Oregon State, Washington State Granted Temporary Restraining Order Against Pac-12

There will reportedly be no Pac-12 board meeting on Wednesday after a judge granted remaining conference members Oregon State and Washington State a temporary restraining order, per Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic.

The ruling means the league cannot have the meeting without court approval, although it can continue operating in a normal fashion otherwise, per Auerbach.

As Washington State and Oregon State were arguing for the temporary restraining order, it was revealed that the departing Pac-12 schools wanted to use money from the conference to cover their transition costs into new leagues, Auerbach noted.

Auerbach provided more details regarding what the Pac-12 is looking for as part of the back-and-forth:

As things stand, this may be the final college football season for the Pac-12.

After all, USC and UCLA are headed to the Big Ten in 2024. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah are going to the Big 12, while Stanford and California are going to the ACC. All the movement has left Oregon State and Washington State hanging in the balance.

There is plenty left to be decided, such as the future of the Pac-12 Network, how to distribute NCAA tournament payouts, whether there will be automatic College Football Playoff access with the future expanded field and even if the name of the league will remain if and when Oregon State and Washington State go elsewhere or incorporate other schools into a league.

"Oregon State and Washington State are seeking further information from the Pac-12 before they proceed," Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports wrote. "The general assumption is that the Beavers and Cougars will eventually assimilate into the Mountain West. However, even the wording of such a move is fraught with legalities. Someone, somewhere still owns the name 'Pac-12.'"

Pete Thamel of ESPN reported Friday that the two schools filed the legal complaint in an effort to land the temporary restraining order as a way to protect themselves from what they viewed as an "imminent and existential threat" to the conference's future.

Thamel explained the two schools were worried that a formal board meeting on Wednesday could lead to a vote to evenly distribute the conference's assets. The two schools are also looking for "legal clarity to be given on who has voting rights to control the future of the league."

All of this is happening as the Pac-12 is off to an excellent start on the football field.

The conference already counts notable nonconference wins against Florida, Boise State, TCU, Baylor, Texas Tech, Wisconsin and Nebraska. The Beavers are 2-0 with wins over San Jose State and UC Davis, while the Cougars are also 2-0 with victories over Colorado State and Wisconsin.

The two programs play each other in their Pac-12 opener on Sept. 23.