Two more colleges announced Friday that they will exit the PAC-12, leaving just Oregon State University and Washington State University behind.
Stanford and the University of California, Berkeley will move to the Atlantic Coast Conference, joining eight other schools—including the University of Oregon—that plan to leave the PAC-12 after the upcoming academic year.
Administrators at OSU said they weren't surprised by Friday's news. They said they're considering their options, but they still hope to rebuild the conference.
"Our connection to PAC-12 is deep," said OSU President Jayathi Murthy during an online briefing for reporters. "We're deeply connected to it, aware of its reputation and its reach."
Murthy said it would be complicated for OSU to move to another conference.
"Our options are centrally tied to being in a small town," she said, "and not being able to deliver the TV audiences that these big media contracts require."
OSU Athletics Director Scott Barnes said he’s spoken to other universities that are interested in joining the PAC-12.
According to Barnes, OSU’s athletes want to compete at a high level, but they don’t want to have to routinely travel across the country to play.
He said while he's worried about some players transferring out following the news, he believes OSU can still draw top athletes.
"The conference that we participate in is really important to our recruits, but it is not the most important thing," said Barnes. "It's as much or more about the culture, the fit, the feel, the leadership [and] the people that walk the hallways."
