The politicians are attempting to step into conference realignment once again, this time in Washington.
State Rep. Drew Stokesbary announced he sent a letter to the presidents and regents of Washington and Washington State urging them to stick together for the good of student-athletes and fans and said he plans to introduce legislation requiring both schools to remain in the same conference, as they have since 1917.
Past attempts to stop state schools from changing conferences haven’t been successful, most notably in Texas a year ago. That did, however, give us the incredible scene of Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby looking grumpy while sitting behind Texas president Jay Hartzell.
This isn’t the first foray into collegiate athletics for Stokesbary, a 36-year-old Republican first elected to Washington’s House of Representatives in 2015. During the 2019 legislative session, he authored and co-sponsored a bill seeking to make it illegal to prohibit college athletes from earning compensation in exchange for services rendered. It didn’t make it to a vote, though other states have since passed similar NIL legislation.
