Pac-12 announces full bowl game lineup, player availability reports for 2026 football season

Pac-12 football kicks off on Friday

Pac-12 | Photo courtesy of Pac-12

The new era of Pac-12 football officially begins on Friday night when Fresno State takes on No. 14 USC at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Kickoff between the Bulldogs (0-0, 0-0 Pac-12) and Trojans (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten) is scheduled for 7 p.m. Mountain time. The game will air nationally on FOX. 

Six Pac-12 teams—including Boise State—will open their 2026 seasons on Saturday. The Apple Cup rivalry showdown between Washington State and No. 17 Washington is scheduled for Sunday. 

The reborn eight-team football conference announced two important pieces of news ahead of Week 1. 

Pac-12 bowl affiliations for 2026 

All eight Pac-12 members will be eligible to compete in the Poinsettia Bowl and Hawaii Bowl. 

The 2026 Poinsettia Bowl will feature the Pac-12 champion—assuming the team doesn’t qualify for the College Football Playoff—against a Pac-12 legacy team. The 10 Pac-12 legacy teams are Arizona (Big 12), Arizona State (Big 12), California (ACC), Colorado (Big 12), Oregon (Big Ten), Stanford (ACC), UCLA (Big Ten), USC (Big Ten), Utah (Big 12) and Washington (Big Ten).

The Poinsettia Bowl will be held at 5:30 p.m. Mountain time on Wednesday, Dec. 23 at San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium. The game will air nationally on The CW. 

The 2026 Hawaii Bowl, an ESPN bowl that is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 24, will pit the new Pac-12 against a Mountain West team. 

The six Pac-12 newcomers are also eligible for spots in ESPN’s bowl pool. 

The 10 Pac-12 legacy members and holdovers Oregon State and Washington State are also eligible for the Alamo Bowl, Holiday Bowl, Independence Bowl, Las Vegas Bowl and Sun Bowl in 2026. 

Player availability reports

The Pac-12 announced a comprehensive player availability report system on Thursday. 

For all conference games, teams will be required to provide player availability reports three days, two days, and the day before a game. All reports are due by 8 p.m. Mountain time. 

A final player availability report is also required no later than two hours before kickoff on game day. 

The reports will be published on Pac-12.com.

“To promote the integrity of competition, protect the well-being and privacy of student-athletes and institutional staff, and provide consistent public transparency, the Pac-12 will begin providing player availability reports in football for the 2026 season,” the Pac-12 said in a statement. 

The Big Ten has also implemented a four-day report system for the 2026 season. 

The Mountain West began publishing player availability reports last year.