WCC to add Oregon State and Washington State in basketball for next two years

The WCC is expected to vote to confirm Oregon State and Washington State as affiliate members for the next two seasons, giving Gonzaga a regional rivalry with the Cougars.

The expectation has long been that Oregon State and Washington State, the two remaining Pac-12 programs, would merge with the Mountain West Conference in all sports. After all, the two sides already reached a scheduling agreement for football, and line up as logical geographic and athletic partners in most sports.

However, reported logistical and ongoing legal concerns made a move difficult, and instead the two programs will reportedly join the West Coast Conference as affiliate members – playing a conference schedule in all sports except football and baseball – for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons, according to Matt Norlander of CBS.

League presidents and athletic directors are expected to vote and approve the measure on Thursday morning. This move will bring the WCC from nine schools to 11, helping alleviate the recent loss of BYU and bringing more brand recognition and scheduling appeal to the conference while they attempt to hold on to powerhouse basketball program Gonzaga, who have been in realignment rumors with the Big 12 for nearly a year now.

This move creates a regional rivalry between Gonzaga and Washington State, located 75 miles from each other in Eastern Washington, and while neither WSU or OSU are particularly elite at men’s basketball they add to the depth of the conference.

The addition of the Cougars and Beavers will inflate the league’s basketball schedule to 18 or 20, according to Norlander, and tweaks to the WCC Tournament format are likely coming as well – while financial payouts for NCAA Tournament units have not been disclosed.