Tulane Green Wave Athletics Still on Potential Conference Expansion List
The Pac-12 Conference is on the clock.
Yes, the league has already expanded by several members. But, the conference must add one more all-sports member for the 2026-27 season or it will no longer be considered a conference in the eyes of the NCAA.
An NCAA conference must have eight members for football. In the Pac-12’s case, which lost 10 of its 12 members to other leagues, leaving only Oregon State and Washington State, it has two years to reach that minimum.
The league has eight members, but there is a problem. One of them — Gonzaga — doesn’t play football and the Bulldogs have no intention of adding it.
So, the search continues. The league probably needs that new member to commit no later than June of this year due to buyouts and by-laws related to programs leaving conferences.
Last week the athletic directors for the Pac-12 schools — current and future — met in Las Vegs, per Oregon columnist and radio host John Canzano. Some of the discussion was around expansion.
The Tulane Green Wave remain on a list of schools being considered, one that includes UNLV, Memphis, Texas State, South Florida, UTSA, Rice, Nevada and North Texas. The source told Canzano that “if someone emerges outside that list, it would be a surprise.”
All but one of the Pac-12’s new members is coming from the Mountain West Conference. The league did show interest in several American Athletic Conference members last year, but in late September those programs as a group — including Tulane, Memphis, USF and UTSA — turned down the offer.
Tulane athletic director David Harris said that uncertainty around the Pac-12 future led to the decision.
Canzano reported that the league is assessing a variety of factors before it extends its next invitation, including geography, athletic success, investment, travel expenses and economics. He also reported that at least one potential candidate has offered to take “zero media rights distributions in the early years of membership,” much like SMU did with the ACC.
He also assessed each of the expansion candidates, writing about Tulane that it “… has a solid athletics brand, some proof of performance in sports that matter, and better TV ratings than some others considered. There’s an investment in academics and athletics.”
He also wrote that if the Pac-12 were to take Tulane, it would make sense to take Memphis, or vice versa, as it could help the league fulfill a mission of being the “… clear No. 5 conference.”
Whether Tulane might be willing to take the Pac-12 up on a potential offer remains to be seen.
