WSU president preparing realignment moves from 'bad spot' - ESPN

Washington State president Kirk Schulz acknowledged his school's athletics program is in «a bad spot» as it faces a harsh new reality in the wake of the Pac-12's defections last week.

Schulz, in his first interview since the conference dwindled to four teams, recalled the tense moments in the Pac-12 presidents call on Friday morning. Entering the day, optimism had emerged that Oregon and Washington might commit to a new television deal and save the league.

Schulz said that Oregon and Washington essentially ended the call before it began, revealing their intentions to finalize a deal with the Big Ten.

«It's like a breakup; its awkward,» Schulz said. «No one wants to sit there for too long.»

The pivot point came as the call unfolded, when Schulz texted veteran athletic director Pat Chun: «We've got to roll up our sleeves and get to work.»

In a wide-ranging interview with ESPN, Schulz assessed Washington State's options moving forward as «keeping all the irons in the fire.» He stressed he and Chun's engagement with student athletes in the wake of such a seismic day and acknowledged «anger» from his fan base.

Schulz worked as Kansas State's president during the Big 12 tumult in and around 2010, and he distilled Friday's hairpin turn from a potential deal with Apple to the current scramble.

«I don't ever remember a single day unfolding that was so dramatic in changing the landscape,» he said.

He added later: «College athletics is at its worst with this realignment stuff. Everyone is truly looking out for themselves. What it also does is changes behavior and people stop being honest with each other.»

Schulz made it clear that, regardless of conference or affiliation, Washington State will continue to «invest» like a Power 5