The University of Oregon and University of Washington have applied and will be accepted into the Big 10 Conference for the start of the 2024-25 school year, according to multiple reports Friday. The move will further diminish the chances the Pac-12 Conference can survive the most current series of moves in college sports realignment.

With the Pac-12 in uncertain waters, Oregon State University finds itself with an unknown path forward. OSU football coach Jonathan Smith addressed the media after the Beavers second preseason practice on Friday and didn’t have many answers.

“What we have in front of us is certain and these guys have built this program and worked so hard, to allow this to be a huge distraction, we’re not going to do it,” Smith said. “Obviously, plenty of questions and to be totally honest, at this moment walking off the practice field, I’m not going to have many answers for you. We’ll be, in the near future, be able to talk more on this, but this team is locked in and excited about the idea of playing a 2023 schedule.”

Oregon State Head Coach Jonathan Smith on Pac-12 Realignment #GoBeavs @BeaverBlitz pic.twitter.com/BmAp5DPoOu

— Jake Hedberg (@HedbergJake) August 4, 2023

Oregon state Representative Shelly Boshart Davis (R-Albany) is calling on House Speaker Dan Rayfield (D-Corvallis) to convene a legislative panel to understand the unintended consequences of the University of Oregon’s potential move to the Big 10 Conference.

“I am deeply concerned about the impacts on our state university system if the University of Oregon decides to leave the PAC 12,” Davis said in a statement. “There are many unanswered questions about what these moves mean for Oregonians beyond just the ending of one of the nation’s longest-running rivalry football games. If one of our major universities is going to make a unilateral decision that could impact Oregon’s budget, we should at least understand the full impacts. At the most, the people’s representatives should have a say.”

Oregon state legislators tried to pass a bill in 2023 that would require the Oregon state Legislature to approve a state public university changing athletic conferences, but House Bill 3427 died in committee.