44 ForOregonState.org/Stater ABOVE: KARL MAASDAM; BELOW: OSU SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES the Pac-12 Conference disintegrate this summer, leaving OSU and Washington State alone in the wreckage, it seemed unprecedented: A solid part of the sporting world had crumbled. But Beavers have gone through this before. In the late 1950s, a series of events led to the dissolution of the Pac-12’s predecessor — the Pacific Coast Conference — leaving Oregon State without a conference home for five consecutive years. The PCC included eight of the 12 universities involved in the realignment happening now. Many issues that roiled intercollegiate athletics then are still at play, from paying players to market sizes, to money in general. The particulars of the PCC dissolution and the Pac-12 breakup aren’t identical: the PCC situation involved dramatic differences in institutional philosophies on governing intercollegiate athletics, and the money issue was more about ticket sales than television revenue. But the result was the same: Decades of history and tradition among the West Coast’s highest-profile universities were tossed aside as a conference splintered.Then and now, an Oregon State football program that had gained national prominence was left to face an uncertain future. The parallels offer interesting insights into the situation Beavers find themselves in today. SCANDALS AND SUBTERFUGE The dominoes of the PCC’s demise began falling in 1951, when University of Oregon head coach Jim Aiken was forced to resign because he’d been compensating players and using a “Football 101” class as extra practice time. That set off a chain reaction of allegations and dismissals. In January 1956, the University ofWashington fired head coach John Cherberg; burning bridges as he left, Cherberg told the press about a booster group that paid Husky WHEN OREGON STATERS WATCHED ↑ Wide receiver Silas Bolden runs the ball against Utah. The Beavs won the Sept. 29 game 21-7. 1915: Oregon State forms the Pacific Coast Conference with UO, UW and California. Competition begins the next year. 1957–58: Oregon State wins back-to-back PCC football titles, going to the Rose Bowl in 1957 and tying for the title the following season. 1959–63: After the PCC dissolves, OSU thrives as an independent school: winning championshipsincrosscountry; finishing in the national baseball rankings in 1962 and 1963; and appearing in three NCAA men’s basketball tournaments and the 1963 Final Four.
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