Washington State University President Kirk Schulz says the Pac-12’s expansion will help double media rights with the four additional schools announced Thursday, and that the conference is open to potentially adding non-football members as well.

WSU and Oregon State jointly announced that Boise State University, San Diego State University, Fresno State University and Colorado State University will be members of the Pac-12 and leave the Mountain West Conference beginning in July 2026.

In an interview with KOMO News, Schulz said talks have picked up pace in recent weeks and the offer to join the Pac-12 school has only been made to those four schools.

“We felt these four represented the best opportunity to continue to build brands and the market,” Schulz said. “These four schools were incredibly ambitious with their athletic programs and wanted to continue to grow and invest, and we just felt like they were absolutely the best fit for us, and they were very interested in thinking bigger, broader, and nationally.”

“The Pac-12 will change from now on, but I remain confident that we will position ourselves as the premier Division 1 athletics league west of the Rocky Mountains,” Schulz said.

That leads to natural questions about what’s next for the conference. The Conference of Champions fell apart in 2023 amid negotiations over television and digital broadcast rights and split, with the University of Washington and Oregon joining UCLA and USC in the Big Ten. Utah, Arizona, Arizona State and Colorado went to the Big 12. Stanford and California found solace in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

After a legal victory and settlement, WSU and OSU were left with millions of dollars and assets with which to rebuild the conference. The Pac-12 still needs to add at least two schools by 2026 to be officially recognized by the NCAA and also offer the league to broadcasters. It’s fair to say that today’s move is all about markets.

“Denver, the Central Valley (in California) and San Diego, Boise aren’t bad either. I think of the schools that are left, you could argue that UNLV should have been there,” Bob Thompson, the former president of Fox Sports Networks, said of the Pac-12 expansion.

Stanford and Cal would be natural options if they hadn’t already signed a long-term contract with the ACC. “That would be very difficult, especially in the first year of a rights deal that runs through 2036. I can’t imagine they’re ready to take on that fight at this point.”

Schulz said he was asked about it and, “I have no say in what Stanford and CAL will do in the long run. What we can do is build the absolute best conference we can, and then if there are further restructurings or moves of schools at some point, we want to be seen as a great destination on the West Coast.”

He was asked if the conference might consider admitting non-football members. Gonzaga has openly flirted with the idea of ​​leaving the West Coast Conference.

Schulz said: “We have certainly talked about it, and that will also be one of the discussions we have to have with our new members: How do you assess the requirements for a member and do these players have to play football?”

The question remains what WSU will do for 2025, without some sort of Mountain West schedule for football like this season.

Schulz said: “We have actually worked out an alternative timeline and expect to be able to announce that relatively soon. I think we are very confident about what that will look like over the next two years.”

Jack Thompson, the WSU star who was affectionately known as “The Throwin’ Samoan” during his playing days, advised the school after the Pac-12 collapsed.

“To be perfectly honest, I’m excited,” he said via ZOOM from Pullman. “I think this is the best situation for us. I’m excited that these four schools have now pivoted and are coming to us. I’m excited about it. I call them the undecideds.”

He also said it was important for WSU to win the Apple Cup against UW on Saturday and for Oregon State to do the same against Oregon.

“I think the best thing we have to do right now is keep winning. The more we win, the more influence we have, period. Both of our schools need to focus on that.”