Okay, so 2026 is gonna be wild for college football, because guess what? The Pac-12 is actually *back*. Yeah, you heard that right. After what felt like a mass exodus in recent years, the conference that gave us so many classic battles has expanded to eight Division I football schools again. This isn’t just a few tweaks; we’re talking about 22 teams changing conferences for the 2026 season, shaking up five of the Group of Six leagues. The Power 4 stayed put, but man, everywhere else, it’s a whole new ballgame.
The Resurgent Pac-12: Who’s In?
Remember when UCLA, USC, Oregon, and even our own Washington Huskies bolted for the Big Ten two years ago? And Arizona, ASU, Utah, and Colorado went to the Big 12, with Stanford and Cal hitting the ACC? It felt like the end, didn’t it? But Oregon State and Washington State held it down, being the only two teams left representing the Pac-12 for a season. Mad respect to them for sticking it out. Now, they’ve got some serious company. Five teams jumped over from the Mountain West: Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Utah State. And get this, Texas State made the leap to the Pac-12 from the Sun Belt Conference too. That’s six new football programs coming in to compete for conference titles! For basketball season, the Pac-12 will even include nine schools as Gonzaga came over from the West Coast Conference, though they don’t have a football program.
Conference Carousel: Mountain West, MAC, and Sun Belt Shake-Ups
Of course, when the Pac-12 gained, others lost. The Mountain West took a big hit, losing those five teams to the Pac-12. But don’t count them out just yet. They replenished their ranks with three new squads. The headliner? North Dakota State, the 10-time FCS national champions, making their FBS debut after coming over from the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Northern Illinois also enters the Mountain West from the Mid-American Conference (MAC), and the University of Texas-El Paso transfers in from Conference USA. Over in the MAC, the changes are pretty simple: Northern Illinois is out, moving to the Mountain West, and Sacramento State replaces them from the Big Sky Conference, keeping the total at 13. The Sun Belt made a one-for-one trade too: Texas State went to the Pac-12, and Louisiana Tech came over from Conference USA, holding the Sun Belt’s total at 14.
So, get ready to dive deep into new rivalries and fresh matchups. The 2026 college football season is shaping up to be one of the most unpredictable in recent memory, with conference titles up for grabs in an entirely new landscape. We’ll be watching every snap to see how these new alignments play out!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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