Washington State University President Kirk Schulz directed the WSU Athletics Advisory Committee to review three different conference affiliation options during its first meeting on Friday, Aug. 18.
Those include applying for membership in the Mountain West Conference, applying for membership in the American Athletic Conference, or possibly expanding membership in the existing Pac‑12 Conference.
The group was formed to provide advice and counsel to President Schulz and Athletic Director Pat Chun on options for WSU Athletics conference affiliation, following the departure of several schools from the Pac‑12 Conference.
The president and athletic director will use the committee’s responses to help craft a recommendation for consideration by the WSU Board of Regents. The board is expected to decide on conference affiliation in the coming weeks.
President Schulz indicated that other leagues, including the Big Ten and Big 12 conferences, are not interested in additional expansion at the time.
The WSU Athletics Advisory Committee will use the following criteria as it evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of conference affiliation opportunities over the next several weeks:
- University visibility — WSU’s new conference home should ensure that the university continues to be highly visible in areas of the nation with a significant number of alumni, corporate partners, and prospective students. It will also be important that the conference includes nationally recognized peer academic institutions with similar academic reputations and scholarly activity.
- Competitiveness — It will be important to affiliate with a league where Cougar Athletics has the highest chance of success on the field. Coaches and student-athletes must be able to compete for and win conference championships on a regular basis.
- Student-athlete experience — WSU student-athletes should be able to compete at the highest level possible. Financial resources must be in place to ensure these opportunities continue. The WSU student-athlete voice must also be part of the decision-making process.
- Travel — Travel across multiple time zones and its impact on academic and athletic performance must be considered. The travel costs associated with different conference footprints are also an important consideration.
- Stability — WSU needs a stable home for Cougar Athletics that is not immediately subject to the decisions of other conference members.
- Financial sustainability — WSU will look for a conference home that provides appropriate resources to support all 17 WSU-sponsored athletic teams, and that will allow WSU to operate Cougar Athletics with continued strong internal and external support from faculty, staff, students, alumni, and fans.
