Teams leaving Pac-12 tried to do Wazzu, Oregon State unfathomably dirty

The schools leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC all tried to do the Pac-2, Wazzu and Oregon State, unfathomably dirty — hoping to get the conference to cover some conference transition costs by the conference; meaning the two schools would have their payouts slashed.

“Watching Oregon State and Washington State argue for a temporary restraining order to not allow the Pac-12 to have a Board Meeting on Wednesday & we have just learned that the outgoing schools wanted to use Pac-12 money to cover part of their transition costs,” The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach reported. “The Pac-12 says that the board meeting is to figure out how to run and manage the conference for this academic year. The Pac-12 is asking for interim protections that allow the conference to ‘keep its lights on and its critical employees in place’ and an agreement among the parties about how money is spent for daily/monthly needs.”

A breakup that was already going to be messy for the Pac-12 now looks like it’ll be an even bigger train wreck with this narrative now out there. No one in their right mind expects the behind-the-scenes for all of this conference realignment to have been ethical, but this is offensively egregious.

Pac-12 peaking right before its untimely demise

Over the last few years, the Pac-12 has been an irrelevant conference in the national picture all things considered. Utah tried its best to keep the conference relevant with Rose Bowl appearances, while Oregon and Washington repped in the College Football Playoff within the few three years of its existence. But the South has been all that’s mattered since Ohio State’s 2014 title.

Not anymore. USC, Washington, Utah, Oregon, Oregon State, Colorado, Wazzu, and UCLA are all ranked as of Week 2, and the Trojans, Huskies, Ducks, and Buffs all have potential Heisman candidates.

It’s a damn shame this couldn’t happen sooner.