Gonzaga will be a Pac-12 school in 2026.
Y'all ready for this? #BackThePac x @GonzagaBulldogs pic.twitter.com/A7ufUtN4VH
— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) October 1, 2024
According to Pete Thamel and Kyle Bonagura of ESPN, talks between Gonzaga and the Pac-12 intensified this week. Now that the move is official, the Pac-12 plans to leverage Gonzaga's rich basketball history to boost its media value. The Bulldogs have been perennial national championship contenders in the past three decades, having reached 12 Sweet 16s, five Elite Eights, two Final Fours and two national championship games since 2000.
Gonzaga is now the eighth member of the new-look Pac-12. With Oregon State and Washington State as leftovers from the conference's mass exodus in 2024, the Pac-12 added Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State on Sept. 12. Two weeks later, on Sept. 25, the conference added Utah State to the league. Each of the league's six new schools will officially join in 2026.
According to Thamel and Bonagura, the Pac-12 has also engaged in preliminary discussions with Grand Canyon and Saint Mary's to join the conference after both schools reached the NCAA Tournament in 2024. While those additions would be basketball-focused, the Pac-12 "is expected to remain focused on adding another football-playing school before shifting its attention back to basketball," Thamel and Bonagura reported.
