Why Oregon St. and Washington St. joining the West Coast Conference Is A Dream Scenario

There were no bigger losers in the latest round of college realignment than Washington State and Oregon State. Two power conferences teams that were so unattractive to television networks that no other power conference would bring them in. They stood as the only two members of the now defunct Pac 12, only having each other.

Their next moves would be important to determine both their survival and standing in the current climate of college athletics.

They could join a Group of Five conference like the Mountain West, they could try to revive the Pac 12 brand by means of expansion or they could strike out on their own as independents. In a way, they mixed all three of those ideas together.

In football, they kept the Pac 12 name and logo but entered a scheduling agreement with the Mountain West. The plan is to expand the conference for the 2026-2027 season with Boise St, Colorado St, San Diego St, Utah St, Fresno St and Gonzaga. Gonzaga will join the conference as a non-football member.

In baseball, Oregon State is going independent and Washington State joined the Mountain West. It follows a similar schedule agreement to football in that it will run through the 2025-2026 athletic season. But after that season, the Pac 12 will be back.

That brings us to basketball, where instead of following the path of their other major sports teams, the Beavers and Cougars ended up joining the West Coast Conference.

It was odd, considering how every other major sport the two schools had ended up in the Mountain West. However, this move may have been for the best not only for the Beavers and Cougars, but also for the West Coast Conference.

For context, the WCC features nine teams. In basketball, Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s are the perennial contenders.

Outside of them, the only other recognizable schools with any type of postseason success are Santa Clara and San Francisco. It embodies the true mid-major spirit, but it also includes one of the biggest brands in the sport.

The conference needed more depth. That’s where the Beavers and Cougars come in. They fill out the conference from a depth perspective, and give it a couple more recognizable brands that can draw eyeballs.

Neither team is exactly a basketball powerhouse, so the mid-major slot can allow them to build themselves back up and turn into competitive programs in the league.

We have seen flashes of what these programs can be. Oregon State won 20 games, which they had only done twice since the year 2000.

They also picked up a massive win over Gonzaga at home. The Beavers have displayed some staying power in the conference. As for the Cougars, their first season has been a bit more difficult, but they still managed to beat a San Francisco team that has a shot to make the NCAA Tournament.

They did that while also having a new head coach and lost a key scorer in Myles Rice to Indiana and Jaylen Wells left for the NBA.

Considering where Oregon State and Washington State were at this point last year, they would be thrilled to hear about their current standing in the WCC. The WCC would also be thrilled with the parity and depth the two teams brought to the league when they joined. While they will only be together for a short time, it will be a good time.

Nate Johns is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jzn5275@psu.edu.