Gonzaga leaving West Coast Conference to join Pac-12 in 2026

Oct. 1—After more than four decades in the West Coast Conference, Gonzaga’s athletic programs will have a new home beginning in the fall of 2026.

The Bulldogs accepted an invitation to the Pac-12 Conference on Tuesday morning, adding a strong basketball presence to the newly-formed league that now has eight members and seven full-time football members.

Gonzaga is joining a conference that includes two traditional Pac-12 members in Washington State and Oregon State, along with a group of five former Mountain West schools, including Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State, Fresno State and Utah State.

The Pac-12 still needs an eighth full-time, football-playing member to qualify for FBS status by 2026.

“We are delighted to welcome Gonzaga into the Pac-12 as they embark with us on this incredible path ahead,” Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould said in a press release. “President McCulloh and Athletics Director Chris Standiford not only bring strategic expertise and forward thinking to the conference, but they are two incredible leaders who care deeply about student success and fortifying student-athlete academic and athletic experiences.

“Today represents an exciting milestone for the Pac-12 as we welcome another outstanding institution with a rich history of success into our league.”

Gonzaga’s grown into a college basketball power during a 45-year tenure in the West Coast Conference, qualifying for every NCAA Tournament since 1999, advancing to nine consecutive Sweet 16s and making two national championship appearances, in 2017 and 2021.

The school has been diligent in exploring moves outside the WCC for much of the last two decades, however, and Gonzaga’s athletic administrators have met with and spoken to the Big-12 Conference, Big East Conference, Pac-12 Conference and Mountain West Conference, although varying circumstances have ultimately led the Bulldogs to stay put.

Approximately one week ago, Action Network’s Brett McMurphy reported that Gonzaga was on the move and preparing to join the revamped Pac-12, but the school’s athletic director, Chris Standiford, told The Spokesman-Review nothing was finalized at that time.

In the eight days since, the Pac-12 reportedly made a more aggressive push to recruit Gonzaga as a basketball-only member that would join a league that features five other schools that qualified for last year’s NCAA Tournament.

The conference received a formal application from Gonzaga for membership on Sept. 30 and moved quickly to finalize a partnership, announcing the school’s addition less than 24 hours later.

“This is a great day for Gonzaga University,” said Gonzaga Athletics Director Chris Standiford. “We are excited to join a conference with great tradition and a commitment to innovating during this evolving time in collegiate athletics. I’d like to thank Commissioner Teresa Gould for her leadership as these talks progressed earnestly over the weekend, our alignment became evident and our vision shared.”

Even though Gonzaga won’t bring a football program to the Pac-12, the school is expected to receive “something close to” a full revenue share in the conference, according to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports. Because the league hasn’t negotiated a media rights deal at this point, full numbers are still unknown.

The Pac-12’s search for an eighth football member will continue and it’s possible the league will also explore non-football candidates that could strengthen its basketball presence. According to ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura, the Pac-12 has held initial discussions with one of Gonzaga’s longest-tenured WCC rivals, Saint Mary’s, along with future WCC program Grand Canyon, but the league will focus on securing at least one more football member before exploring other potential basketball options.

As is, the reconstructed Pac-12 could be the nation’s strongest mid-major conference from a basketball standpoint, particularly now with the addition of Gonzaga, which has amassed a record of 716-143 in 25 seasons under longtime coach Mark Few.

It also includes San Diego State, an NCAA Tournament regular that advanced to the national championship game in 2023, as well as Boise State, which has made five NCAA Tournament appearances under former Gonzaga assistant Leon Rice and won two regular-season Mountain West championships. Washington State, Colorado State and Utah State all won at least one game at the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

“My goal for us is to be the premier basketball league West of the Mississippi (River),” Rice told local reporters last week after initial reports surfaced linking Gonzaga to the Pac-12. “Let’s go ger the best basketball teams, not only geographically but in the whole country. I think we’ll have the mindset as a conference to go do that.”

In Gonzaga and SDSU, the new Pac-12 features two of the West Coast’s strongest programs, and the league figured to be significantly deeper than the one the Zags are departing. In 2023-24, the WCC’s nine programs finished the season with an average KenPom rating of 170, even with Gonzaga (No. 12) and Saint Mary’s (No. 22) hovering near the top. The eight future Pac-12 schools, meanwhile, finished the season with an average rating of 74.8, with five schools sitting inside the top 50.

Gonzaga’s exit from the WCC could be considered a positive for the league from one standpoint, in that it clears the way for the league’s other schools to claim an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Under Few’s tenure, the Zags have failed to do that on just five occasions.

“Gonzaga has been a valued member of the WCC for more than four decades,” WCC Commissioner Stu Jackson said in a conference statement. “During this span, GU has represented the Conference on the national stage with postseason success across several sports. While the evolving collegiate athletics landscape continues to drive significant changes, including conference realignment, we remain focused on the future.”

This story will be updated.