Why are Oregon State, Wazzu staying in the Pac-12? Beavs, Cougs getting no Big 12, ACC invites explained

Oregon State and Wazzu were the two programs that couldn't find a Power Conference home from 2021 to 2023, when the Power 5 shrunk to a Power 4 -- given the Pac-12's demise -- with Texas and Oklahoma's jumps to the SEC, Oregon, Washington, USC, and UCLA's defections to the Big Ten, and Cincinnati, UCF, BYU, Houston, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and ASU's move to the Big 12. Now, the Beavs and Cougs are settling for a rebuilt Pac-12 that may not regain Power Conference status.

How did they get to this point? As media consultant Jim Williams tells me, bad timing is to blame.

"WAZZU and OSU were indeed left out in the cold by realignment," Williams prefaced before saying, "I believe if the Big 12 hadn't just added UCF, Cincinnati, Houston, and BYU, they might have received an invitation. The ACC chose Stanford and Cal, along with SMU, halting their expansion there."

Lawsuits set to affect the future of the Pac-12, Mountain West, ACC

The rebuilt Pac-12 is in court with the Mountain West over the schools the former poached from the latter. The ACC is in court with FSU and Clemson, and although there could be a resolution that brings them back, there's also a contingency plan in the case the Noles and Tigers sue their way out of the conference.

There's turmoil around the country right now in the college sports world. Some schools want out of their agreements and some conferences want retribution for perceived wrongs committed by the competition.

Williams told me that the future of college athletics is in flux at best, and in peril at worst.

"...there are numerous lawsuits progressing through the courts that will affect the future of college sports, as well as speculation about the nature of upcoming media deals," Williams prefaced before saying, "Ultimately, it appears there are currently more questions than answers."

Perhaps finding a home in conference realignment musical chairs over the past few years isn't even the victory some perceive it to be; given how much could change in the distant or not-so-distant future.

Maybe Oregon State and Wazzu just got the bad news first.