It's not disbanding. The coaches are still there & they had

hoped their young team that had made the Elite 8 with everyone coming back that called themselves a family would make a run for the Final 4 and National Championship. The students decided as is their right to leave the school, but they could have successfully stayed. It's not like successful teams staying together when conference realignment forced them to go to worse conference hasn't happenned before and the most successful WBB team ever continued to thrive.

Most noteably, when UConn left the Big East Conference in 2013 after Big East football was truly disbanded (i.e. no more football ever to be played in the Big East), UConn temporarily went to a far worst WBB conference, the AAC, and yet still stayed together and won 3 more national championships for women and won 1 even for the men. Those are the only AAC bball championships the conference ever have had. The UConn women still went to the Final 4 every year they were in this lousy conference and compiled a record of 139-0 over their lousy competition. Other than UConn, AAC women' teams have never got past the 2nd round in the NCAA tournament. Also no other AAC men's bball team ever won an NCAA championships. UConn women and men's bball continued to stay together but finally decided basketball was more important than football so they went back to the Big East in 2021 as their football became independent. So clearly UConn going to a lousy conference because of football realignment did not force UCOnn to disband their basketball program.

On the other the hand the Beavers were going to the WCC which was a far better conference as WCC women's teams have already been to 6 sweet 16s and even 1 Elite 8. The Oregon State team just like UConn would have had a very good chance to repeat what they did in the NCAA's this year had they stayed together (like UConn repeated from 2013 to 2014) and probably even do better. By the way the men's WCC bball teams have also been far more successful than the AAC having won 2 NCs, 5 Final 4s, 13 ELite 8's and 21 Sweet 16s. On the mens side other than UCLA's dominance in the 60/70's, one might argue the WCC was more successful than the PAC12 for men, even though PAC12 women basketball was the best overall conference across more different teams in the country over the years.

The Beaver WBB team could have easily thrived in the WCC while they waited for the rest of realignemnt to pan out and possible reinstatement of the PAC12 in sports other than football. OSU/WSU are keeping the PAC12 alive with a $300M war chest from the leaving schools that will allow the conference to be put back together if done within 2 years.

AJoe, I just want to keep the facts straight on what's going on with OSU & the PAC12 even though I know you have a very clear dislike for all things west coast. You might be surprised to know that my politics aren't much different than yours given your profile. I am a Midwest guy who came to Oregon right after I graduated from ND and believe it or not from 1979 to 1987 Oregon had a Republican Governor and 2 Republican Senators. The state has gone crazy liberal since then, but Oregon State is still a pretty conservative Land Grant Agriculture & Engineering school. I know you seem to revel what happenned to the school and conference, but I find it very difficult and at least do not want to say it is disbanding. Now it will require rebuilding again much like ND had to do in 2021 but at least it still has the same coaches, for now.