Pac-12 adds Fresno State as college football conference realigns again for 2026 season
Fresno State was left behind 26 years ago when the Mountain West was created by a group of Western Athletic Conference schools — but not this time as college football shifts again.
Fresno State is one of four Mountain West schools that will be part of an initial rebuild of the Pac-12, which was reduced to two teams last August in a whirlwind of realignment.
Boise State, Colorado State, San Diego State and the Bulldogs will join Oregon State and Washington State, the two remaining Pac-12 schools, and start play in the conference in 2026, the league announced Thursday morning.
Additional schools will be added later to get the conference to the NCAA minimum of eight teams to qualify for the FBS (football bowl subdivision); the deadline to get there is July 1, 2026.
Since its days of playing in the Pacific Coast Athletic Association, Fresno State has sought improved conference status. It jumped to the Western Athletic Conference in 1992, then to the Mountain West in 2012. But the prize has always been to align itself with the major West Coast teams in the Pac-12.
Fresno State, though in a large media market and with a history of football success, was no lock for inclusion in a rebuilt Pac-12. The Bulldogs ranks well behind Boise State, Colorado State and San Diego State in athletics revenue, and its facilities and football stadium do not match up to the schools it will be joining in the Pac-12.
Athletics revenue, media rights and the Pac-12
Boise State in 2022-23 reported $60.7 million in athletics revenues, Colorado State $64.3 million and San Diego State $103.9 million. Fresno State in its annual financial report to the NCAA reported $48.9 million in athletics revenue, down from $54.1 million the previous year.
Oregon State reported $91.6 million and Washington State $79 million. The majority of that came from media rights and conference and NCAA distributions: $39 million for Oregon State and $35.9 million for Washington State.
The athletics department at Fresno State last year received $6.9 million from media rights and conference and NCAA distributions, which is at or very near the top of the list of reasons the Bulldogs, Boise State, Colorado State and San Diego State would jump at an opportunity to join a rebuilt Pac-12.
Oregon State and Washington State, the Pac-12, have a one-year contract with the CW and FOX to televise games this football season.
Fresno State and the other schools bolting the Mountain West will each have to pay a $17 million exit fee to the conference for departing with more than one year notice.
The Pac-12, which entered into a scheduling agreement this football season with the Mountain West, also is contractually obligated to pay substantial withdrawal fees starting at $10 million for each member it poaches before 2027. The tab for four schools comes to $43 million.
More conference changes possible?
Mountain West members Air Force and UNLV could be targets for the Pac-12, as well. For now, the Falcons and Rebels remain in the Mountain West with Hawaii (football only), Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, Utah State and Wyoming.
The Pac-12 does have hefty a war chest that could be used in rebuilding what once was known as the Conference of Champions, including $65 million from a settlement with the 10 schools that ditched the league. That exodus started with UCLA and USC, which joined the Big Ten in June 2022. Colorado announced it would return to the Big 12 in July 2023. Oregon and Washington were the next to announce they were leaving, bolting for the Big Ten in August 2023. They were followed hours later by Arizona, Arizona State and Utah, which headed to the Big 12. Cal and Stanford were the last to find a new home, joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in September 2023.
The move to the Pac-12 is a win for Fresno State president Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, who was in discussions with the Big 12 about potential expansion a year ago even after the Pac-12 imploded.
It does, however, come with financial challenges aside from athletics revenues and facilities.
Fresno State is facing a $10.3 million payment on Save Mart Center debt in 2024-25, and the university’s academic senate last spring passed a resolution decrying the diversion of state funds to athletics rather than academics programs and urging budgetary reform.
This story was originally published September 12, 2024 at 6:01 AM.