Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes has had an eventful last few weeks with the collapse of the Pac-12, and he opened up about what the path forward is for the school and conference.

“At some point those emotions sort of settled down, and folks start to understand that we're going to find a path forward,” Scott Barnes said, via Brian Hamilton of The Athletic. “And that's not soon enough. We're in this spot where I think the waters are less murky than they were a few days ago, but they're not completely clear. So we're waiting for the waters to clear and that'll help us understand that path forward.”

The departures of Oregon and Washington to the Big Ten set it off, as Arizona, Arizona State and Utah bolted for the Big 12 as a result. Earlier in the summer, Colorado left for the Big 12. A year before, USC and UCLA announced they are intending to leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten.

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That is how the collapse of the Big Ten started. This wave of realignment was arguably started by Oklahoma and Texas bolting for the SEC.

Now, with the collapse that was set off by Oregon and Washington not long ago, Barnes and Oregon State have to find out the best solution for the future.

Whether it is staying with Stanford, Cal and Washington State in the Pac-12 and adding other schools, or joining another conference, Barnes has to figure out the best spot for his athletic department for the future.