Pac-12 officially announces addition of Gonzaga

The Pac-12 has found an eighth member in Gonzaga, the conference announced Tuesday morning. ESPN's Pete Thamel and Kyle Bonagura broke the news earlier in the day.

Gonzaga will leave the West Coast Conference — along with the Mountain West's Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State — to join the Pac-12 beginning in the 2026 academic year.

The Pac-12 received a formal application from the Bulldogs on Sept. 30, according to the Pac-12 press release announcing the move. Gonzaga's application was unanimously approved and the Bulldogs will bring over all sports they participate in.

"We are delights to welcome Gonzaga into the Pac-12 as they embark with us on this incredible path ahead," Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould said in a press release. "President McCulloh and Athletics Director Chris Standiford not only bring strategic expertise and forward thinking to the conference, but they are two incredible leaders who care deeply about student success and fortifying student-athlete academic and athletic experiences. Today represents an exciting milestone for the Pac-12 as we welcome another outstanding institution with a rich history of success into our league."

The announcement comes after Memphis, Tulane, South Florida and UTSA were reported to have been invited to join the Pac-12 and quickly released a statement confirming their commitment to remain members of the American Athletic Conference.

With the AAC cemented, the Mountain West did the same by getting commitments from the rest of its league schools, most notably UNLV and Air Force who were being courted to leave.

The move to add Gonzaga is a surprising one, with Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes informing media members in a Saturday, Sept. 14 press conference that sponsoring a football program would be a requirement. Gonzaga has not had a football program since 1941. Despite lacking a football program and no expectation to add one, the Bulldogs would still receive a full conference revenue share according to a report last week from Action Network's Brett McMurphy.

The addition of Gonzaga would put the Pac-12 at eight members, but still only seven in football. The NCAA requires at least eight teams per football conference, meaning the Pac-12 will still need to add at least one more school.

Barnes told reporters in his Sept. 14 press conference that the Pac-12's intention was to add, "anywhere between two — to meet that NCAA minimum — or four," schools.