Former Culver City high school quarterback Zevi Eckhaus is now playing for Washington State.
With the departure of UCLA, USC, and eight other schools, the Pac-12 Conference is down to just two teams, but they still have a pulse after the two remaining teams agreed to a TV contract with the CW Network and FOX for the 2024 football season.
The Oregon State Beavers and the Washington State Cougars will play a combined 13 home games in 2024, with 11 games televised on the CW Network, an OTA Network available in 100% of homes, and the other two games on FOX. The CW Network is available locally on KTLA Channel 5.
All 11 games on the CW Network will be produced through the Pac-12 production facilities, known as the Pac-12 Enterprises, the conference media production arm, which is located in San Ramon, California. The CW Network does not have an in-house sports production arm.
The Pac-12 recently hired a new Senior Vice-President for business development and studio operations for the Pac-12 Enterprises, with the goal of finding new business and turning a profit for the operation.
The financial terms of the agreement were not announced, but it is believed to be about $1 million per game for Oregon State and Washington State. Oregon State will play home games this season against Oregon and Purdue of the Big Ten conference, while Washington State has a home game with Texas Tech of the Big 12.
The revenue is just okay, but the television exposure was a priority for the Oregon State and Washington State. The CW Network is also broadcasting 50 games Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) college football and college basketball games through the 2026-2027 season. Raycom Sports will handle the production off ACC games for the CW Network. The Pac-12 games will follow the ACC games on the CW Network.
"We are thrilled to announce these national partnerships with The CW and FOX," said Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould. "Oregon State and Washington State football student-athletes deserve this elite stage as they continue competing for the College Football Playoff, and Beaver and Cougar fans have a great opportunity to enjoy their teams successes."
Oregon State University Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Scott Barnes added: "National exposure and the ability for Beaver Nation to easily access our games was a top priority during the process. Additionally, the ability to announce game times well in advance provides an improved experience for our student-athletes and fans."
Oregon State and Washington State are playing an independent schedule in 2024. The two schools put together a scheduling agreement for 2024 with the Mountain West Conference (MWC), with each school playing six MWC schools, three home games and three road games. The 12 additional games will cost Oregon State and Washington State $14 million dollars.
If they extend the agreement through 2025, the two Pac-12 schools will owe the MWC $23 million. The MWC was able to add the extra non-conference games by going to a seven-game conference schedule, as opposed to their normal eight game conference schedule.
Both Oregon State and Washington State, by keeping the conference together, have a war chest of an estimated $250 million over the next two seasons. All of the assets of the Pac-12 belong to the two schools which includes NCAA tournament revenue earned by the conference and the distributions from the Rose Bowl, plus the distributions from the College Football Playoff that each power conference school receives.
The NCAA has granted the Beavers and the Cougars a two-year grace period to rebuild the Pac-12 conference. For the next two seasons, they are considered power conference schools and receive the same playoff share that every other power conference schools earns. By 2026, the conference will need to have a minimum of eight members, or it will cease to exist. The most likely outcome at this time would appear to be a merger with the MWC, unless the Beavers and the Cougars can find a home in one of the four power conferences.
Both Oregon State and Washington State will play games in Southern California in 2024 against San Diego State at their new Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego. Former Culver City High School star Zevi Eckhaus is in a battle for the starting quarterback position at Washington State and could be the starter when the Cougars make the trip to San Diego on Saturday, October 26th.
Eckhaus transferred to WSU in the offseason after three seasons at Bryant University, where he was a three-time All-Conference selection and the Big South-OVC Offensive Player of the Year in 2023. Washington State head coach Jake Dickert has indicated that the quarterback battle will continue into fall training camp.
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