Judge: Control of PAC-12 Belongs to Oregon State, Washington State

A Whitman County Superior Court Judge has ruled Washington State and Oregon State are in control of  the PAC-12 Conference, at least for now.

September lawsuit sought control of PAC-12, exclusion of other  ten schools

The exodus of PAC-12 teams began last winter, when USC and UCLA announced they were leaving the league to join the Big-10. Then like dominos this year, UW and Oregon also said they were joining.  Cal and Stanford are leaving  for the Atlantic Coast Conference, and Colorado and Utah to the Big-12. Arizona and Arizona State are  also leaving.

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It's over TV rights and money. The PAC-12 does not have a TV deal past  the 2023-24 athletic seasons, which end in late spring of  2024.  At one time the PAC-12 had an opportunity to have a TV deal with Apple TV, but many of the schools balked at the idea of it being a subscription service. Others questioned the dollar amount and the reach.

  Judge rules in  favor of WSU and OSU

Judge Gary Libey, who in September gave the two schools an injunction preventing the other schools from voting on certain aspects of  business, said  the following in his Tuesday night  ruling:

“Oregon State and Washington State will be the sole members of the board."

According to MyNorthwest.com:

"Oregon State and Washington State believe if the board was convened, the departing schools would vote to dissolve the conference and divide up the assets among the group of 12, according to court documents."

For now, the two schools are the only ones who can vote on the  fate of  the conference.  UW attorneys,  representing the  other 9 schools, plan to appeal.