The remaining two schools in the Pac-12 are in the final stages of negotiating a deal to face off with Mountain West teams in 2024 according to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports. The negotiations come in the midst of 10 teams departing the Pac-12, leaving just WSU and Oregon State.

In what is sure to be a whirlwind of an offseason with OSU already losing their head coach and the upcoming transfer portal period and recruiting, the ‘Pac-2’ has received some assurance in their schedule for 2024.

The deal states that MWC will each play seven conference games compared to the usual eight, with that eighth game coming against either WSU or OSU for each member. The game will also not count against member’s MWC standings. There is also an option in the deal to extend it to 2025.

The arrangement will come at a cost with OSU and WSU set to pay the MWC a $14 million fee. There is somewhat of a delay as the deal is not official yet with the temporary hold on the two schools’ court case still in place. 

It has already been established that the Cougs and Beavers can operate for the next two seasons as a two-team conference before needing to make a permanent move, but for the short term, they get opponents for 2024. It is in the air to see how much it might help recruiting and what effect it has with the incoming revised College Football Playoff, but it is baby steps for WSU at this point. 

Dellenger also reported there is mutual interest in a potential addition of WSU and OSU to the MWC past 2025 or a form of merger, despite there being no contractual bounds to it in this deal. Dellenger also reported that while it is merely football for now, a deal for men’s and women’s basketball is likely to arrive shortly. 

There is still more to be figured out past 2024 and also in sports aside from football. It seems clear the two remaining Pac-12 schools and the MWC have a mutual interest in working together, and given the situation, it should be a sigh of relief, according to Dellengers reports. The Cougars have opponents and plenty of quality opponents across all sports.

The Cougar football schedule for 2024 is rounding into place with Portland State and San Diego State already on the schedule and with the recent addition of another Apple Cup, a light has begun to shine through the darkness for Coug fans.

There is plenty more to follow on this matter, the logistics and the pandemonium of the 2023-24 offseason to come, but for the moment Coug fans can sit back and feel a bit better about college football Saturdays to come.