The Pac-12 will be the Pac-2 when the 2024 season kicks off with Oregon State and Washington State as the remaining members. Both schools were left out of this wild round of conference realignment.
Oregon and Washington will join USC and UCLA as the newest members of the Big Ten, while Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah head to the Big 12. This left both the Beavers and Cougars out in the cold when it comes to scheduling for next season. They now have a solution.
After it was initially reported by Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports, the Mountain West officially announced a ‘7+1’ scheduling alliance for the upcoming 2024 season.
Per the release:
The Mountain West Conference announced today a football scheduling agreement for the 2024 season between the Mountain West, Oregon State University, Washington State University, and the Pac-12 Conference.
Next season, all 12 MW teams will play seven traditional Conference football games in addition to one contest against either Washington State or Oregon State for a total of eight games (four home and four away). The games against OSU and WSU will not count toward the conference standings, and neither Pac-12 school is eligible for the MW championship game. The Mountain West is currently working on the football schedule and will release matchups soon.
“This is a unique and unprecedented opportunity for Oregon State and Washington State to play against highly competitive Mountain West football programs in 2024,” Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez said on Friday. “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. 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.”
Oregon State will be heading into the 2024 campaign with a new head coach after Jonathan Smith left for Michigan State. Defensive coordinator Trent Bray was promoted to full-time head coach. Washington State will have to likely find a new quarterback after Cameron Ward announced he would enter the transfer portal.