eliminate exit fees, but sorting through legal details takes time, a luxury and Oregon State and Washington State don’t have. As of today, each has three football games on next season’s schedule (including WSU at SDSU next September)."

While the rest of the Pac-12 has already announced their plans for 2024, the Beavers and Cougars are running out of time and options. Oregon and Washington are both undefeated through three games, ranked 14th and 21st, respectively, entering conference play. The programs are set to clash in the upcoming weekend.

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How has conference realignment affected the Pac-12?

The UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans were the first to announce they would leave the conference, having done so in June 2022 when they shared their plans to join the Big Ten. After conference officials failed to negotiate a long-term media rights deal, the Colorado Buffaloes announced in July that they would join the Big 12.

The remaining nine schools were presented with a media rights offer from Apple in early August. The following day, the Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies announced they would join the Big Ten. On the same day, the Arizona Wildcats, Arizona State Sun Devils, and Utah Utes announced that they would join the Big 12.

At the beginning of September, the California Golden Bears and Stanford Cardinal became the latest to jump ship, announcing that they would join the ACC. Both Oregon and Washington will need to decide the route they are going to take in order to survive in the pecking order.