Pac-12 survival: Oregon State AD Scott Barnes is rooting for “chaos” in other conferences and happy to admit it
One year after isolation became official, Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes is long past the point of pleasantries and etiquette when it comes to the only topic that matters to the Beavers.
You’re dam right he’s rooting for chaos in the ACC
“It’s an eat-what-you-kill environment right now,” Barnes said during a wide-ranging conversation on ‘Canzano and Wilner: The Podcast’ last week.
Schadenfreude is the name of the game for Washington State and Oregon State, which are searching for relevance 53 weeks after Stanford and Cal agreed to join the ACC and complete the breakup of the Pac-12.
Since then, the Cougars and Beavers have taken the 10 departed universities to court and secured more than $200 million in assets to fund their operations.
They signed scheduling agreements with the Mountain West for football and the West Coast Conference for basketball and other sports.
They protected their College Football Playoff revenue shares, signed a football media deal with The CW and are as well positioned as possible — off the field and on it — headed into their rivalry games Saturday afternoon against Washington and Oregon.
Also, the Cougars and Beavers have closely monitored the situation in the ACC, where lawsuits filed by Florida State and Clemson threaten to fracture the conference and, the Pac-12 schools hope, create a need for additional western expansion.
When asked specifically if he’s rooting for chaos, Barnes didn’t mention the ACC by name or hesitate with his general sentiment.
“Yeah, right now … because the most opportunities we’ll have is if there’s a crack that’s opened and we’re positioned. And we will be,” he said.
“The things we can control, I love how we’ve executed. We’re going to keep pounding pavement. We’re going to be aggressive. We’re not the little engine that could. Even though there’s been a mentality in our history, that’s not who we are.
“Look at the metrics, from TV viewership to historical success to current success.
“There’s all those reasons … that we are a Power Five member. And I say that intentionally. We have five Power Five conferences. We’re one of them. (There aren’t) four. We need to be ready to pounce.”
Washington State and Oregon State are in the opening months of a two-year grace period in which they are allowed to compete as a two-team conference.
By the summer of 2026, they must either rebuild the Pac-12 or join another league.
But because of the time required for realignment moves — and the need for the Cougars and Beavers to secure a media rights deal — the window of time for finalizing strategic plans is condensed.
“The spring time frame, in my mind, is where we need to have some more solidified for sure,” Barnes said.
They could rebuild the Pac-12 with at least six schools or join the Mountain West in a traditional realignment move, but their strong preference is membership in what are now called the Power Four conferences.
And that’s where the obstacles begin to resemble the sheer face of El Capitan:
— The SEC and Big Ten are non-starters.
— The Big 12 has offered no hint of interest.
— And the ACC cannot plot a future until the legal process unfolds.
Even if Clemson and Florida State were to depart, the likelihood of the ACC adding the Cougars and Beavers seems, at best, slim.
But that won’t keep Barnes from rooting for an implosion somewhere, anywhere, that carves a path to the promised land.
“Chaos is our friend because, ultimately, it can give more optionality than what we’re thinking about,” he said.
“Disruption, chaos — whatever you want to call it — will take place again. There’s no question. It’s just how soon.”
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