After the mass exodus we saw last year, the Pac-12 has risen from the ashes and crafted a plan that will add four teams from the Mountain West Conference in another round of realignment to return the once-doomed league to the forefront of college sports.

After loudly proclaiming that the Pac-12 could still matter in the future and that just because ten teams decided to head for warmer climes, the conference was assembling a whole new band.

How does the song go? ‘Gather around this table, boys. Bring your shame and I’ll lose my voice.’

After a realignment that seemingly left the conference hanging by a thread and saw ten universities, led by Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA, decide to relocate elsewhere, the long-held plan to keep the Pac-12 brand alive is now bearing fruit.

This was officially announced by the Pac-12 on Thursday morning.

“For over a century, the Pac-12 Conference has been recognized as the leading brand in college sports,” said Commissioner Teresa Gould. “We will continue to pursue bold, innovative opportunities for growth and advancement to best serve our member institutions and student-athletes. I am grateful to our Board of Directors for their efforts in welcoming Boise State University, Colorado State University, California State University, Fresno and San Diego State University to the conference. Today marks the beginning of an exciting new era for the Pac-12 Conference.”

As first reported by Yahoo Sports and confirmed by OutKick from multiple sources, the conference, which currently consists of just Washington State and Oregon State, is looking to add four teams from the Mountain West, which would put them among six schools. The plan calls for Fresno State, Colorado State, Boise State and San Diego State to apply for admission to the conference, which would then be approved by the two current schools.

The Pac-12 Conference has successfully poached four teams from the Mountain West Conference

It certainly didn’t help the Mountain West Conference that it was unable to agree on a future scheduling model with the Pac-12, even though the deadline had already passed earlier this month.

Sources told OutKick that the missed Pac-12 Conference deadline was the perfect incentive to turn to the Mountain West schools.

This move would lay the groundwork for the Pac-12 to remain an NCAA-recognized FBS conference, with two additional teams needed to meet the eight-institution requirement. Schools that wish to leave the Mountain West Conference would then play in the “new” Pac-12 beginning in 2026.

The Pac-12 Conference is looking to add six more teams by 2026, and it looks like they’ve already found four from the Mountain West (Photo by Ric Tapia/Getty Images)

Currently, the Pac-12 is under a “grace period” granted by the NCAA that maintains its status as an FBS conference, but that period expires in 2026. The two remaining schools have always hoped to poach enough teams to solidify the Pac-12, as the brand still carries enough weight in terms of history and tradition, and the conference’s name alone is a staple in college sports.

Now, schools that want to leave the Mountain West Conference will have to pay $17 million, plus another $43 million as part of an agreement. This would result in the Mountain West Conference receiving a total of $111 million in exit fees.

For the Mountain West, receiving this money means the opportunity to target other G-5 schools or possibly bring some institutions up from the FCS level. Time will tell what the MWC decides in the future.

Although promotion to the FBS level requires a two-year transition period and players cannot participate in postseason games during that time, the prospect of moving up to the next level and the financial means are tempting.

How the Pac-12 is making financial progress with new teams

In terms of future financial opportunities, the new College Football Playoff contract and revenue from the NCAA Tournament would be enticing enough to make other schools more seriously consider joining the Pac-12. Yes, the conference would technically be in the “Group Of Five” category, since it lost the “power conference” title when previous members left.

One of the most important aspects of the expansion will depend on a media rights deal for the Pac-12, but that shouldn’t be a problem when it comes to future revenue, especially if teams from the four markets mentioned previously are added. Currently, Washington State and Oregon State have an agreement with the CW network to broadcast their games, while the MWC has a deal with CBSSN.

The addition of four teams, with two more to be added by the start of the 2026-2027 season, means the Pac-12 should have several options for a media deal. The main question now is who will bid on the conference rights. But if they can get into the AAC’s range, or potentially hit the $18-20 million range, that could work in their favor.

Would ESPN and Apple TV return to the negotiating table after the original Pac-12 rejected their offer before the previous chaos occurred? They could, or there could be another combination of networks that want to get in on the act.

But there is still money to be made, and there would be incentives for other Group of Five schools to consider the Pac-12 as a possible destination. Will we see the geographic moves we saw in the last round of realignment, such as Cal and Stanford joining the ACC? I would say that if the financial situation is right, it could be a possibility for any school looking to leave their current conference, such as the AAC or Sun Belt, just for reference.

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 9: A view of the National Championship logo on the field as the Georgia Bulldogs run a play against the TCU Horned Frogs in the College Football Playoff National Championship game at SoFi Stadium on January 9, 2023 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Given the ever-changing landscape of college sports and the impending revenue-sharing model currently being negotiated in court, this would be a significant move for the Pac-12 overall.

Because the previous ten conference schools had dropped out, the CFP committee stripped the Pac-12 of automatic eligibility and made it an at-large spot. However, the opportunity for the conference to regain automatic eligibility for the College Football Playoff would be a very big deal for schools looking to join in the next two years.

We are certainly not done reshaping college sports, and the Pac-12 wants to rise from the ashes of what was once one of the premier conferences in college sports.

Of course, as far as where the potential future teams come from, the conference won’t be the same as it once was, but the conference name still exists and it looks like we’re getting “Pac-12 After Dark” back.

There are more questions to be answered. I wonder if the new Pac-12 will be born before Clemson and Florida State can walk off the court.