Judge grants temporary restraining order to prevent Pac-12 from meeting - ESPN

A state judge in Washington granted a temporary restraining order on Monday to prevent the Pac-12 conference from meeting as a board later this week.

Judge Gary Libey ruled in favor of Oregon State in Washington State in Whitman County Superior Court after they jointly filed a complaint on Friday that saw the potential of the Pac-12 meeting as a board and voting as an «imminent and existential threat» to the future of the conference.

The ruling for the temporary restraining order both prevents a Pac-12 board meeting scheduled for Wednesday and also sets up a preliminary injunction hearing that is expected to determine who comprises the voting members of the Pac-12 board of directors.

That hearing has not been set, but would likely be scheduled in October. It could include document and email discovery from the Pac-12 and member schools and live witness testimony from prominent officials in and around the Pac-12.

«Today's ruling is an important first step to bring clarity and fairness to Pac 12 governance,» said Drew Tulumello, counsel to Washington State and school president Kirk Schulz. «The future of the Pac 12 should be controlled by the schools who stay, not those who go.»

Oregon State and Washington State have argued that they should be the only voting members remaining in the conference, citing precedent that previous members who've notified the Pac-12 of their withdrawal from the league have lost voting rights.

In the past 18 months, 10 members have departed the Pac-12. That's left only Oregon State and Washington State to sift through the remaining assets and liabilities as they attempt to determine whether or not it's worth pushing forward with the league. There's value in the league's name, television network,