Earlier today, the PAC-12 announced that they will be adding Fresno State, Colorado State, Boise State and San Diego State to their conference at the beginning of the 2026-2027 academic calendar. All four of those schools currently reside in the Mountain West Conference.
Washington State and Oregon State were the only remaining members of the PAC-12 after 10 schools left the conference last summer following failed negotiations for a TV rights deal. In the conference's official announcement, the PAC-12 noted that, "The collective six universities will collaboratively chart additional membership and other future conference considerations."
In order for the PAC-12 to be deemed as a "Football Bowl Subdivision" (FBS) conference, they will need to recruit two additional members by 2026 to reach the eight-school minimum requirement. The conference has been given a "two-year grace period" by the NCAA to meet the membership threshold.
Per Action Network's Brett McMurphy, Fresno State, Colorado State, Boise State and San Diego State will each be required to pay a minimum of $17 million to the Mountain West Conference in exit fees. The PAC-12 is expected to assist with those exit fees.
Also according to McMurphy, the PAC-12, "...must pay the Mountain West $43 million for poaching the four Mountain West schools as part of a scheduling agreement between the two conferences."
In total, roughly $111 million in fees will be paid to the Mountain West Conference.
With new life seemingly (and somewhat unexpectedly) being given to the PAC-12, speculation has risen as to who the conference will next pursue in order to meet their membership minimum.
Other Mountain West schools (such as Air Force, Wyoming, UNLV, Utah State, New Mexico, etc.) could potentially still be targets. If the PAC-12 wants to poach from the AAC, then schools such as Tulane and Memphis could theoretically be on the move.
It's also plenty possible that current Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) programs such as North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Northern Arizona and/or Montana State could be elevated to FBS status by joining the PAC-12.
From a distance running perspective, the ongoing conference realignment has interesting implications. Schools such as Colorado State and Boise State have, historically, been nationally competitive programs in cross country. They have also been fixtures near/at the top of the Mountain West Conference.
However, the eventual departure of both of those programs will theoretically make things easier for schools like New Mexico, Air Force and Utah State to battle for conference supremacy. Of course, it's also plenty possible that the Mountain West will aim to replace their now-defected members, possibly from the same pool of teams that the PAC-12 will also be pursuing in the coming year.
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