CORVALLIS – Oregon State’s wrestling and gymnastics teams will compete under the Pac-12 umbrella in the 2024-25 school year, but there will be no shortage of serious competition.
Gymnastics is the only school in the Pac-12 next season, but will have a schedule comparable to recent years. In wrestling, the Pac-12 includes four teams, including Oregon State, Arkansas-Little Rock, Cal Poly and Cal State Bakersfield.
Gymnastics and wrestling have had to find alternative solutions because the West Coast Conference does not sponsor these sports. Oregon State is an associate member of the WCC in team sports such as volleyball, soccer, basketball and softball.
Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes said wrestling coach Chris Pendleton has used his relationships in the wrestling field to put together a “tremendous schedule.” The Beavers’ opponents this season include home games against nationally top teams Oklahoma State and Iowa, both of which were ranked in the top five in the country last season.
OSU will also play non-conference competition against teams from the ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten.
With the dissolution of the Pac-12 last year, Stanford (ACC) and Arizona State (Big 12) moved to their new conferences. Little Rock, Cal Poly and Bakersfield had previously competed in the Pac-12.
Gymnastics is essentially an independent discipline, even though it technically competes in the Pac-12. OSU will not hold conference competitions, but has the opportunity to qualify for the NCAA regional championships through rankings based on a national qualifying score.
Oregon State has spoken with the Big 12 about entering the gymnastics season.
“We’ve tried and we continue to talk to each other, but specifically about gymnastics, not now. So we’re on our own,” Barnes said.
After two-time Olympic gold medalist Jade Carey announced she would return to Oregon State for her final season, the Beavers had no trouble finding quality opponents. The universities OSU will face next season include California, UCLA, Arizona and Auburn.
The 2024–25 wrestling and gymnastics schedules will be released sometime in mid-September.
–Nick Daschel can be reached at 360-607-4824, [email protected] or @nickdaschel.
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