WSU president: UW, Oregon ‘sealed’ Pac-12 fate

• Heather Dinich, ESPN Senior WriterAug 7, 2023, 09:23 PM ET

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  • Joined ESPN.com in 2007
  • Graduate of Indiana University

Washington State president Kirk Schulz, in a letter to “Cougar Country” on Monday, said the recent choices by Washington and Oregon to join the Huge Ten “sealed the fate of the Pac-12,” noting he was “shocked” on Friday early morning when they revealed their intent to leave.Schulz, in his

letter to the school community, verified that on Aug. 1, Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff presented the league’s presidents and chancellors with an Apple streaming offer for its television agreement that ends after this academic year; the technique proposed by Apple was to be a subscription-based design similar to its collaboration with Big league Soccer.It was the only deal left, as Schulz said multiple media partners dropped out”at the last minute, mostly due to the quickly changing sports media environment.”Schulz called the streaming deal”

an ingenious and forward-looking partnership proposal with Apple”and said it provided a chance” to considerably grow the income entering each school over the next several years.”Editor’s Picks 2 Related Schulz said the guaranteed yearly money”was not at the current level of assistance that all schools get, but there was a basic recommendation that streaming Pac-12 media was plainly the instructions media consumption was going. “”After several board conferences and robust conversation among all 9 schools

, we finished our board conference on Thursday night with a strong sensation of remaining together, pursuing a new collaboration with Apple, and progressing with conference growth, “he composed. “I truly felt that on Friday early morning, we would sign the required documentation, complete the handle Apple, and move the Pac-12 toward a brand-new and brighter future.”Instead, within hours, Oregon and Washington had actually bolted for the Big 10, and Arizona, Arizona State and Utah revealed their intent to join the Big 12. Washington president Ana Mari Cauce said Saturday that the program’s departure from the

Pac-12 remained in part since the proposed TV rights offer didn’t provide the long-lasting stability the school was seeking.”When you have an offer that people are stating that one of the best elements are that you can leave it in two years, that tells you a lot, “Cauce stated. “This was about nationwide exposure for our players, being on linear television so they can be seen, so they might have national direct exposure. “The combined departures of eight schools– consisting of USC and UCLA to the Huge 10– have left Washington State, Oregon State, Cal and

Stanford searching for landing spots. Schulz stated he will consist of a little group of professors, personnel, athletic administrators and student leaders to provide feedback on conference options.The group will be announced by the end of the week.Schulz composed that he and athletic director Pat Chun immediately started reaching out to conference commissioners, presidents and chancellors, athletic directors and other leaders in college athletics to check out alternatives.

“Because these discussions are frequently private, we are unable to supply updates on whom we are talking to and when,”he composed.”At this point, we are pursuing every possible opportunity to ensure that we have numerous alternatives moving forward.”