2 Pac-12 schools, MWC agree to scheduling arrangement
Oregon State, Washington State will get six Mountain West opponents a year
Oregon State, Washington State and the Mountain West announced a football scheduling agreement Friday for the 2024 season that gives the two Pac-12 schools six opponents each and keeps open the possibility that they will operate as a two-team conference for at least a year.
All 12 Mountain West schools will be involved and Oregon State and Washington State will each play three home games and three road games against members of a conference that includes: Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, San Diego State, Wyoming, Nevada, UNLV, Wyoming, San Jose State, Utah State, Fresno State and New Mexico.
The Mountain West will play a seven-game conference schedule and the games against Oregon State and Washington State will not count against the conference standings.
“It’s great for everybody. It really is,” New Mexico Athletic Director Eddie Nuñez told the Journal on Friday. “I know there’s been a lot of conversations, a lot of discussions behind the scenes to get to where we are today. And the ability to bring them into our scheduling model and have them be a part of competing against other Mountain West schools, I believe (it’s) only beneficial for everybody in the mix here.”
Oregon State and Washington State are trying to plot a path forward after the Pac-12 was torn apart by conference realignment. Ten Pac-12 schools are joining new Power Five leagues in 2024.
Oregon State and Washington State are hoping to keep the Pac12 alive. NCAA rules allow for a conference to be as small as two schools for a two-year period.
The Pacific Northwest schools are currently in a legal battle with the Pac-12 and the 10 departing schools to determine who runs the conference and has control over potentially hundreds of millions of dollars of assets.