Sources say Oregon State and Washington State are close to an agreement to join the West Coast Conference as affiliate members

Oregon State and Washington State are close to reaching an agreement to join the West Coast Conference as affiliate members next year in multiple sports, most notably men’s and women’s basketball, sources told ESPN, confirming multiple reports.

It’s an agreement similar to the one the schools reached with the Mountain West to play six football games against MW teams next year but with a big difference. While the Beavers and Cougars’ games against MW schools in football will not count toward the conference standings, there is an expectation that their games will count toward the standings for other WCC sports. They are also expected to be eligible to participate in conference tournaments and eligible to represent the WCC in NCAA tournament events.

The deal has not yet been finalized, but university presidents from the WCC schools are expected to meet by Thursday to consider it, according to multiple reports. The agreement would come on the heels of the Washington State Supreme Court’s decision last week not to review a lower court ruling that granted control of the Pac-12’s board of directors to OSU and WSU.

OSU and WSU intend to rebuild the Pac-12 and will retain the conference’s branding in their football stadiums next season despite operating as a two-team conference.

For a conference to exist, the NCAA requires “at least seven active Division I members,” all of whom must sponsor men’s and women’s basketball, and for the conference to sponsor at least 12 Division I sports, among other requirements. In the event of a departure, the regulations allow the conference a two-year grace period in which it can exist below the minimum number of schools.

The WCC agreement, like the football agreement, is viewed as a short-term solution that will buy schools time to rebuild the Pac-12. Sources said there had been similar discussions with MW over a subsidiary agreement beyond football, but those talks had failed.