The Pac-12 is poised to make a comeback as it announced on Thursday the additions of four schools from the Mountain West Conference.
After 10 of the conference's 12 members left over the summer, the Pac-12 was left with just Oregon State and Washington State. The mass exodus started with USC and UCLA announcing they would join the Big Ten. The departures continued with Oregon and Washington also heading to the Big Ten, Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State joining the Big 12, and Stanford and California moving to the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Despite doubts the conference could exist with Oregon State and Washington State as the league's anchors, the Pac-12 said on Thursday that Boise State University, Colorado State University, Fresno State University and San Diego State University would all join the conference on July 1, 2026.
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The NCAA had given the Pac-12 a two-year window to carry a minimum of six teams. That meant that Oregon State and Washington State would be allowed to compete as a two-team conference until the summer of 2026. At that point, they would have been forced to join another conference or compete as independents.
“For over a century, the Pac-12 Conference has been recognized as a leading brand in intercollegiate athletics,” Commissioner Teresa Gould stated. “We will continue to pursue bold cutting-edge opportunities for growth and progress, to best serve our member institutions and student-athletes. I am thankful to our board for their efforts to welcome Boise State University, Colorado State University, California State University, Fresno, and San Diego State University to the conference. An exciting new era for the Pac-12 Conference begins today.”
The announcement comes as Oregon State and Washington State have formed a one-year scheduling agreement in football with the Mountain West. Each Mountain West team was scheduled to play either Oregon State or Washington State once this year.
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While each conference gets an automatic bid for most NCAA championships, such as basketball and baseball, the College Football Playoff operates differently. The College Football Playoff selects the five highest-ranked conference champions automatically, along with the seven best non-conference champions. Theoretically, champions from the Big 12, ACC, Big Ten and SEC would claim four of the five slots, leaving one bid open to a non-power conference.
While NCAA rules stipulate a conference gets full privileges with six members, the College Football Playoff requires conferences to have eight teams to be eligible for an automatic bid. That means the Pac-12 will likely need to add two more members.
