Pac-12 football looks a bit different this year. The only two teams in the Pac-12 conference are the Oregon State Beavers and Washington State Cougars. Obviously, having just two teams in a collegiate conference is not sustainable, but now the Pac-12 is trying to add four more teams to their grouping.
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Pac-12 expansion targeting teams from Mountain West
According to Yahoo college football insider Ross Dellenger, the Pac-12 is targeting a quartet of teams from the Mountain West conference. Specifically, the Pac-12 wants to add Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, and San Diego State to their existing group.
This would bring the Pac-12 back up to six teams after losing 10 programs to the Big Ten, Big 12, and the ACC. All four Mountain West schools mentioned above are “expected to soon apply” or may have already applied for membership into the Pac-12 conference.
The earliest any of the four teams would join is in the 2026 school year.
With 108 years of history, the Pac-12 has no plans of dissolving. Instead, they’re looking to keep the history alive, which could soon involve inviting four more teams to the competition. The goal is eventually to get back to having at least eight teams in the Pac-12. The NCAA’s minimum team limit to qualify as an FBS conference is eight teams, which the Pac-12 must reach by the July 2026 deadline as the two-year grace period expires.
Each Mountain West school is already contractually bound to face a $17 million exit fee from their conference. The Pac-12 would then be penalized an additional $10 to $12 million for each school that joins their conference.
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