Sources: Pac-12 Conference rebuilding, focusing on Boise State, San Diego State, Fresno State, Colorado State

According to sources, the Pac-12 is implementing its long-discussed plan to rebuild the league with reinforcements from the Mountain West.

The two-team conference of Washington State and Oregon State is targeting Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State and Fresno State as new entrants to a reimagined Pac-12. Those schools are expected to apply soon or have already applied for membership in the conference – the first step in the process of closing the deal. They would join the league beginning in the 2026 school year.

Commissioner Teresa Gould and Pac-12 officials have spent the last year considering potential options for their future after 10 schools left the league for the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC. They have long believed they can preserve the Pac-12 brand by rebuilding the conference through expansion and leveraging its 108 years of tradition, history and assets to attract new members.

This is intended to be the first phase of a multi-stage expansion effort to reach at least eight schools – the minimum required by the NCAA to qualify as an FBS conference. If the above four join, the league will need two more to complete the process. The minimum must be reached by July 2026, the end of the NCAA’s two-year grace period.

The Pac-12 board must approve all membership applications and is expected to do so soon. The deal could be finalized by the end of the week.

The expansion isn’t cheap. Each Mountain West school is contractually bound to a $17 million exit fee, and the Pac-12 must pay an additional penalty fee of $10 million to $12 million for each school it takes on as part of an agreement the conference made with the Mountain West.

After months of reviewing future options, league officials have decided to reimagine the conference with an expansion approach. In negotiations with potential new members, Pac-12 officials and third parties have presented a plan that includes a new media rights agreement worth more than the MWC’s current or future television package, as well as the sponsorship potential of the Pac-12 brand.

The two schools offer attractive assets that could amount to millions if the 10 schools leave the conference, including money from the Rose Bowl contract, the College Football Playoff, NCAA basketball tournament entities and Pac-12 Enterprises, formerly the Pac-12 Network. The league lost its designation as an autonomous/power conference, a designation that gave it more voting power within the NCAA administration and more revenue in the CFP distribution model. It is unclear whether the conference could regain that designation.

During Pac-12 Media Days in Las Vegas in July, Gould invited media, administrators, coaches and players to a gathering to celebrate the conference, predict a bright future and propose a possible rebuild.

“There’s a lot of interest in a high-level conference on the West Coast,” she told Yahoo Sports at the time. “There’s a lot of interest in our communities and our fan bases. A lot of people care a lot about the Pac-12 and the Pac-12 brand. There’s a lot of nostalgia about the possibility of rebuilding.”

The Pac-12’s first phase of expansion takes geographic and cultural significance into account and deals a blow to its Mountain West rival. The MWC, a 12-team football league that includes Hawaii, would lose some of its top brands despite a scheduling alliance with the Pac-12 that many believe would end in a reverse merger or a merger with OSU and WSU.

However, negotiations between the Pac-12 and Mountain West over extending the football schedule for 2024 for a second year failed earlier this month. According to people with knowledge of the talks, the dispute revolved primarily around financial differences.

The Pac-12’s move could trigger another round of realignment, at least for schools at the Group of Five or even FCS level. As the Mountain West needs to make up for departures, it will likely look at possible members that can move up to the FBS.

The Pac-12’s move could have another ripple effect on a bigger stage: the College Football Playoff. In light of the Pac-12’s departures, CFP officials voted last year to change the expanded 12-team playoff format, eliminating an automatic qualifying spot and adding an at-large bid for a format that includes five AQs for the top-ranked conference champions and seven at-large bids.

For the next two years, the Pac-12 champion will not be eligible for an automatic qualifying spot because it does not meet the CFP conference’s minimum requirements. However, beginning in 2026, the champion of a reconstructed Pac-12 would presumably be eligible to receive an automatic bid.