Oregon State, Washington State start Pac-12 rebuild with 4 Mountain West schools

What to know

• The Pac-12 Conference will expand to 12 teams in 2023.
• The four new schools joining the conference are: San Diego State, Fresno State, Nevada, and Boise State.
• The expansion is part of the Pac-12's efforts to rebuild the conference after losing two of its founding members, UCLA and USC, to the Big Ten Conference.

Why it matters

The addition of the four Mountain West schools will give the Pac-12 a stronger footprint in the Western United States. The conference will now have teams in six states: California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada.

The expansion will also help the Pac-12 to compete with the other Power Five conferences, which have all expanded in recent years. The Big Ten Conference will have 16 teams in 2024, the SEC will have 16 teams in 2025, and the ACC will have 15 teams in 2023.

What's next

The Pac-12 will hold a vote on the expansion proposal on June 30. If the proposal is approved, the four Mountain West schools will join the conference on July 1, 2023.

Additional details

• The four Mountain West schools will be eligible to participate in the Pac-12 football championship game starting in 2024.
• The Pac-12 will have a nine-game conference schedule in football starting in 2023.
• The Pac-12 will have a 20-team basketball conference starting in 2023.

Sources

• Pac-12 announces expansion to 12 teams with four new members in 2023-24
• Pac-12 to expand to 12 teams, adding San Diego State, Fresno State, Nevada, Boise State
• Pac-12 expansion: Conference adds San Diego State, Fresno State, Nevada, Boise State as new members in 2023