According to a release on Thursday morning, the Pac-12 Conference Board of Directors has voted unanimously to add Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, and San Diego State to the Pac-12 Conference, effective July 1, 2026.
The four universities will be added to the conference based on five “prioritized measures and established criteria,” including “academics and athletics performance, media and brand evaluation, commitment to athletics success, geography and logistics, and culture and student-athlete welfare.“
“For over a century, the Pac-12 Conference has been recognized as a leading brand in intercollegiate athletics,” Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould stated. “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.”
Action Network‘s Brett McMurphy was the first to break the story on Thursday morning and reported that an official announcement was expected sometime this morning. As he added in the report, the Pac-12 still needs two more schools to reach the eight-school minimum to qualify as an FBS conference.
McMurphy added that the Mountain West will receive a total of $111 million in exit fees. The departing MWC schools must each pay a minimum of a $17 million exit fee, which the Pac-12 is expected to help offset, a source said. Also, the Pac-12 must pay the MWC a total of $43 million for poaching the 4 Mountain West schools as part of a scheduling agreement between the two conferences.
Big 12 Recent Moves
The Big 12 is just days removed from electing not to add UConn, at least in the short term.
The conference put out a statement last Thursday from Commissioner Brett Yormark, saying, “As Commissioner, it is my responsibility to explore a variety of value-creating opportunities on behalf of the Big 12. Following detailed discussions with my conference colleagues alongside UConn leadership, we have jointly decided to pause our conversations at this time. We will instead focus our attention and resources to ushering in this new era of college athletics.”
There had been multiple reports that there was hesitation amongst some Big 12 athletic directors and presidents about the possibility of bringing in the Huskies. The reporting suggested that the Big 12 would possibly add UConn basketball as early as 2025-26, while the football program would not be added until 2031, when the next television contract would be negotiated.
