Amanda Wang
On September 1, 2023, following an eighteen-month stretch whereby ten schools in the Pac-12 announced their exit from the conference by 2024, the entire sports world was shocked and concerned about the future of college sports.[1] However, the two remaining schools—Washington State (“WSU”) and Oregon State (“OSU”)—perceived these events as having a much more practical implication: it stripped the exiting schools of their Pac-12 voting power and therefore, any “claim to the conference’s remaining assets.”[2] This implication is now being tested in court.
On September 8, 2023, ahead of a board meeting of all 12 conference schools, WSU and OSU sought an emergency temporary restraining order (“TRO”) against the Pac-12 and its commissioner George Kliavkoff to prevent the board meeting from occurring and forcing “legal clarity . . . on who has voting rights to control the future” of the Pac-12.[3] WSU and OSU argued that they were “the only board members” based on “the conference’s bylaws, which state that any notice of withdrawal from the league means a school ‘automatically cease(s) to be a member of the Pac-12 Board of Directors and shall cease to have the right to vote on any matter.’”[4] Judge Gary Libey of the Whitman County Superior Court ruled in favor of WSU and OSU, granting the TRO based on the “unambiguous[]” language of the conference’s bylaws.[5] Judge Libey’s TRO will prevent “the conference from having formal board meetings until the court can rule further in this case.”[6] Given that TROs are enacted—as their name suggests—temporarily, the next procedural step is a preliminary injunction hearing, scheduled to take place on November 14th.[7] It's unclear what we should expect at this hearing. Indeed, it has already been made more complicated in the interim as the University of Washington—one of the schools exiting the Pac-12—has moved to intervene in the lawsuit and dismiss it altogether.[8]
More generally, the recent upheaval of conference realignment contributes to already existing large-scale changes in college sports, most notably the NCAA’s 2021 decision granting college athletes “the opportunity to benefit from their name, image and likeness.”[9] Here, the significance of conference realignment lies in how financially dependent college athletics programs are on the multi-year TV deals that conferences negotiate.[10] Indeed, it is no coincidence that the implosion of the Pac-12 coincided with its inability to secure a new TV deal after the current one expires in 2024, nor that the exiting schools are joining conferences that have secured such multi-year TV deals already.[11]
Ultimately, this lawsuit demonstrates that the mechanics of leaving a conference are just as important as joining one. As schools look to the future of conference realignment, this lawsuit will set important precedents for how they go about it.
[1] Mitch Harper, Pac-12 Has Two Schools Remaining After ACC Officially Expands, KSL Sports (Sept. 1, 2023), https://kslsports.com/504291/acc-expansion-stanford-cal-smu-pac-12-remaining/ [https://perma.cc/9N5Y-3XL6] [https://web.archive.org/web/20231023201529/https://kslsports.com/504291/acc-expansion-stanford-cal-smu-pac-12-remaining/].
[2] Kyle Bonagura, Washington Attempting To Join Pac-12 Lawsuit in Order To Dismiss It, ESPN (Oct. 9, 2023), https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/38617609/washington-attempting-join-pac-12-lawsuit-order-dismiss-it [https://perma.cc/P9LS-LAFQ] [https://web.archive.org/web/20220930212703/https://ssum-sec.casalemedia.com/usermatch?us_privacy=1YNY&d=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.espn.com%2F&s=184674&cb=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.indexww.com%2Fht%2Fhtw-pixel.gif%3F&C=1].
[3] Pete Thamel, Oregon State, Washington State File Complaint Against Pac-12, ESPN (Sept. 8, 2023), https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/38353933/oregon-state-washington-state-file-complaint-pac-12 [https://perma.cc/APA4-JNJU] [https://web.archive.org/web/20231023201846/https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/38353933/oregon-state-washington-state-file-complaint-pac-12].
[4] Id.
[5] Amanda Sullender, Judge Grants Temporary Restraining Order in Favor of Washington State, OSU Against Pac-12, Spokesman-Rev. (Sept. 11, 2023), https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2023/sep/11/judge-grants-temporary-restraining-order-in-favor-/ [https://perma.cc/74M4-54DN] [https://web.archive.org/web/20231023202003/https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2023/sep/11/judge-grants-temporary-restraining-order-in-favor-/].
[6] Pete Martini, Judge Rules in Favor of Oregon State and Washington State in Pac-12 Dispute, Statesman J. (Sept. 11, 2023), https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/sports/college/oregon-state/2023/09/11/judge-rules-in-favor-of-oregon-state-and-washington-state-over-pac-12-dispute/70827631007/ [https://perma.cc/WK9S-BYJD] [Wayback unavailable].
[7] Ralph D. Russo, University of Washington Asks Court To Dismiss Oregon State, Washington State’s Suit Against Pac-12, OPB (Oct. 10, 2023), https://www.opb.org/article/2023/10/10/university-of-washington-asks-court-to-dismiss-oregon-state-washington-state-s-suit-against-pac-12/#:~:text=A%20preliminary%20injunction%20hearing%20is,a%20three%2Dquarters%20majority%20vote. [https://perma.cc/Q6ZV-QTWC] [https://web.archive.org/web/20231023202823/https://www.opb.org/article/2023/10/10/university-of-washington-asks-court-to-dismiss-oregon-state-washington-state-s-suit-against-pac-12/].
[8] Nicole Auerbach, Washington Pushes To Dismiss Washington State and Oregon State’s Lawsuit vs. Pac-12, The Athletic (Oct. 9, 2023), https://theathletic.com/4946840/2023/10/09/washington-washington-state-oregon-state-pac-12-lawsuit/ [https://perma.cc/6NZ9-3PPS] [https://web.archive.org/web/20231023202925/https://theathletic.com/4946840/2023/10/09/washington-washington-state-oregon-state-pac-12-lawsuit/].
[9] Michelle Brutlag Hosick, NCAA Adopts Interim Name, Image and Likeness Policy, NCAA (June 30, 2021), https://www.ncaa.org/news/2021/6/30/ncaa-adopts-interim-name-image-and-likeness-policy.aspx [https://perma.cc/4L4P-9VD9] [https://web.archive.org/web/20231023203109/https://www.ncaa.org/news/2021/6/30/ncaa-adopts-interim-name-image-and-likeness-policy.aspx].
[10] Matthew Dixon, College Football TV Contracts Since 1984: How Much Higher Can They Go?, Sports Enthusiasts (Oct. 22, 2023), https://sportsenthusiasts.net/2023/07/08/a-comprehensive-history-of-college-football-tv-contracts-since-1984-how-much-higher-can-they-go/ [https://perma.cc/F3T4-L9XN] [https://web.archive.org/web/20231023203208/https://sportsenthusiasts.net/2023/07/08/a-comprehensive-history-of-college-football-tv-contracts-since-1984-how-much-higher-can-they-go/].
[11] Brad Adgate, With No New TV Deal Expected; Five More Schools Have Left the Pac-12, Forbes (Aug. 8. 2023), https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2023/08/08/with-no-new-tv-deal-expected-five-more-schools-have-left-the-pac-12/?sh=557f09ee1956 [https://perma.cc/8XNC-DVFA] [https://web.archive.org/web/20230928212135/https://gum.criteo.com/syncframe?origin=publishertag&topUrl=www.forbes.com].