Source: Pac-12 Targeting Four Mountain West Programs to Rebuild Conference

The Pac-12 could be on the way up.

Oregon State and Washington State remain the only two programs in the Pac-12 in the 2024 season. / James Snook-Imagn Images

The Pac-12 appears to be on the way up.

Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde reported Wednesday that the Pac-12 is looking to add Mountain West programs Boise State, San Diego State, Fresno State and Colorado State in an effort to rebuild the conference. Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports first reported the news.

Those four schools reportedly are expected to apply for Pac-12 membership soon and would join the conference in 2026.

Additional schools expected to be added shortly thereafter to reach at least eight members, the NCAA minimum for an FBS conference.

— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) September 12, 2024

The Pac-12 currently is a two-team conference with Washington State and Oregon State the remaining pair of programs following a mass exodus that became official this summer. Stanford, Cal and SMU joined the ACC, while USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington departed for the Big Ten and Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah ventured to the Big 12.

The Pac-12 aims to reach the NCAA's eight-team minimum to qualify as an FBS conference. If all four of those Mountain West programs join, the Pac-12 will need to find two more schools by July 2026 to meet NCAA guidelines before the two-year grace period concludes.

Per Dellenger, each Mountain West school would have to pay $17 million to depart the conference, and the Pac-12 is responsible for a $10-$12 million penalty fee for each Mountain West program it poaches due to the conference's current agreement in place.