Time is steadily ticking away on Pac-12 conference expansion.
It has been 247 days since the conference last expanded, adding Gonzaga as a member in every sport except football.
Not much has happened since then as it relates to expansion, not much definitive at least.
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There is ongoing mediation between the Pac-12 and the Mountain West conferences, at issue are the exit fees required to be paid by the five schools that are slated to depart from the MW for the Pac-12 in 2026, as well as poaching penalties being required by the MW of those same schools. All told, the MW wants nearly $150 million from the Pac-12 and its MW schools — fees that the Pac-12 and the schools don’t want to pay.
The five departing MW schools — Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State — all officially gave notice to the MW on Sunday that they are indeed leaving the conference.
Aside from that, expansion has been mostly rumors upon rumors, with Texas State being the most frequently mentioned option for the Pac-12 to get to the needed eight football-sponsoring member schools. UNLV, Memphis and Tulane have frequently been floated around as well.
An expansion announcement should be coming soon, as well as soon as a settlement is reached between the Pac-12 and the MW, John Canzano reported.
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“First, the settlement gets done with the Mountain West,” Canzano writes. “Then, the announcement of the next expansion bite, and the signing of a media rights deal. I suspect the final two pieces of this are mostly done and awaiting the outcome of the settlement. Saint Mary’s is also sitting on the sidelines from a basketball standpoint, waiting to see what happens after the football piece is done.”
Canzano wouldn’t go so far as to say whether Texas State is the next addition for the Pac-12, noting only that nothing is set in stone when it comes to conference realignment.
“Everything is negotiable,” Canzano writes. “Start there. I’d also add that one thing we’ve learned about expansion and realignment is that nothing is off the table. If there’s an expansion move made for 2026, that doesn’t necessarily close the door on additional moves for 2027 and beyond. I’ve also wondered about affiliate members who could play in a football-only capacity.”
There is the possibility that the Pac-12 could look to expand beyond eight football playing members too, with a sitting conference athletic director telling Canzano “proactively planning for eight and will adjust accordingly, if necessary.”
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That idea falls in line with what was reported by The Mercury News’ Jon Wilner on Thursday.
“The next version of the Pac-12 likely will have either eight or nine, depending on the outcome of the expansion process this spring,” Wilner writes.
Whatever school or schools the Pac-12 does end up adding, the conference is going to be considered part of the Group of Six conferences, rather than one of the Power conferences, Wilner reported. At least for now.
Though in an interview with Wilner, Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould was adamant that the rebuilt Pac-12 will be closer in form to the Big 12 and the ACC than it will be to the Group of Five conferences (American, Sun Belt, Conference USA, Mountain West and Mid-American).
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“We are in a lane of our own, and the metrics support that,” Gould said, going on to note that she doesn’t consider historical long-term success a good metric to use when judging leagues, given how much upheaval there has been in and around college athletics in recent years.
When it comes to what schools the Pac-12 wants to add, Gould told Wilner “We’re looking for schools that are aligned, on a positive trajectory and willing to invest.”
Further expansion is coming for the Pac-12. It has to do with a deadline of July 1, 2026 looming. Even if it has been a slow and deliberate process.
Pac-12 Senior Associate Commissioner Teresa Gould speaks during the conference’s basketball media day Oct. 12, 2021, in San Francisco. Gould later became commissioner of the conference. The NCAA and the nation’s five biggest conferences have agreed to pay nearly $2.8 billion to settle a host of antitrust claims,a monumental decision that sets the stage for a groundbreaking revenue-sharing model that could start directing millions of dollars directly to athletes as soon as the 2025 fall semester. | Jeff Chiu
