College sports teams across the nation have been facing major changes over the past year, particularly in the Pac-12 conference. Once a powerful league, the conference is seeing many of its teams leave for different conferences, primarily due to financial reasons and strong media deals that have caught their attention. As these teams make their moves, the Group of Five leagues have started to feel the impact.
Recently, five schools—Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Utah State, and San Diego State—announced that they will join the Pac-12 starting in the 2026 season. These changes will likely send shockwaves through the FBS landscape and force the Mountain West to look for more teams to fill the gap left by those departures.
The Pac-12 is now in search of at least one more team to maintain its status as a conference, while its officials hope to land a media deal that could surpass what the Mountain West currently has. Additionally, the College Football Playoff (CFP) has also changed, reducing the number of automatic qualifying spots for conference champions from six to five. This development comes alongside the Pac-12 losing its designation as an autonomous league due to its reduced number of teams.
Meanwhile, teams from the AAC have reaffirmed their commitments to their existing conference, which complicates Pac-12 expansion efforts. Schools like Memphis, Tulane, South Florida, and UTSA had been on the radar, but they have decided to stay put.
In California, Cal and Stanford announced their move to the ACC, leaving only Washington State and Oregon State remaining in the Pac-12 as it struggles to hold onto its identity. With the upcoming changes, both teams face an uncertain future, but they performed well last season, both making the AP Top 25 list. As teams shuffle between conferences, the Mountain West is reportedly considering legal action against the Pac-12 for penalties related to teams leaving, with possible costs exceeding $50 million.
In the meantime, the Mountain West recently expanded its membership by adding UTEP, which will join the conference in 2026. This move is considered beneficial for UTEP not only from a financial perspective—with TV deals potentially being much more lucrative—but also because of the geographical fit with other Texas-based teams.
As these major changes unfold, the landscape of college sports continues to evolve, and it’s clear that the ramifications of these decisions will influence both teams and conferences for years to come.
