As Oregon State and Washington State stay in a state of limbo in combination following the mass exodus from the Pac-12 during the last two years, Yahoo Sports reported this week {that a} relegation/promotion model — very similar to European football — is amongst discussions for a potential partnership between the “Pac-2” and Mountain West. The main points of a promotion/relegation model drafted through Boise State athletic director Michael Walsh have been bought through Front Office Sports.
For myriad causes, the proposal turns out somewhat a ways fetched and borderline not likely to occur. Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes, on the other hand, can foresee a model that includes promotion/relegation thriving in an ever-changing college football panorama.
“As you think about the future of even media rights, I think a sort of relegation model, either in unequal distribution, a contraction of teams and/or peer relegation will take place. I think that’s coming,” Barnes stated in a joint press convention Thursday. “In terms of the model itself, I think there’s some merit to look at some form of hybrid model that does support that. We see it working in a similar fashion in Europe, and certainly it’s worthy of our study.”
Oregon State and Washington State have been each left through the wayside in the most recent spherical of convention realignment. They are the one two holdovers in a Pac-12 this is set to lose 10 individuals in 2024. As the 2 faculties face such a lot uncertainty, and with a ranked matchup between the 2 set for Saturday, the presidents and athletic administrators from every college spoke with the media on Thursday in a joint press convention.
Should a promotion/relegation model be applied, the Beavers and Cougars would most probably thrive primarily based purely on fresh efficiency. Washington State has made a bowl recreation in seven out of the closing 8 years and, discounting the COVID-shortened 2020 marketing campaign, they have got only one shedding season since 2015. Oregon State has made two immediately bowl video games underneath trainer Jonathan Smith. Last season, the Beavers reached 10 wins for the primary time since 2006 and defeated an SEC crew, Florida, in the Las Vegas Bowl to complete the 12 months ranked No. 17 in the AP Top 25.
The two faculties are on an upward trajectory. Oregon State got here in at No. 14 in the latest AP Top 25, whilst Washington State ranked 21. This would be the first time in 97 matchups that the 2 have met as ranked warring parties.
While Barnes appeared satisfied relegation will come in the future, Washington State president Kirk Schulz does not see it going down until an out of doors supply with important assets acts as a catalyst.
“I don’t know how you practically move to these particular models that you could even get a lot of people to sit around and agree to,” Schulz stated. “There’s going to have to be some other disruptors that are going to force it, and I’m just not sure we’re going to see a lot of movement in this space in the next four to five years just because people are locked down into particular media contracts.”
The best factor running towards Oregon State and Washington State is marketplace measurement. The Big Ten elected to move with Oregon and Washington, quite than Oregon State and Washington State, to swell its ranks. The Big 12 centered Pac-12 faculties which are a minimum of relatively nearer to its geographic footprint, whilst the SEC hasn’t ever proven any hobby in West Coast growth.