Is the Pac-12 Back?

As of Thursday morning the Pac-12 announced the addition of four new schools. Boise St, Colorado St, Fresno St and San Diego St, all coming from the Mountain West Conference.

#BackThePac

At the end of the 2023-24 athletics season, the Pac-12 lost 10 teams. Two schools went to the ACC, four schools to the Big-10 and four schools to the Big-12. This all came after the Pac-12 failed to secure a long-term TV contract, leaving teams with no choice but to leave. Only Oregon State and Washington State remained in the Pac-12. They will remain the only two teams until the four new schools officially join the conference in 2026.

https://twitter.com/pac12/status/1834217156432855110

What is Next?

While this is a step in the right direction in bringing the Pac-12 back as a conference, it still needs to bring in at least two more teams by the end of July 2026 to be recognized as an official FBS conference. The timeframe given would mark the NCAA’s two-year grace period for conferences with less than eight teams. Although at this time it is unclear what schools or conferences will follow, schools such as Tulane and Memphis may decide to leave the ACC and appeal to join.

The four teams that left the Mountain West Conference are set to pay $111 million in exit fees as a result of the departures. Each team will have to pay the MWC $17 million, which the Pac-12 is expected to “help offset.”

The Pac-12 is already was set to pay $43 million as part of a poaching fee as shown in their scheduling agreement between the conferences. This led to Oregon State and Washington State scheduled to play six Mountain West opponents this season. Although the two conferences reportedly did not sign a scheduling agreement past this season. The deadline to do so was Sept. 1.