After Texas State addition, what’s next for Pac-12?

Pac-12 has nine committed members for 2026-27 athletics season

Pac-12 | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Monday was an important day for the Pac-12 as the reborn conference officially welcomed Texas State into the fold. 

Prior to Monday, the Pac-12 was one school short of meeting the NCAA’s eight-team minimum of qualifying as an FBS conference. Gonzaga is the lone member of the new-look Pac-12 that does not field a football team. 

The Pac-12 is up to nine schools for the 2026-27 athletics season: current members Oregon State and Washington State, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State of the Mountain West, Gonzaga of the West Coast Conference and Texas State of the Sun Belt. 

One week before the Texas State addition, the Pac-12 announced a five-year media deal with CBS Sports. CBS, CBS Sports Network and Paramount+ will be the primary home of Pac-12 football and men’s basketball for 2026-31. 

“The biggest thing going forward is continued linear exposure, for not only our football and men’s basketball programs, but all of our sports,” San Diego State athletic director J.D. Wicker told the Sports Business Journal last week. “Then having complementary streaming to that, which allows you to provide more exposure across all of your sports offerings.”

Financial details were not disclosed in last week’s announcement. 

Locking down additional media partners is the likely next step for the Pac-12. 

According to multiple reports, The CW is expected to continue broadcasting Pac-12 football in 2026 and beyond. 

The CW aired six of Oregon State’s seven home games last season and five of Washington State’s six games at Martin Stadium. The CW is scheduled to broadcast nine more Pac-12 games in 2025, including a Nov. 29 showdown between the Beavers and Cougars in Pullman. 

Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT/TBS) is also expected to be involved, according to multiple reports. TNT recently lost its NBA package and could be interested in adding Pac-12 football and men’s basketball programming. 

ESPN could also wind up with a Pac-12 package. The Worldwide Leader in Sports picked up two Oregon State home games for the 2025 season: California (Aug. 30) and Houston (Sept. 26).

The Pac-12 may also consider future expansion to land affiliate members for football and men’s basketball. Scheduling — non-conference and intraconference — would work best with nine football-playing members and 10 basketball teams. 

Memphis, Rice and UTSA have all been rumored as potential football-only options for the Pac-12. Saint Mary’s has been linked to the conference for men’s basketball.