The hunted becomes the hunter.
The Pac-12 Conference, whose ranks were depleted when most of its members bolted for more money from the Big Ten, Big 12 and Atlantic Coast Conferences a year ago, on Thursday sought to breathe new life into the league by, in turn, snagging four members from the Mountain West Conference.
Only Oregon State and Washington State University remained in the Pac-12 after last summer’s defections, leading many to speculate that the West Coast league would no longer be viable as a freestanding conference—and would certainly no longer qualify as one of the autonomous Power Five leagues. Many expected the two universities to try to find a new home in one of the remaining four major college football leagues, but the decision to try to rebuild the Pac-12 suggests that they failed in that quest.
Instead, they announced Thursday that the conference would add Boise State, Colorado State and San Diego State Universities and California State University, Fresno, from the Mountain West, beginning in 2026. That puts the Pac-12 membership at six, two short of what the league would need to requalify for NCAA membership after a two-year grace period ends.
“The collective six universities will collaboratively chart additional membership and other future conference considerations,” the Pac-12 said in a statement.
This set of moves will almost certainly spur other additional rounds of money-driven conference reshuffling as the Pac-12 continues to expand and the Mountain West seeks to replenish its ranks.
