Pac-12 is in talks with basketball heavyweight Gonzaga about joining the newly formed league in 2026, according to AP sources

The Pac-12 is in talks with basketball heavyweight Gonzaga about joining the conference in the rebuilding year of 2026, three people familiar with the talks told the Associated Press on Monday.

The Pac-12 is also targeting Mountain West schools UNLV and Utah State, two of the people said, as it moves away from a group of American Athletic Conference schools that have said they will remain loyal to their current league. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the Pac-12's strategy is not made public.

Meanwhile, Mountain West received a commitment from Air Force to stay in the conference after the school attracted interest from the AAC, a person familiar with the AFA's decision told AP on condition of anonymity.

Memphis, Tulane, South Florida, UTSA and the American Athletic Conference released a statement that made no mention of the Pac-12, but several people with knowledge of those talks told AP that the rebuilding conference has targeted those schools as potential new members.

“While we recognize the interest other conferences have in our facilities, we firmly believe it is in our individual and collective best interest to maintain our commitments to each other,” the schools said. “Together, we will continue to modernize the conference, enhance the student-athlete experience, achieve championship-winning success and shape the future.”

The Pac-12 began reshuffling for a 2026 restart two weeks ago, bringing Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Colorado State from the Mountain West to join Washington State and Oregon State, the only two Pac-12 schools remaining after a dramatic round of realignment that took effect this summer.

The Pac-12 needs at least two more members in all sports to reach the required eight members to be a recognized conference with access to the NCAA Championships and the College Football Playoff in 2026.

Pink

With Gonzaga, the Pac-12 would have one of the best men's basketball programs in the country. The Bulldogs have thrived in the West Coast Conference, reaching the NCAA Tournament every year since 1998, with two Final Four appearances and eight seasons with at least 30 wins. Gonzaga does not have a football program.

The school has talked to the Big East about a conference affiliation in the past, and the Big 12 has discussed possibly adding Gonzaga to its powerful men's basketball team, as it did with UConn earlier this year. The Zags have become a consistent tournament team in women's basketball as well.

Still, their addition would mean that the Pac-12 needs two more schools to play football.

Money matters

A person familiar with the talks between the Pac-12 and AAC schools said the conference's offer included a planned annual media rights distribution to each school of $12 million to $15 million. The schools were also offered the option of participating only in football and basketball to reduce travel costs associated with other sports programs that must span one or two time zones.

All Pac-12 schools are located in the Mountain and Pacific time zones. The Pac-12 targeted new members in the Central Time Zone to increase value to potential television partners.

Leaving the AAC would have been costly for the schools. The conference's bylaws require 27 months' notice for schools leaving and a $10 million exit fee. An early exit, which would be necessary, would cost even more. When UConn left the AAC to return to the Big East, it cost the school $17 million. The AAC received $25 million from SMU this year for an expedited move to the ACC.

The Pac-12 and its four newest members already have to pay about $110 million in exit fees and penalties to the Mountain West.

Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould did not provide details on how those costs will be divided among the new schools and the conference, which has about $250 million in revenue that the previous version of the Pac-12 would have received this year and next.

A football scheduling agreement between Oregon State, Washington State and the Mountain West that was not renewed for next year includes a poaching penalty of more than $10 million per school, increasing with the number of schools admitted to the Pac-12.

The penalty would be $12 million if the Pac-12 admits another Mountain West school, rising to $12.5 million for the next one, plus a $17 million exit fee.

Still, the Mountain West's precarious situation provides the Pac-12 with an opportunity to target these schools again.

Trying to pull Texas State out of the Sun Belt Conference and give the Pac-12 a school in the Central Time Zone would be far less costly for them.

Mountain West

MWC Commissioner Gloria Nevarez is working to secure long-term commitments from the conference's remaining eight members, including football-only Hawaii. Even if there are no further losses, the Mountain West will need to add at least one more school.

UTEP and New Mexico State of Conference USA would make geographical sense, but that league's members recently had to sign a rights transfer that could make a move more difficult and costly for them.

The promotion of schools from the second division of Division I would also be an option. Sacramento State from Big Sky and Tarleton State from Texas from the Western Athletic Conference have shown interest in such a promotion.

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Follow Ralph D. Russo on https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP

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