Report: All eight Pac-12 members sign grant of rights; media deal announcement coming soon

Pac-12 expansion to follow media deal announcement

Pac-12 / Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

The Pac-12 is inching closer to securing a media deal and adding an eighth football-playing member to the conference before the start of the 2026-27 athletics season. 

According to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, all eight members of the new Pac-12 have signed their grant of rights and membership agreements. Dellenger also reported that the conference’s media rights deal is expected to include up to four different partners and should be announced in the coming days. 

The Pac-12 has eight members signed up for the 2026-27 school year: current members Oregon State and Washington State, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State of the Mountain West and Gonzaga of the West Coast Conference. 

The Pac-12 must add 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 compete in football. 

Dellenger reported that the imminent announcement of the Pac-12’s media rights deal will allow the conference to formally extend invitations to expansion targets. Potential expansion candidates include Memphis, Texas State and UNLV.

Late last month, the five departing MWC schools all submitted their official notifications for departure. 

The schools were facing a June 1 deadline to formally notify the MWC of their intent to leave. Any notice after June 1 would’ve caused each school’s exit fee to double from approximately $18 million to $36 million. 

The Pac-12 and MWC have been at odds during the last two years. 

Back in December 2023, the MWC and remaining Pac-12 members, Oregon State and Washington State, agreed to a scheduling partnership for the 2024 football season that included an option for 2025. The Pac-12 had lost 10 of its 12 members to the ACC, Big Ten and Big 12. 

The MWC announced in September that the scheduling agreement would not be renewed for the 2025 season. One week later, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State all agreed to join the Pac-12. Utah State was next at the end of the month, followed by Gonzaga in October. 

After adding the first four MWC schools, the Pac-12 filed a lawsuit over the legality of a poaching penalty included in the scheduling agreement. Boise State, Colorado State and Utah State are also suing the MWC over exit fees. 

The MWC and Pac-12 have been in mediation since May 19. 

The MWC has nine football-playing members signed up for the 2026 season: Air Force, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Northern Illinois (football-only), San Jose State, UNLV, UTEP and Wyoming. UC Davis and Grand Canyon are also coming aboard as non-football members in 2026. 

All eight members of the new Pac-12 have signed their Grant of Rights and membership agreements, a conference spokesperson tells @YahooSports.

It is a signal that the league is finalizing a new media rights package that is expected in the coming days.

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) June 9, 2025

MORE BOISE STATE NEWS & ANALYSIS

feed