Oregon State paints ‘devastating’ financial picture, Oregon says move to Big Ten adds ‘stability and visibility’ at legislative hearing

Jonnyeagle · September 30, 2023

College football realignment reached the halls of the Oregon State Capitol on Thursday, when representatives from the University of Oregon and Oregon State addressed their diverging paths in the wake of the Pac-12 Conference’s demise.

During a public hearing before the House Interim Committee On Higher Education, school presidents, athletic directors, one student-athlete and a small business representative detailed how the implosion of the Pac-12 — and Oregon’s defection to the Big Ten — will impact the schools and their athletic departments moving forward.

The conference fell apart last month, when Oregon and Washington announced they would be leaving for the Big Ten at the beginning of the 2024-25 season. The news came roughly a year after USC and UCLA made a similar move, and days after Colorado said it would leave for the Big 12. It started a domino of departures, with the rest of the conference bailing for the Big 12 and ACC. Only two schools were left without a future conference home: Oregon State and Washington State.

During Friday’s hearing in Salem, Oregon State President Jayathi Murthy said the “consequences” of the Pac-12′s collapse will be “devastating” for Oregon’s largest university, causing a $42 million budget shortfall created, mostly, by a loss of television revenue. The funding deficit, Murthy said, will threaten athletic scholarships and jeopardize the future of non-revenue and Olympic sports and women athletes.

Conversely, Oregon President Karl Scholz said the university bolted from the Pac-12 to remain financially stable and self-sufficient, noting that its athletic department was self-funded and would remain so. The move to the Big Ten, he said, will provide “stability and visibility” for the Ducks.

read more: https://www.oregonlive.com/collegefootball/2023/09/oregon-state-paints-devastating-financial-picture-oregon-says-move-to-big-ten-adds-stability-and-visibility-at-legislative-hearing-on-college-football-realignment-pac-12s-demise.html