Gonzaga in the Pac-12? Basketball heavyweight in talks to join the rebuilding conference
The Pac-12 is in talks with basketball heavyweight Gonzaga about joining the conference in the rebuilding year of 2026, three people familiar with the talks told the Associated Press on Monday.
Sources confirmed to The Oregonian/OregonLive that Gonzaga is in talks with the Pac-12 but has not communicated a decision to the West Coast Conference. The WCC’s basketball committee met late Monday, a meeting that had been scheduled earlier.
The Pac-12 is also targeting Mountain West schools UNLV and Utah State, two of the people said, as it moves away from a group of American Athletic Conference schools that have said they will remain loyal to their current league. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the Pac-12’s strategy is not made public.
Meanwhile, Mountain West received a commitment from Air Force to stay in the conference after the school attracted interest from the AAC, a person familiar with the AFA’s decision told AP on condition of anonymity.
Memphis, Tulane, South Florida, UTSA and the American Athletic Conference released a statement that made no mention of the Pac-12, but several people with knowledge of those talks told AP that the rebuilding conference has 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 reshuffling for a 2026 restart two weeks ago, bringing Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Colorado State from the Mountain West to join Oregon State and Washington State, the only two Pac-12 schools remaining after a dramatic round of realignment.
The Pac-12 needs 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 Gonzaga, the Pac-12 would have one of the best men’s basketball programs in the country. The Bulldogs have reached 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.
That would mean the Pac-12 would still need two more schools to play football.
— Nick Daschel of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report.
– Ralph D. Russo | AP College Football Writer
