San Diego State University is poised to join the Pac-12.
The once-powerful athletic conference is ready to begin its rebuild, targeting Boise State, Fresno State and Colorado State of the Mountain West besides the Aztecs with those schools applying for membership as soon as this week, two people with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Wednesday night.
The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the conference’s plans and discussions with possible new members were not being made public.
The Pac-12 is now a two-school conference, with only Oregon State and Washington State remaining. Other power conferences have picked apart the league over the past year.
NCAA rules allow for a conference to operate with only two schools for two years. Teresa Gould was hired to be the Pac-12 commissioner earlier this year, leading a slimmed down league office.
Leaders at Oregon State and Washington State have insisted since the conference collapsed last year their priority was to rebuild.
Efforts are set to begin soon after Oregon State and Washington State failed to renew their 2025 football scheduling agreement. This agreement was with the Mountain West for the current season.
Long-Term Vision for Washington State and Oregon State
In a recent interview with the AP, Washington State President Kirk Schulz hinted at what could be next for the the Cougars and Beavers.
“So I think my philosophy going through all this has always been let’s look for what’s the best long term solution for WSU, let’s look where our budget is and how much can we spend on a sustainable fashion around intercollegiate athletics and can we put ourselves in a position to win championships, conference championships, where maybe you are in the top half of the league instead of near the bottom of the league in terms of resources,” he told the AP.
In addition, San Diego Pac-12 expansion reflects broader changes happening across NCAA conferences. The inclusion of MWC schools is likely to create new rivalries and exciting matchups. Fans and analysts alike are eager to see how this decision will impact the upcoming seasons.
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