Gonzaga University is set to join the Pac-12 in 2026, bringing a top-tier basketball program to the rebuilding conference.
Gonzaga announced on Oct. 1 that they will be leaving the West Coast Conference after a 25-year run of dominance. Gonzaga has been a member of the WCC since 1979, and by the late ’90s, they had become the premier basketball school on the West Coast.
Since 1998, Gonzaga has reached the WCC men’s basketball championship game each year, going 20-6. They now join a rebuilding Pac-12 that now features six schools that reached the NCAA tournament in 2024. San Diego State University, WSU, Colorado State University, Utah State University and Boise State University all played in March Madness, making the new Pac-12 a strong basketball conference.
Gonzaga will be a full member and receive a full revenue share, despite not having a football team. It speaks to their dominance in both men’s and women’s basketball, as well as their strong baseball program.
“The Pac-12 Conference and Gonzaga University are proud to announce their partnership, celebrating the addition of the eighth university during this transformative era for the century-old conference,” wrote the Pac-12 and Gonzaga in a joint statement. “This partnership marks an exciting chapter in expansion history for the conference as it strategically builds a formidable basketball powerhouse.”
Meanwhile, WCC Commissioner Stu Jackson thanked Gonzaga for being a “valued member of the WCC for more than four decades.”
The net ranking of each school in the new Pac-12, compared to the rest of the conferences. The new Pac-12 would have been the fourth-best basketball conference in 2024, with a net ranking of 72.4, while the old Pac-12 was seventh.
The Pac-12 is reportedly in talks with Gonzaga’s WCC rival St. Mary’s University, according to ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura. It was also previously reported that Grand Canyon or Connecticut could be in play for the Pac-12.
However, the key for the Pac-12 is now to secure an eighth football member and make the conference eligible for the College Football Playoff in 2026. Options include Texas State University, who recently turned down an offer from the Mountain West, and Sacramento State University, who have formed a Pac-12 committee (called the “Sac-12”) and have been open about their desires to leave the Big Sky.
Other, perhaps more impactful additions would be Memphis and Tulane from the AAC. Although both schools initially declined the Pac-12’s offer and chose to remain in the AAC, it’s possible that a better offer, combined with the Gonzaga news, could be enough to sway them.
That’s certainly what Memphis’ Athletic Director Ed Scott made it sound like in a recent press conference.
“This is a fluid situation…that was not a binary decision,” said Scott. “That was not a ‘No, we’re not ever going anywhere.’ That was based on the offer that was presented in front of us, that we’re not taking that offer because we don’t think less of ourselves.”
Perhaps if the Pac-12 offered to pay more of the $25 million exit fee, Memphis would join the conference, and if Memphis comes, Tulane could follow.
No matter what happens next, this move sets Gonzaga and the Pac-12 up for the future as they continue to rebuild.
