There is new math for Oregon State as it pertains to the 2025 football schedule.
To fill out next year’s 12-game football schedule, Oregon State came up with unusual contractual agreements with several schools. A six-game hole existed when OSU-Washington State and the Mountain West could not agree to a 2025 scheduling agreement.
In the end, Oregon State is paying about $3 million to add six games to the 2025 schedule. It is a savings of some $4 million over the $7 million it paid the Mountain West in 2024 for a six-game scheduling agreement.
To get there, Oregon State got creative.
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For example, OSU will pay Tulsa $500,000 to play a road game against the Golden Hurricanes next season. The Beavers agreed to a home and home against Sam Houston State. They’ll pay Sam Houston $1.2 million for next year’s game in Corvallis, and receive $200,000 for a 2031 game at SHSU.
During the past six weeks, Oregon State completed its 2025 schedule with home games against Sam Houston State, Wake Forest, Lafayette and Washington State, and road games at Appalachian State and Tulsa.
The combined cost of those games, excepting Washington State, is $2.95 million. The Oregonian/OregonLive obtained contracts on all games except Washington State, which hasn’t been finalized. Beavers athletic director Scott Barnes said Oregon State is covering most of Washington State’s travel costs for the Nov. 1 game in Corvallis. Oregon State is compensating Washington for the 2025 home game because it is an additional game to the original home-and-home agreement for 2024 (at OSU) and 2025 (at WSU).
Earlier this year, the plan was to renew a scheduling agreement with the Mountain West, but at less than the $7 million OSU and Washington State each spent in 2024. By the end of August, it was clear OSU and WSU were headed in a different direction.
“The Mountain West piece was untenable,” Barnes said.
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Here’s what to know about agreements with Tulsa, Sam Houston State, Lafayette and Appalachian State (OregonLive previously reported on Wake Forest).
Tulsa: The schools agreed to a home-and-home contract, with the 2025 on November 15 in 2025, and a game at Oregon State on September 18, 2032. OSU is paying for both games, $500,000 for the 2025 game, and $250,000 in 2032. Oregon State is paying for the 2025 game to help Tulsa pay a buyout of a previously scheduled game. The visiting team can purchase a minimum of 1,000 tickets, in addition to receiving 300 complimentary tickets.
Sam Houston State: Another home-and-home agreement with a twist. OSU is paying $1.2 million to host Sam Houston State for a November 8, 2025 game. Some of that goes to help SHSU buy out a previously scheduled game. The Beavers receive $200,000 to play at Sam Houston on September 6, 2031. The deal also comes with 300 complimentary tickets to the visiting school for each game.
Appalachian State: A traditional home-and-home contract, as each home school is paying $250,000 for a game, October 4, 2025 at Appalachian State, and September 25, 2023 at Oregon State. The visiting team also receives 500 complimentary tickets, with another 1,000 tickets on consignment.
Lafayette: A standard one-game contract with an FCS school. Oregon State is paying $500,000 for an October 18, 2025 game against Lafayette. The only ticket stipulation is 300 complimentary tickets.
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In the case of Wake Forest as previously reported, Oregon State is paying $750,000 to play host to the Demon Deacons. Most of that goes to help Wake Forest pay a buyout to Mississippi, which had a scheduled game with the Demon Deacons in 2025.
Barnes stopped short of calling the $3 million cost for the six additional games a bargain, but said “it’s more representative of the market than where we were. It’s significant savings. I think we got the quality we needed.”
Previously scheduled for 2025 are home games against California, Fresno State and Houston, and road games against Oregon, Texas Tech and Washington State.
Barnes is hopeful Oregon State’s two-year football scheduling odyssey is over. In 2026, the Beavers begin play in the rebuilt Pac-12. When the Pac-12 lineup is finished, OSU is likely to have seven or eight conference games, plus four or five nonconference games.
Currently, Oregon State has scheduled nonconference games against Texas Tech and Houston. Barnes said discussions to add two or three more games are underway.
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“It’s funny how much we took for granted when we had nine conference games. You just had to fill the hole with three, and you’re done,” Barnes said. “This last two years has been exhausting. It’s been really hard. It’ll be great to get back to a base of conference games.”
Ideally, Barnes would like to end up with eight conference games and four nonconference games. Under the old Pac-12 format of nine conference games, Barnes’ formula for nonconference games was one Power 5, one Group of 5, preferably a higher-level program, and a FCS opponent.
With four nonconference games, Barnes said Oregon State’s aim is scheduling two Power 4 opponents, plus a G5 and an FCS.
–Nick Daschel can be reached at 360-607-4824, ndaschel@oregonian.com or @nickdaschel.
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PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – Starting in 2026, a new law in Oregon requires all non-motorized boats, regardless of size, to buy and carry a waterway access permit. That includes paddleboards and kayaks.
But there has been some push back from one organization.
Ben Roche is part of Let Us Paddle. The organization aims to repeal the updates to the waterway access permit.
“It’s Oregonians constitutional right to free access to our waterways. And human powered watercrafts are the best way to do that, and the least environmentally impactful,” said Roche.
