Reported Possibility of Tulane Green Wave Athletics Joining 'New-Look' Pac-12

Since the Pac-12 was dissolved, rumors have abounded of new programs refilling the conference, the latest rumor could see the Tulane Green Wave as one.

Source: Tulane Athletics / Football

The Tulane Green Wave has been making noise on the gridiron as a legitimate threat even to Power Four schools for the better part of the last decade.

Under former head coach Willie Fritz, the run started with three consecutive bowl appearances from 2018 through 2020, and then two straight in 2022 and 2023, which culminated in 10-plus win seasons and a 2023 Cotton Bowl victory over USC.

New head coach Jon Sumrall added to that streak with a bowl game this year, though he fell just one win shy of double digits.

The Green Wave played two Power Four opponents last year in the Kansas State Jayhawks and the Oklahoma Sooners, and while they did lose in both of those games, they kept them close and battled to the end.

As the Pac-12 looks to rebuild itself after being decimated by conference realignment, they have needed to look to schools further away from the West Coast, and in Group of Five conferences. A recent report from John Canzano in his weekly mailbag (subscription required) indicates that Tulane could be one of those programs.

It is also worth noting that Tulane was speculated to join the Pac-12 last year but that fell through with the scholl reiterating their long-term support of the AAC. But things change, especially in the ever changing NIL landscape.

Tulane Green Wave Reported As Potential Pac-12 Addition

This would not be the first time the Green Wave has resided in a Power Four conference; it would just be the first time in a long time.

The program was a member of the Southeastern Conference as recently as 1965, before going independent for 30 years, and then joining Conference USA.

Now a member of the American Athletic Conference, the questions surrounding the potential Pac-12 addition center on the program's distance from the West Coast.

In the report from Canzano, he does indicate that the most likely possibility would be only adding the football and basketball programs to the conference, the two that generate the most revenue. While it would make the travel on those programs a nightmare, the other programs, like baseball, which have traveled by bus to the majority of their games this year, would not be subjected to that.

Joining the Pac-12 would be a major boon for recruiting. Sumrall is certainly no slouch on that front, and should the team become a power conference member, the allure of being on national television could be a selling point for many recruits.

It would be interesting to see Tulane back in a power conference for the first time in over 60 years. There is still a long way to go before that happens, but where there is smoke, there is generally fire.