Pac-12 in talks with Gonzaga about joining the newly formed league in 2026, AP sources say

The Pac-12 welcomes Utah State as its seventh member and is in talks with basketball heavyweight Gonzaga about joining the Reconstruction Conference in 2026, several people familiar with the situation told the Associated Press on Monday.

Utah State and UNLV were the Pac-12's top targets after a group of American Athletic Conference schools decided to stay after being offered to join the newly formed Conference of Champions. But the Mountain West struggled to keep its remaining schools together, and UNLV's decision was still uncertain Monday night, according to two of the people.

According to two other people familiar with that conference's situation, the Mountain West received commitments from Air Force and San Jose State earlier in the day, but it was unclear if anything was binding without the rest of the members on board. The Air Force had piqued the AAC's interest in joining the Army and Navy in that conference.

Other Mountain West schools include New Mexico, Wyoming, Nevada and Hawaii (football only).

All people spoke on condition of anonymity because neither the strategy nor the internal discussions of the Pac-12 and Mountain West are made public.

The Pac-12's latest expansion move came after four American Athletic Conference schools announced their continued commitment to the AAC.

Memphis, Tulane, South Florida and UTSA released a statement that made no mention of the Pac-12, but several people with knowledge of those talks told AP that the conference had targeted those schools as potential new members.

“While we recognize the interest other conferences have in our facilities, we firmly believe it is in our individual and collective best interest to maintain our commitments to each other,” the schools said. “Together, we will continue to modernize the conference, enhance the student-athlete experience, achieve championship-winning success and shape the future.”

The Pac-12 began increasing funding for a relaunch in 2026 two weeks ago by taking Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Colorado State from the Mountain West to join Washington State and Oregon State, the only two Pac-12 schools that have dramatic round of realignment came into force this summer.

The Pac-12 needed at least two more members in all sports to reach the required eight members to be a recognized conference with access to the NCAA Championships and the College Football Playoff in 2026.

With Utah State on board, that's just one, and the conference is exploring options beyond UNLV.

Pink

With Gonzaga, the Pac-12 would have one of the best men's basketball programs in the country. The Bulldogs have thrived in the West Coast Conference, reaching the NCAA Tournament every year since 1998, with two Final Four appearances and eight seasons with at least 30 wins. Gonzaga does not have a football program.

The school has talked to the Big East about a conference affiliation in the past, and the Big 12 has discussed possibly adding Gonzaga to its powerful men's basketball team, as it did with UConn earlier this year. The Zags have become a consistent tournament team in women's basketball as well.

Even if Gonzaga were added, the Pac-12 would still need another football-playing member for CFP purposes.

Money matters

A person familiar with the talks between the Pac-12 and AAC schools said the conference's offer included a planned annual media rights distribution to each school of $12 million to $15 million. The schools were also offered the option of participating only in football and basketball to reduce travel costs associated with other sports programs that must span one or two time zones.

All Pac-12 schools are located in the Mountain and Pacific time zones. The Pac-12 targeted new members in the Central Time Zone to potentially increase value for potential television partners.

Leaving the AAC would have been costly for the schools. The conference's bylaws require 27 months' notice for schools leaving and a $10 million exit fee. An early exit, which would be necessary, would cost even more. When UConn left the AAC to return to the Big East, it cost the school $17 million. The AAC received $25 million from SMU this year for an expedited move to the ACC.

The Pac-12 and its four newest members already owe about $110 million in exit fees and penalties to the Mountain West, which could be a windfall for the conference to share with schools that choose to stay or join.

Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has not provided details on how those costs will be divided among the new schools and the conference, which has about $250 million in revenue that the previous version of the Pac-12 would have received this year and next.

A football scheduling agreement between Oregon State, Washington State and the Mountain West that was not renewed for next year includes a poaching penalty of more than $10 million per school, increasing with the number of schools admitted to the Pac-12.

The penalty for Utah State is $12 million, which would increase to $12.5 million if UNLV joins, plus a $17 million exit fee.

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Follow Ralph D. Russo on https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP

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