Pac-12 expansion candidates: Saint Mary’s Gaels

The rebuilt Pac-12 has eight members signed up for the 2026-27 athletics season: Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, Oregon State, San Diego State, Washington State and Utah State.
The conference must attract at least one more football-playing member before 2026 to reach the NCAA’s eight-team minimum to qualify as an FBS conference. Gonzaga does not have a football program.
The Pac-12, which poached five teams from the Mountain West and Gonzaga from the West Coast Conference, is expected to add between one and six additional members in the coming weeks and months.
As conference realignment wages on, Boise State Broncos on SI is taking a look at schools that have been linked to the Pac-12 in various reports.
We have already covered the Memphis Tigers, North Texas Mean Green, Rice Owls and Sacramento State Hornets and will now move on to a non-football candidate: the Saint Mary’s Gaels.
Saint Mary's College of California
Location: Moraga, California
Current conference: West Coast Conference
Enrollment: 2,775
Endowment: $215.0 million
Athletics budget: Unknown*
Basketball arena: University Credit Union Pavilion (3,500 capacity)
*As a private institution, Saint Mary’s is not required to release revenue and expense figures.
The case for Saint Mary’s
With every current or future member except Fresno State inside the top 100 of the latest NCAA NET Rankings, the Pac-12 is set up to be one of the strongest men’s basketball conferences in 2026 and beyond.
The Pac-12 already snagged the West Coast Conference’s top basketball brand in Gonzaga, but the WCC has another school that regularly goes dancing: Saint Mary’s.
The Gaels, Gonzaga’s archrival, have reached the NCAA Tournament each of the last three seasons under longtime head coach Randy Bennett. If not for the COVID-19 pandemic, Saint Mary’s would be on track to qualify for its sixth NCAA Tournament in seven years.
Since taking over the program in 2001, Bennett has guided the Gaels to 10 NCAA Tournaments and seven NITs. Saint Mary’s last failed to reach the postseason in 2007 and is a national brand in college basketball.
Bennett, 62, has reportedly turned down multiple higher-profile jobs over the years to remain in Moraga. While Bennett is on the back nine of his career, he’d be young enough to lead the Gaels into a new era.
The new Pac-12 lacks a presence in the California Bay Area, and Saint Mary’s would fill that void.
The case against Saint Mary’s
What happens to Saint Mary’s basketball when Bennett retires?
Prior to Bennett’s arrival, Saint Mary’s had only qualified for the NCAA Tournament three times in program history. Will the next head coach be able to keep things rolling, or is the Gaels’ success mostly a byproduct of Bennett’s brilliance?
Time will tell, but Saint Mary’s doesn’t have the profile of a typical major-conference team.
With a tiny enrollment (2,775) and a glorified high school gym (University Credit Union Pavilion seats 3,500), the Gaels seem like a perfect fit for the WCC. Once Bennett retires, it’s hard to imagine the Gaels remaining a national player in basketball.
Verdict
The Pac-12 must focus on football until the eight-team minimum is met, but adding Saint Mary’s seems like a potential option at some point.
Yes, the men’s basketball program could fall off post-Bennett. But the Gaels have enough cache to lure another quality coach when Bennett does decide to step away.
The Pac-12 is fighting for relevance, and Saint Mary’s basketball has become a national brand. For that reason alone, commissioner Teresa Gould and the Pac-12 presidents and athletic directors should give Saint Mary’s a proper look.
MORE BOISE STATE NEWS & ANALYSIS
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Continue to follow our Boise State coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter.