The Pac-12 will add Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State to join Oregon State and Washington State in a newly formed Conference of Champions starting in 2026, the league announced Thursday.

With these new additions, the Mountain West loses four of its better-known schools and most successful football programs, most notably Boise State, and the Pac-12 is still two schools short of the eight it must have in two years to be recognized as a conference under NCAA rules.

The Pac-12 and the departing schools are expected to pay about $110 million in exit fees and penalties to the Mountain West.

Nevertheless, it is a remarkable comeback for a conference was condemned to death a year ago when 10 members to competitors across the country after failing to reach a media rights deal that the schools believed would not ensure their competitiveness against other leagues.

“For over a century, the Pac-12 Conference has been recognized as the leading brand in college sports,” said Commissioner Teresa Gould. “We will continue to pursue bold, innovative opportunities for growth and advancement to best serve our member institutions and student-athletes.”

“Today marks the beginning of an exciting new era for the Pac-12 Conference.”

The Pac-12 said it evaluates potential new members based on five criteria: academic and athletic performance, media and brand evaluation, commitment to athletic success, geography and logistics, culture and student-athlete welfare.

Pac-2

Oregon State President Jayathi Murthy and Washington State President Kirk Schulz welcomed their new conference colleagues in a joint statement.

“We eagerly await their uniquely insightful contributions in this transformative era of conference and college sports,” they said.

The Pac-12 currently operates as a two-school conference, with Oregon State and Washington State as the only remaining members, taking advantage of NCAA rules that allow for a two-year grace period.

Oregon State and Washington State have an agreement with the Mountain West that will give them six opponents from the league this season. The first deadline to extend the agreement on September 1 passed without an agreement being reached.

Part of the deal included millions of dollars in additional fees for the Pac-12 if it poached schools from the Mountain West.

Oregon State and Washington State should be able to afford it. Although the schools have indicated publicly that they have a huge cash coffer, they have tens of millions of dollars at their disposal from the two remaining years of the current College Football Playoff agreement and a contract with the Rose Bowl that expires after the 2025 football season. They also have generated revenue from Pac-12 teams in recent years from NCAA men’s basketball tournament units and Pac-12 Network assets.

Oregon State and Washington State also have affiliate membership in the West Coast Conference for men’s and women’s basketball and other Olympic sports for this and next school year.

The best of the rest

Oregon and Washington state officials have insisted since the Pac-12 collapsed that unless they were told to do so by an energy conference, their priority would be to rebuild. And that has now begun.

Whether the Pac-12 will again be viewed as a power conference on par with the Big Ten, Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference and Big 12 seems unlikely, but the league is trying to position itself as the best of the rest – especially in football.

Boise State is the most notable addition, as it has been the strongest and most consistent football program outside of the power conferences for more than two decades. The Broncos have 16 double-digit win seasons since 2002, when they were members of the Western Athletic Conference.

“What a great day to be a Bronco!” said Boise State athletic director Jeramiah Dickey.

Boise State is finally moving up, but the Pac-12 it is entering bears little resemblance to the Conference of Champions it was for more than 100 years after 10 members – including Southern California, UCLA, Oregon and Washington – moved to the Big Ten last year.

The collapse of the Pac-12 was the culmination of three tumultuous years of conference realignment in college sports, all of which took effect this year and ushered in the era of superconferences.

The Big Ten now includes 18 schools stretching from coast to coast. The ACC has 17 football-playing members, including former Pac-12 schools Stanford and California. The SEC and Big 12 each have 16 schools.

The Pac-12 appears to be taking a different approach, attempting to build a slimmed-down conference rather than simply merging with the entire 12-member Mountain West.

Left behind

The Mountain West is left with Air Force, UNLV, Nevada, Utah State, New Mexico, Wyoming, San Jose State and Hawaii and an uncertain future.

After news of the Pac-12’s move leaked, Commissioner Gloria Nevarez said in a statement late Wednesday night that the MW board was meeting to discuss next steps.

“All members must comply with the conference’s bylaws and policies if they decide to withdraw,” she said. “The appointment requirements apply to the Pac-12 when they accept members from the Mountain West.”

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Follow Ralph D. Russo on https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP

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