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According to the Oregon State Marine Board, permit fees range from $6 to $35.
If you’re caught without a permit, there’s a $115 fine.
The state agency says the funding goes directly to two programs.
One supports aquatic invasive species watercraft inspection stations and the other improves access points to the water that specifically serve paddlers.
“There is a need for inspection and we support that. What we don’t support is charging recreational paddleboarders for cleaning of motorboats that enter our state,” said Roche.
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Roche adds, the state is only funding a few dozen access points.
Let Us Paddle has collected at least 20,000 signatures, and they want about 130,000 more by July 2.
They need at least 120,000 verified signatures to put the repeal before voters on the November ballot.
But even if they don’t meet the requirement, Roche says he’ll keep pushing for change.
“I think it’s really a poorly crafted bill that collects a small drop in the bucket of revenue but impacts thousands of recreational kayakers across the state,” said Roche.
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FOX 12 reached out to the Oregon State Marine Board to ask more questions, but have not yet to heard back.
Oregon DMV temporarily paused dispersing new undercover vehicle license plates starting April 15.
FILE – The U.S. Department of Justice seal is seen on a podium before a news conference, May 4, 2026, in Washington.
Julia Demaree Nikhinson / AP
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The Justice Department is suing four states after they refused to issue confidential license plates to federal law enforcement agencies, despite having done so in the past.
The lawsuits, filed Wednesday in Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts and Maine, seek to force states to resume what the federal government describes as long-standing, routine policies.
The scope of the combined litigation raises questions about ways the federal government has aggressively carried out immigration enforcement since President Donald Trump’s reelection, and whether the Constitution grants states the power to deny federal law enforcement agencies license plates that effectively conceal officers’ identities.
“Oregon’s DMV policy illegally discriminates against the United States, violates the Supremacy clause, and is unconstitutional,” attorneys for the federal government argued in court filings.
Oregon DMV temporarily paused disbursing new undercover license plates to all federal agencies starting April 15.
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“The DMV is currently evaluating the undercover vehicle registration program to ensure the program complies with Oregon law,” Oregon DMV Administrator Amy Joyce explained in a May 22 letter to Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate.
A recent lawsuit filed against Oregon State Police alleges the state is providing personal information to federal immigration authorities through databases, including Oregon’s DMV.
“If the DMV process for issuing undercover plates could be questioned under Oregon law, the State is at risk for additional litigation,” Joyce explained in the letter to Shumate.
The state’s review of the undercover license plate program doesn’t prevent federal vehicles from legally driving on Oregon roads.
“State and local law enforcement are unaffected by this pause and the federal agencies that participate in the program are able to continue to use their existing unexpired plates,” Kevin Glenn, a spokesperson for Gov. Tina Kotek wrote in a statement.
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Immigration officers have relied on these license plates for enforcement, including during Operation Black Rose in Oregon. According to U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement, officers arrested more than 1,498 people between September and March, which led to 1,057 removals.
The lawsuits filed Wednesday argue the states’ DMV policies undermine ongoing federal investigations.
“Federal law enforcement agencies should not be subject to the challenged DMV policy, which is unconstitutional and recklessly disregards officer safety, public safety, and federal operational needs‚” the Justice Department’s lawsuit states.
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Thursday is shaping up to be another active weather day across the region, with the potential for strong to severe thunderstorms developing this afternoon and evening. The greatest severe weather threat is expected across southeast Oregon, where the Storm Prediction Center has issued a Slight Risk for severe storms. Portions of southwest Idaho remain under a Marginal Risk, meaning isolated severe storms are possible. Boise and much of the Treasure Valley are mainly under a general thunderstorm threat, but storms could still bring gusty winds, blowing dust, lightning, and brief heavy rain later today.
Idaho News 6
Storms are expected to first develop across southeast Oregon and near the Nevada border this afternoon before tracking north and northwest through the evening hours. The strongest storms will likely stay west of Boise, especially across areas of Malheur County, western Owyhee County, and parts of the west-central Idaho mountains.
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Impacts
The biggest impact today will likely be strong outflow winds. Some storms could produce wind gusts between 40 and 60 mph, with isolated gusts near 70 mph possible in the strongest storms across eastern Oregon. Winds of that strength can blow around patio furniture, trampolines, garbage cans, and other loose outdoor objects, bring down tree limbs, and cause isolated power outages.
Blowing dust may also become a major issue in open desert and agricultural areas, especially across eastern Oregon and southwest Idaho. Visibility could quickly drop on roads and highways, creating dangerous travel conditions for drivers.
Some storms may also produce hail capable of damaging vehicles and outdoor property, while brief heavy downpours could lead to ponding on roads and reduced visibility. Frequent lightning will also make outdoor activities dangerous through the afternoon and evening.
Even though Boise is not currently in the higher severe weather categories, residents should still stay weather aware because any thunderstorm that moves through the Treasure Valley could produce sudden gusty winds and localized blowing dust.
Looking ahead
Storm chances continue Friday with additional showers and weaker thunderstorms before conditions gradually dry out heading into the weekend. Temperatures will cool closer to normal on Saturday before another warming trend develops next week.
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