Pac-12 Expected to Offer Texas School Spot in Revamped League

The Pac-12 is set to bring in an eighth football-playing member to the new-look conference.
Texas State has informed its current conference, the Sun Belt, that it expects to receive a Pac-12 invite in the coming days.
Texas State has informed its current conference, the Sun Belt, that it expects to receive a Pac-12 invite in the coming days. / Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

Conference realignment across the NCAA continues.

Texas State has informed the Sun Belt Conference that they are expecting an offer from the Pac-12 in the near future, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Wednesday. Though an official offer hasn't been given to Texas State from the Pac-12, talks have intensified over the last 24 hours. If this doesn't get done before the end of the month, Texas State's Sun Belt exit fee for 2026 will double from $5 million to $10 million, per Thamel.

The Bobcats have been heavy favorites to join the Pac-12 recently, and look like they will be receiving their official offer from the Pac-12 soon.

Texas State would become the ninth team in the revamped Pac-12, which currently features Washington State and Oregon State and will soon welcome Boise State, Cal State Fresno, Colorado State, Gonzaga, San Diego State and Utah State. The league needs eight schools with football teams to be an FBS member of football, and since Gonzaga does not have a football program, the Bobcats would become the eighth member for Pac-12 football.

The Pac-12 has had to reshape their league since they endured a mass exodus which started when UCLA and USC announced they were leaving for the Big Ten conference. Washington and Oregon joined them in the Big Ten while Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado departed for the Big 12. Meanwhile, Cal and Stanford left for the ACC.

The Pac-12 is set to welcome the new members of their conference in 2026.


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Eva Geitheim
EVA GEITHEIM

Eva Geitheim is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in December 2024, she wrote for Newsweek, Gymnastics Now and Dodgers Nation. A Bay Area native, she has a bachelor's in communications from UCLA. When not writing, she can be found baking or re-watching Gilmore Girls.