Gonzaga University will join the Pac-12 in 2026, giving the rebuilding conference one of the nation’s best basketball programs.
Because Gonzaga University is a non-football school, it will not be a full member of the Pac-12, leaving the conference with only seven full members. But for the Pac-12, this is in addition to a men’s basketball program that reached the national championship game in 2017 and 2021 and made 25 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Gonzaga University’s women’s basketball program has also appeared in 15 tournaments since 2007 and reached the Sweet 16 in 2024.
Gonzaga University, located in Spokane, Washington, joins the Pac-12 from the West Coast Conference, where it has been a member since 1979.
“After consultation with Pac-12 affiliate presidents, we are building a conference to envision new and progressive ways to support student-athletes in the rapidly changing landscape of college sports,” said Gonzaga University President Thayne McCullough. I believe that membership registration will be an opportunity to participate.” In a statement. “Our partnership with a new group of universities supports student recruitment and admissions efforts, creates opportunities for academic collaboration with new faculty, and emphasizes an excellent education that is clearly rooted in Jesuit identity and tradition.” We can attract more students.”
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The Pac-12 lost 10 schools in the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC to Oregon State and Washington State, but added Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State last month. All schools are expected to participate in 2026. The Pac-12 added Utah State as its seventh full member after attempts to add schools from the American Athletic Conference failed.
Attempts to add UNLV failed, and the remaining six full Mountain West members and soccer-only member Hawaii opted to stay together and sign a binding agreement. The Mountain West plans to add UTEP from Conference USA, a person briefed on the discussions said Tuesday.
The current Pac-12 has enough members to qualify for automatic berths in the NCAA Championships, including the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. The conference needs one more football member to reach Football Bowl Subdivision status. This pertains to voting and committee representation for NCAA purposes.
More importantly, it would need to be played by eight football schools to meet the College Football Playoff’s requirement of access to the five bids given to conference champions.
Along with Gonzaga University, the Pac-12 is creating a formidable men’s basketball conference. Adding to the Zags’ history of success, San Diego State will play in the national championship game in 2023 and have advanced to the NCAA Tournament 11 times since 2010, including the past four years. Utah State has advanced to four of the past five tournaments, and Boise State has advanced to the tournament in each of the past three years. Gonzaga, coached by Mark Few since 2000, has reached the Sweet 16 nine consecutive times.
According to an agreement signed by six schools on Sept. 11 and obtained by The Athletic, the rebuilt Pac-12 will distribute unit money for the College Football Playoff and NCAA men’s and women’s tournaments based on performance. Schools keep 50 percent of the prize money earned from appearances, and the remaining 50 percent is divided equally among the remaining schools. The league will split the cost of the tournament equally.
This story will be updated.
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