Oregon State mailbag: Rueck’s job status, TV contracts and conference realignment

Published 12:51 pm Friday, April 12, 2024

Since I landed my job around six months ago, there has been a hope that I’ll eventually be able to figure out how to write a column. To this point, I have not been graced by the journalism gods with the ability to maintain an opinion long enough to write it down before talking myself out of it.

So, in lieu of a column and with the desire for me to connect with the fanbases I’m lucky enough to get to cover, I’m going to test out writing a mailbag. This week, I took to the good people of Facebook to send me their burning questions and I’ve picked out a couple that I feel I have the authority to answer. So without further ado: 

Tyler Whitney asks: Is Coach Scott Rueck staying?

Yes.

If there is a sport out of the several I think that I’m best connected to at the moment, it’s Oregon State women’s basketball. It’s been as long of a week for me as it has for the fan base between all of the transfers and circulating rumors, but there is one thing I can say for sure. Scott Rueck will be the head coach of the program next season. 

With the retirement of Tara VanDerveer at Stanford, I saw numerous people on social media worried that Rueck would take that job. It simply isn’t the case. Stanford immediately began negotiations with assistant coach Kate Paye. Paye has been the heir apparent for a while and she’ll become Stanford’s next head coach. Rueck is staying put and will be in orange and black next year. 

A person close to the program told me they were worried about how Rueck would handle the massive turnover, but that he is in high spirits and back with his coaching staff ready to recruit. Rueck himself isn’t available for comment this week. I will hopefully get the opportunity to sit down with him in the coming weeks, but from what I have been told he is excited for the challenge and ready to reassemble this roster. 

David Weber asks: Which is more likely: A Pac-? Conference that starts with two teams and grows toward a return to eight, 10, or 12 teams, or becoming a contending member of the WCC or Mountain West Conference in the coming years?

For the time being, your guess is as good as mine.

I’ve written a previous column about how this could work and much of my thinking stems from how both Washington State and Oregon State reps have talked about the conference. They continue to use the phrasing “Pac-12” as well as the desire to compete at the Power Five level, indicating to me a 12-team conference that carries the name. 

I think both programs are going to give it the ole’ college try (pun intended) to reassemble the conference to the best of their ability and at the highest level of competition they can. If they aren’t able to do that, I think integration into a conference like the ACC, Big 12 or Mountain West would be in play. 

But as I said to lead that answer off, I truly have no idea what is going to happen. 

John-Henry Cottrell asks: Any new word on CW contract? Amount per game? Is it only football or all sports? Will Pac-12 Insider website still be used for sports not televised?

From my understanding, the contract with the CW is still not finalized. If it gets to that point, it will only be for football and only for the Beavers’ and Cougars’ home games. Road games will be handled by the Mountain West’s TV deals.

John Canzano was the first to report this and put together a nice piece about the deal, but for the time being there are no financial figures that I could find about it and likely won’t be until it’s finalized. 

As for Pac-12 Insider, I think it’ll likely be dead. With the Beavs joining the WCC as an affiliate member, they’ll fall into line with their TV contracts and operational standards and that means ESPN+. As for baseball, which declined to join the WCC and are choosing to go independent for the 2025 season, some live stream format or a TV deal similar to the not-yet-official CW football deal could be in play. 

Shañe Con Queso on Facebook asks: Now that I’m no longer an alumni of a Power Conference, can I get some sort of discount on my student loans?

Sadly, I do not have the same connections in the financial aid office as I do in the athletic department and cannot give you any information on this. Good luck! 

Gabe Dworshak on Facebook asks: Any insight to share on the Spring Game this year? Actual scrimmage? Televised?

From what I’ve learned, the formats aren’t decided until days before the game actually happens and it’s anyone’s guess. I think it will be a mix of simulated periods, like two-minute drills, and maybe a one-quarter scrimmage. 

As for it being televised, it will be on Pac-12 Network to my understanding. 

Barbara Gunnell on Facebook asks: Why are there such few Beaver baseball games televised on the PAC 12 channel?

The simple answer is there is just a lot of content for the channel to cover. Between softball, spring football, the end of basketball season and baseball for all of the participating programs, there is just a lot for them to show. 

That being said, this weekend’s series with Stanford will be on Pac-12 Oregon on Friday and Pac-12 Network on Saturday and Sunday. It’ll be cramped in the press box for us media folks with all the TV coverage, but hey, it’s on TV! 

That’s all I’ve got for this week. Thank you to all who sent in questions and to all who read this! I’d like to keep the experiment going in the future, so feel free to send me your questions any way you chose. You can tweet (X?) at me or shoot me a DM @Isaac_Streeter, respond to the post I make in a few of the Oregon State Facebook groups or shoot me an email istreeter@pamplinmedia.com.

I look forward to hearing from more of you and doing what I can to answer your questions.