The Pac-12 Conference just got a little less lonely for the 2026-27 academic year. Oregon State and Washington State, the two remaining teams in the conference following the mass exodus of West Coast schools over the past several years, announced that they had approved 4 new schools to join the conference on Thursday.
Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, and San Diego State Universities will bring the Pac-12’s ranks to 6 schools in two years time.
“For over a century, the Pac-12 Conference has been recognized as a leading brand in intercollegiate athletics,” Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould said in a statement. “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 four former Mountain West Conference teams are expected to be hit with $18M exit fee penalties as a result of giving their boards 2 years notice of their intent to depart. The Pac-12 is expected to help cover portions of these exit fees, but could also be facing up to a $43M fine in “poaching fees” themselves.
“The Mountain West Conference is aware of media reports regarding the potential departure of several of our members, and we will have more to say in the days ahead,” Nevarez said. “All members will be held to the Conference bylaws and policies should they elect to depart. The requirements of the scheduling agreement will apply to the Pac-12 should they admit Mountain West members. Our Board of Directors is meeting to determine our next steps. The Mountain West has a proud 25-year history and will continue to thrive in the years ahead.”
Nevertheless, the increased visibility as well as deeper pockets of the Pac-12 conference were more than enough to offset any potential short term penalties for the joining schools. With 6 teams now making up the Pac-12, the conference will convene on which two schools they wish to add down the line.
NCAA by-laws require a conference to have at least 8 teams in order to be recognized as a Division 1 organization. However, the new look group will have until 2026 to fill the remaining vacancies.
Now that the first wave of teams have signed on to join, the rumour mill has kicked into high gear as to which schools might make up those final two spots. Cal, Stanford, Utah State, Hawaii, UNLV, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Wyoming have all been bandied about as possible targets in the hours since the news broke.
However, whether we see any additional teams named this year, or that effort is relegated to the summer remains to be seen.
Photo: U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Joseph Morgan. This image or file is a work of a U.S. Air National Guard member or employee, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image or file is in the public domain in the United States.