The Pac-12 will add four Mountain West schools — Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, and San Diego State — to its conference for the 2026-27 academic year, the schools announced Thursday.
Pac-12 expansion includes Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, and San Diego State
The Pac-12 board of directors unanimously approved applications from four Mountain West schools. The four colleges will join Oregon State and Washington State, the conference's two remaining schools following last summer's mass exodus.
“For more than 100 years, the Pac-12 Conference has been recognized as the premier brand in collegiate athletics,” Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould said in a statement.
Hello! Happy new day 😎#BackThePac pic.twitter.com/jfIU1Gk22u
– Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) September 12, 2024
“We will continue to pursue the best opportunities for growth and advancement, to better serve our member institutions and student-athletes.
“I thank our board for their efforts in welcoming 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.”
Mountain West Conference to receive $111 million in exit costs
The Mountain West Conference is expected to receive $111 million in severance pay as a result of the move. Mountain West city rules require exiting schools to pay exit fees of up to $18 million with two years' notice, according to ESPN's Kyle Bonagura and Pete Thamel.
The exit fee will increase to $36 million with one year's notice. The Pac-12 is expected to help schools with exit fees due to withheld funds from distributing media rights. Those funds were spent on traveling members and other conference supplies.
Additionally, the Pac-12 will also pay $43 million in poaching fees, as outlined in this year's interconference settlement agreement. That resulted in Oregon State and Washington State playing six Mountain West opponents.
“We are excited to join the Pac-12 Conference,” said San Diego State athletic director John David Wicker. “[San Diego State] is grateful to be a founding member of the Mountain West for 26 years of conference success. We are excited about what lies ahead with these new opportunities.”
The Pac-12 must add two more schools to meet the NCAA's minimum requirement of eight programs
In addition, the six members will work together to decide which schools should be targeted for expansion. The conference still needs to add two more schools to meet the NCAA's minimum requirement. Otherwise, the league will not be recognized as an official FBS conference.
This means that for the next two years, the Pac-12 champion is not eligible for an automatic berth. This is all because it does not meet the minimum requirement of the CFP convention.
Beginning in 2026, the new-look Pac-12 champion may be eligible for an automatic bid. The conference is in the first year of a two-year grace period provided by the NCAA bylaws. In fact, there is less value in the matter of travel.
Of course, it is unclear how many schools the renewed conference expects to have by 2026. The American Athletic Conference has many programs that could be attractive, including Memphis and Tulane.
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