New Pac-12 commish Gould considering ‘all choices’

• Kyle Bonagura, ESPN

  • Personnel WriterFeb 29, 2024, 04:42 PM ET Close Covers the Pac-12.
  • Joined ESPN in 2014.
  • Participated In Washington State University.A day before she is set to start a two-year commitment as the brand-new commissioner of the Pac-12 conference, Teresa Gould stated the most fundamental part of her task will be to assist the remaining 2 schools– Oregon State and Washington State– position themselves for the future.”That strategic piece is really being bold and

  being aggressive, being intentional and truly attacking these obstacles head on, however also being unbiased and ensuring that we’re considering all choices,” Gould stated on a videoconference.”That is most likely the most important and immediate piece of my function, is to partner with the management on both campuses to create that future path for their 2 schools and their athletic programs.”Editor’s Picks 1 Related Gould, who was signed up with by Washington State president Kirk Schulz, did not offer any specifics

about what

that future might look like beyond the next 2 seasons, throughout which Oregon State and Washington State will compete in the West Coast Conference in a lot of sports, in addition to a scheduling collaboration in football with the Mountain West.For a conference to exist, the NCAA requires”at least seven active Department I members,”all of which should sponsor males’s and women’s basketball, and for the conference to sponsor at least 12 Department I sports, among other requirements.In the case of departures, NCAA laws enable a conference a two-year grace period in which it can exist without the minimum variety of schools.

The Pac-12’s grace period begins in the 2024-25 academic year.”I believe we all felt that was a crucial commitment that I dedicate to stay through the NCAA grace duration and through those two arrangements [with the WCC and MWC] to ensure that we’re working together and seeing this resolve,”Gould said.Gould validated there have actually not been any formal conversations with the Mountain West about a full-on merger or so-called reverse merger that would formally tie Oregon State and Washington State with the MWC member schools.”Both those conferences understand that we’ve got a multiyear window here where there’s got to be some last landing area for those 2 schools,”Schulz stated.”And so I just believe we got to keep communications open back and forth. We got to make sure that we don’t sort of come strutting in there thinking we’re simply much better than everybody else of where we were in the past. We’ll wind up getting our ass kicked if that occurs.”However I do believe it’s actually important for us to keep that partnership there, keep the interactions open, and we’re counting on Teresa to deal with her commissioner coworkers in those 2 conferences as well on what future partnerships could look like. “The conference will continue to run under the Pac-12 brand name and will keep its tv studio in San Ramon, California, for a minimum of another academic year. Gould did not offer an upgrade on what need to be anticipated regarding television broadcasts for OSU and WSU home football games, only stating that she has been” encouraged about the interest for those media rights”and was enthusiastic there would be an announcement in the future.