On the eve of the first home game of the WSU football season, WSU joined Oregon State University in a legal complaint against the Pac-12 and its commissioner over the conference realignment.

WSU, OSU and the university presidents filed the complaint Friday in Whitman County Superior Court.

The two schools would be the remaining members of the Pac-12 after this year, as the other teams in the conference have left for the Big 10, Big 12 and the ACC.

USC and UCLA announced in June 2022 that they were leaving for the Big Ten at the conclusion of the media rights deal with ESPN and Fox.

The other schools jumped to different conferences earlier this summer.

The suit says the conference bylaws indicate that "no member shall deliver a notice of withdrawal to the Conference in the period beginning July 24, 2011 and ending on August 1, 2024" because early withdrawal would case "substantial and irreparable harm to the conference."

WSU and OSU contend that if a member violates that clause, "the member's representative to the Pac-12 Board of Directors automatically shall cease to be a member of the Pac-12 Board of Directors and shall cease to have a right to vote on any matter before the Pac-12 Board of Directors."

The contention is that by announcing withdrawal from the conference, then continuing to vote on conference matters presents a conflict of interest.

The suit says the 10 schools still in the Pac-12 for this season are now "motivated to dissolve the the Pac-12 - against which their new conferences will now otherwise compete beginning next year - and distribute its assets."

According to the suit, the Pac-12 has allowed the remaining schools to retain their board seats and continue to vote on board matters.

The conference plans to hold a meeting on September 13th where "board representatives are supposed to discuss and vote on matters including an employee-retention plan and a 'go forward approach'," the suit says.

The suit says the commissioner called this meeting even after WSU President Kirk Schulz refused to call a meeting that would violate the bylaws.

WSU and OSU say because they're the only schools not to announce an intent to withdraw, they have no option but to file the suit "to prevent the conference from allowing the departing members to purport to govern the Pac-12... and inflict irreparable damage to WSU, OSU and the conference."

According to the complaint, WSU and OSU "remain committed to exploring ways to preserve the Pac-12, while the departing members are incentivized to dissolve it."

If the Pac-12 dissolves, its remaining assets and property will be distributed to all twelve members of the conference.

WSU and OSU are asking a judge to prohibit the presidents and chancellors of the schools who have said they're leaving the conference from participating in any Pac-12 conference votes.

President Schulz is asking for the court's "urgent intervention."

"I respectfully request that the Court issue the requested Temporary Restraining Order in order to prevent an imminent and existential threat to the Pac-12 Conference and the interests of Washington State University."

A hearing is set for Monday morning in Whitman County Superior Court.

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