Oregon State, Washington State start Pac-12 rebuild with 4 Mountain West schools

Oregon State and Washington State are moving ahead with a plan to rebuild the Pac-12 by adding four of the Mountain West’s top schools, The Oregonian/OregonLive has confirmed.

Yahoo Sports first reported Wednesday night that the Pac-12 is eyeing Colorado State, San Diego State, Boise State and Fresno State as part of a rebuilt conference beginning with the 2026-27 school year.

Another media report says an announcement could come as soon as Thursday.

Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes did not respond to a text requesting corroboration.

The Pac-12 is looking to rebuild a conference with football strength in mind in order to make a case for an automatic CFP berth. Adding Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State is the first step toward expanding the Pac-12 to at least eight schools, the NCAA required minimum to qualify as an FBS conference. It is unknown if a rebuilt Pac-12 would regain the same autonomous status as the current four Power conferences.

Boise State has been one of top Group of 5 football programs for the past 20 years. Fresno State has often contended for the Mountain West title, and has more than a dozen wins over Power conference schools. Colorado State offers the Denver market, and San Diego State an entrance into Southern California.

The Pac-12, currently made up of Oregon State and Washington State, was given a two-year grace period by the NCAA to rebuild the conference beginning this school year. It must reach the eight-school minimum by July 2026.

The cost of moving the four MWC schools to the Pac-12 is $111 million. The Pac-12 would owe the MWC a $43 million withdrawal fee, in addition to the four schools each paying a $17 million exit fee. Should Fresno State, Colorado State, Boise State and San Diego State leave the MWC, it would leave that conference with seven schools. Presumably, one or two of those remaining Mountain West schools could become an eventual Pac-12 expansion target.

In filling out the rest of the Pac-12, other current top G5 schools could be in play. Then there’s Stanford and California, depending on what happens to the ACC during the next 12 to 18 months. The Pac-12 has significant assets, from its settlement with the departing 10 schools, plus Rose Bowl, CFP and NCAA men’s basketball revenue.

The move comes less than two weeks after Pac-12 and MWC couldn’t come to a scheduling agreement for the 2025 football season. Oregon State and Washington State have yet to announce a 2025 football schedule, though both schools have contracts for six games each and are thought to be close to wrapping up the remaining six games.

–Nick Daschel can be reached at 360-607-4824, ndaschel@oregonian.com or @nickdaschel.

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