The Pac-12 is mobilizing its long-discussed plan to rebuild the league with additions from the Mountain West, sources tell Yahoo Sports.
The two-team conference of Washington State and Oregon State is targeting Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State and Fresno State as new additions in a reimagined Pac-12. Those schools are expected to soon apply or have already applied for membership into the conference — the first step in the process to complete the deal. They would join the league starting with the 2026 school year.
Commissioner Teresa Gould and officials from the Pac-12 have spent the last year examining possible options for their future after 10 schools left the league for the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC. They have long held the belief that they can preserve the Pac-12 brand by reconstructing the conference through expansion, using its 108-year-old tradition, history and assets to attract new members.
This is expected to be the first phase in a multi-phase expansion endeavor to reach, at the very least, eight schools — the NCAA’s minimum required to qualify as an FBS conference. If the aforementioned four join, the league needs two more to complete the process. It must reach the minimum by July of 2026, the end of the NCAA’s two-year grace period.
The Pac-12’s board must approve any membership applications and is expected to soon do so. The deal could be finalized by the end of the week.
The expansion is not inexpensive. Each Mountain West school is contractually bound to a $17 million exit fee, and the Pac-12 is on the hook for an additional $10-12 million penalty fee for every school they acquire as part of a scheduling agreement the conference struck with the Mountain West.
After months of examining future options, league officials determined to reimagine the conference with an expansion approach. In negotiations with potential new members, Pac-12 officials and third parties have presented a plan that features a new media rights agreement worth more than the MWC’s current or future television package, as well as the sponsorship potential of the Pac-12 brand.
The two schools offer attractive assets that could total millions as a result of the 10 schools departing the conference, including monies from the Rose Bowl contract, College Football Playoff, NCAA basketball tournament units and Pac-12 Enterprises, previously the Pac-12 Network. The league lost its designation as an autonomous/power conference, a moniker that gave it more voting privileges within NCAA governance and more revenue in the CFP distribution model. It is unclear if the conference could regain such a designation.
During Pac-12 media days in Las Vegas in July, Gould hosted media members, administrators, coaches and players for a gathering to celebrate the conference, projecting a bright future and suggesting a potential rebuild.
“There’s a lot of interest in having a high-level conference rooted on the West Coast,” she told Yahoo Sports then. “There’s a lot of interest in our communities and fan bases. A lot of people care deeply about the Pac-12 and Pac-12 brand. There is a lot of nostalgia about the possibility of a rebuild.”
The Pac-12’s first expansion phase considers geographic and cultural significance while serving a blow to the rival Mountain West. The MWC, a 12-team football league, counting Hawaii, would lose some of its top brands despite a scheduling alliance with the Pac-12 that many projected to end with a reverse merger or merger with OSU and WSU.
However, earlier this month, negotiations broke down between the Pac-12 and Mountain West over adding a second year to the 2024 football scheduling alliance, a fight that most notably involved financial differences, according to those with knowledge of the talks.
The move by the Pac-12 could ignite another round of realignment, at least for those schools at the Group of Five or even FCS level. In needing to fill departures, the Mountain West is likely to evaluate possible members to elevate to FBS.
The Pac-12’s move may have another ripple effect on a grander stage: the College Football Playoff. Given the departures in the Pac-12, CFP leaders last year voted to change the 12-team expanded playoff format. They removed one automatic qualifying spot and added an at-large bid for a format that features five AQs for the highest-ranked conference champions and seven at-large bids.
In the next two years, the Pac-12 champion is not eligible for an automatic qualifying spot as it does not meet the CFP’s conference-minimum requirement. However, starting in 2026, the champion of a rebuilt Pac-12 would presumably be eligible to receive an automatic bid.
