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CSU is joining a revamped and re-stocked Pac-12 Conference.
According to a report published late Wednesday night by Yahoo Sports, the long-standing collegiate league, which was ravaged by membership defections — including that of the CU Buffs — over the past 18 months, is moving forward with plans to expand.
The first wave of that expansion includes four of the top athletic brands from the Mountain West: CSU, Boise State, San Diego State and Fresno State, will all four becoming members on July 1, 2026.
“We are taking control of our future at CSU by forming an alliance of six peer institutions who will serve as the foundation for a new era of the Pac-12,” CSU President Amy Parsons said in a news release announcing the move.
“This move elevates CSU in a way which benefits all our students, bolsters our core mission, and strengthens our reputation for academic and research excellence. CSU is honored to be among the universities asked to help carry on the history and tradition of the Pac-12 as a highly competitive conference with some of the nation’s leading research institutions.”
The Rams, whose football program hosts rival CU in the Rocky Mountain Showdown for the first time at Canvas Stadium on Saturday, are a founding member of the Mountain West Conference, a league which began operations in January 1999.
By accepting an invitation from the Pac-12, CSU will gain association with what the athletic department has sought for decades — membership within a “power” conference.
“This moment has been a long time coming,” CSU authentic director John Weber said. “I know our students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors and fans are hungry for this move and are going to love what comes next as CSU charts a transformational new course as a member of the Pac-12.”
The Pac-12, which was founded in 1915, has historically been the most prestigious collegiate league west of the Central time zone. However, that prestige, and indeed its membership, were crippled by the defections of CU, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State to the Big 12; USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington to the Big Ten; and Stanford and Cal to the ACC.
Washington State and Oregon State were left with the conference’s holdings, trademarks and media rights. Per Yahoo Sports, the remaining Pac-12 programs believe they can rebuild the brand with the likes of the Rams, Aztecs, Broncos and Bulldogs as peers.
They’re also not done looking at new members, as the NCAA requires a minimum of eight schools to qualify as an FBS conference.
CSU football plays at Oregon State on Oct. 5 as part of a scheduling alliance between the MW and the remains of the Pac-12, a partnership that Yahoo Sports reports will not continue for a second fall.
Mountain West members are contracted to pay a $17 million exit fee to leave the league.
The primary motivations for CSU are the same reasons CU left the Pac-12 this past summer — money, prestige, potential access to the College Football Playoff, and stability.
While the mass defections from the Pac-12 would denounce the latter, Yahoo Sports reports that the remaining Pac-12 members feel a new-look league would reach a media rights agreement worth more than the current or expected payouts presented to MW members.
The Mountain West has a $270 million television contract with CBS and Fox that runs through 2026.
Published reports have estimated that non-Boise members of the MW, including CSU, receive roughly $3.5 million annually from that deal, with the Broncos receiving an additional $1.8 million per year.
CSU noted in its financial report to the NCAA for the 2022-23 fiscal year, the most recent public report available, that its media rights revenues from all sources, including conference distributions, was $3.3 million.
The Yahoo Sports report infers that the Rams could also have access to Pac-12 assets such as “monies from the Rose Bowl contract, College Football Playoff, NCAA basketball tournament units and Pac-12 Enterprises, previously the Pac-12 Network.”
CSU indicated in its announcement Thursday morning that the four new schools “will have immediate voting privileges” within the conference.
“We have nothing but the utmost respect and appreciation for the Mountain West and its members,” Parsons said. “There will be conversations going forward about the Mountain West exit fees and Pac-12 support for our transition. We are confident the path forward will not impact our current university budget and will set CSU up for incredible opportunities to come.”
However, the two-team Pac-12 recently lost its status as a Power 5/”autonomous” conference within the CFP — and it’s not clear whether supplementing the expanded league with Group of 5 programs would restore those privileges.
CSU athletics reported revenues of $64.3 million to the NCAA for the ’22-23 fiscal year this past January. The Rams’ revenues of $61.2 million, per a USA Today database, ranked fourth among known MW athletics budgets in ’21-22, behind Air Force, San Diego State and UNLV. Wazzu and Oregon State had revenues of $85 million and $83.5 million in ’21-22, respectively.
Originally Published:
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Sean Keeler
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