The Pac is back! According to multiple reports that surfaced overnight, the Pac-12 Conference will add four Mountain West teams from the 2016 season as the self-titled “Conference of Champions” looks to rebound from a crippling round of college football realignment that left it with just two teams in 2024.
Which Mountain West Teams Are Moving to the Pac-12 in 2026?
According to multiple reports, but first reported nationally by Ross Dellenger, the Pac-12 will add the Boise State Broncos, San Diego State Aztecs, Colorado State Rams, and Fresno State Bulldogs to its ranks, starting with the 2026 college football season. Official confirmation is expected to come from the conference as early as 9 a.m. ET on Thursday.
Under the move, the departing Mountain West schools will be on the hook for around $17 million each while a $43 million poaching fee will be paid from the Pac-12. The conference is cash-rich following the loss of 10 teams this offseason, and Commissioner Teresa Gould had reportedly earmarked $65 million worth of funds as part of the rebuild of the conference.
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While coming as a shock to college football fans waking up (or just going to sleep), the news that broke late Wednesday night is far from a surprise to people following the situation closely. The Pac-12 and Mountain West have been inextricably linked in this recent round of college football realignment, with a scheduling agreement for Oregon State and Washington State in 2024.
However, the winds of change were clearly blowing when a Sept. 1 deadline to extend that arrangement beyond 2024 and into the 2025 college football campaign passed without an agreement. In last Thursday’s edition of the College Football Network newsletter, we speculated what that might mean for the Pac-12 (and Mountain West) with this exact situation proposed.
In fact, sources close to College Football Network made us aware several weeks ago that a deal for the Pac-12 to take multiple Mountain West teams as part of a bid to rebuild the once proud conference was in the works.
Yet, speculation over the Mountain West’s role in future college football realignment — particularly as it pertains to the Pac-12 — has been rife throughout the offseason. At Mountain West media days, commissioner Gloria Nevarez was asked about the threat posed by the Pac-12 to her conference, something she described as “the hottest issue in front of the Mountain West.”
While she fought off an attempt to abscond from the conference by San Diego State early in her tenure, the Aztecs are one of the quartet heading to the Pac-12 in 2026. Nevarez issued an early morning statement addressing the realignment reports and the future of the remaining eight Mountain West teams.
“The Mountain West Conference is aware of media reports regarding the potential departure of several of our members & we will have more to say in the days ahead,” Nevarez said.
“All members will be held to the Conference bylaws & policies should they elect to depart. The requirements of the scheduling agreement will apply to the Pac-12 should they admit Mountain West members. Our Board of Directors is meeting to determine our next steps. The Mountain West has a proud 25-year history & will continue to thrive in the years ahead.”
But what does “thriving” look like for the Mountain West, and what moves will come next?
What Comes Next For the Mountain West and Pac-12?
Despite the loss of four teams, the Mountain West is still, technically, better positioned than the Pac-12 for the 2026 college football season. NCAA regulations require that a conference must have a minimum of eight teams, and while the Pac-12 was given a two-year stay of execution, this move leaves them two short while the Mountain West still has eight teams.
Under Nevarez, the Mountain West has shown itself to be savvy in scheduling tough opponents to elevate the conference’s strength of schedule and appeal to the College Football Playoff. Don’t rule out them striking a similar accord with a power conference moving forward. Meanwhile, CUSA showcased that a smaller field isn’t a limiting factor to big-game invites in 2023.
The emphasis, once the immediate aftermath has quietened down (and perhaps even before), will be on how the Pac-12 gets to that magic eight number of teams over the course of the next year-and-a-half. There are other considerations, like securing a media deal (an issue that crippled the conference originally), but such points are moot if they don’t have eight teams.
Could any teams that left this year return to the conference in 2026? Oregon, Washington, UCLA, and USC aren’t leaving the Big Ten, and despite rumors suggesting some disharmony with the Big 12, Utah and the other Pac-12 escapees (Arizona State, Arizona, and Colorado) won’t leave the security of a Power Four conference to join what is essentially a Group of Six conference.
Cal and Stanford sit as outliers in the Atlantic Coast Conference. So much depends on the future of that conference, with Florida State and Clemson leading a charge to depart that looks destined to fail. Unless the ACC crumbles around them, it would be foolish for the Bears and Cardinal to try and negotiate a return out west.
A duo of FCS newcomers could make up the numbers, but that would depend on whether the Pac-12 wants to thrive or merely survive. If it’s the former, then it would take two teams like North Dakota State and South Dakota State to take a leap of faith. The Bison have proven they can mix it with FBS outfits, but would either risk comfortable success in the FCS for a tougher task?
The UConn Huskies have recently been in talks with the Big 12, but those have faltered around several issues, including “timing.” Well, the timing might be right for the basketball powerhouse to align itself with a conference for 2026. With UMass moving to the MAC in 2025, the Huskies and Notre Dame Fighting Irish will be the only two FBS Independents after the 2024 football season.
However, the most likely move looks to involve the AAC. During the last round of conference realignment, the ACC pilfered the SMU Mustangs from the leading Group of Five conferences, and a similar move would bolster the Pac-12 ranks. Securing a Memphis, Tulane, or even UTSA would be a solid investment as the Pac-12 looks to return to national relevance.
Outside-of-the-box thinking could also significantly strengthen the Pac-12’s bid for a College Football Playoff challenge. Targeting the Texas State Bobcats would give the conference a team on the rise, based just far enough west not to cause significant travel issues but deep in the heart of Big 12 territory, not to mention adding a CFP contender from another Group of Six conference.
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