Return of the Pac: Pac-12 building back up with MWC additions

The schools are expected to switch conferences in 2026, giving the Pac-12 six teams.

10 programs decamped following the 2023 season—Cal and Stanford to the ACC; Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah to the Big 12; Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington to the Big Ten—and the Pac-12 is down to Oregon State and Washington State.

More additions to the Pac-12 should be forthcoming.

Per NCAA rules, FBS leagues need at least eight members but have a two-year grace period to reach that threshold.

With the Pac-12 at six teams, it must add at least two more before 2026.

How the pseudo-Power Five conference’s resurgence impacts the College Football Playoff is worth monitoring.

After it was whittled down to two programs this year, CFP officials changed the 12-team playoff to include five automatic berths for conference champions as opposed to six.

The CFP format is only in place for the next two seasons, so changes are possible. One question is whether the Pac-12 conference will have a seat at the table every year or will have to challenge the American, Conference-USA, Mid-American and Sun Belt for the final automatic bid.

What happens to the Mountain West is also undetermined. Finding replacements could be difficult unless it attracts FCS programs that are itching to leap into the FBS.

But Thursday was a win for the Pac-12. A year ago, the conference appeared months from taking its last breath. With the league expanding, it just might survive college football’s current revolution.