In a major development in college athletics, the Pac-12 Conference, now reduced to just two members, is on the verge of expanding – offering a path to stability for Washington State and Oregon State while inflicting significant damage on a neighboring conference.
Four Mountain West schools – Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Colorado State – are expected to announce their intention to join the Pac-12 as early as today, with the transition planned for July 1, 2026.
These four programs, along with Washington State and Oregon State, are also considering further expansion to meet NCAA requirements.
The Pac-12 must have at least eight members by the summer of 2026 to maintain its status as a recognized conference.
According to reports, the six schools could recruit additional teams from the Mountain West or elsewhere to expand their geographic reach and increase TV broadcasting windows, particularly for football.
The move could leave a significant portion of the Mountain West, including schools like San Jose State, Utah State, Hawaii, and Nevada, scrambling to find stability.
This development follows the collapse of negotiations between the Pac-12 and Mountain West to extend their football scheduling partnership into the 2025 season.
The shift comes with financial implications for both the Pac-12 and Mountain West schools involved.
Under current agreements, any school leaving the Mountain West for the Pac-12 would be subject to a $10 million penalty, part of a so-called “poaching fee.” However, the Pac-12 is in a position to manage these costs.
Washington State and Oregon State, having settled with the 10 schools that recently departed the Pac-12, are holding onto $65 million in withheld distributions, which could help cover the penalties for the new members.
Additionally, the Cougars and Beavers have over $150 million in assets, drawn from the Pac-12’s postseason football and basketball contracts, that could be allocated to facilitate this expansion.
“There will be some of those funds set aside that, as different scenarios emerge, we do have some resources available to us for our strategic priorities moving forward and whatever we might need to do to support our conference affiliation strategy,” Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould said recently on the ‘Canzano and Wilner: The Podcast.’
In addition to the poaching fees, schools leaving the Mountain West are likely to face a departure penalty of around $20 million. But for Boise State and San Diego State in particular, the potential media rights revenue generated by joining the Pac-12 outweighs the financial costs.
For those schools, breaking away from lower-tier programs in the Mountain West is seen as the key to unlocking more lucrative TV deals.
A conference centered around Washington State, Oregon State, and the Mountain West’s top football programs is expected to have greater television appeal than the current Mountain West lineup, which lacks the same level of marketability.
What are your thoughts on the surprising news???
