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Christopher Boan is the lead writer at BetArizona.com after covering sports and sports betting in Arizona for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
Pac 12 Expansion Candidates: Odds For Next Colleges To Join Conference
Reports of the Pac-12 Conference’s demise was indeed greatly exaggerated, as the left-for-dead collegiate athletics conference shocked the sporting world last year, adding Mountain West members Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State for the 2026 league year.
The five schools are set to join Oregon State and Washington State in the conference on July 1, 2026, leaving the rebuilt Pac-12 one school shy of the FBS minimum of eight with under two years to make whatever deals are needed.
All five are tasked with filling the void left by the 10 Pac-12 members that departed the conference last summer, with Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington defecting to the Big Ten, while Arizona, ASU, Colorado and Utah went to the Big 12 and Cal and Stanford left for the ACC.
Given that the newly configured Pac-12 will need at least one more school to join to reach the FBS standard, BetArizona.com - home to all news around Arizona sports betting - broke down the odds on which university might join the Conference of Champions in 2026.
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Pac 12 Expansion Candidates: Odds For Next College To Join Conference
College | Odds |
Texas State | +125 |
Tulane | +250 |
UNLV | +800 |
Memphis | +875 |
North Texas | +1250 |
UTSA | +1500 |
Sacramento State | +3000 |
The Field | +1000 |
Odds provided by BetArizona and not available on Arizona betting apps.
At the front of our Pac-12 odds board is a school that’s primed to capitalize on a power conference invite is Texas State, which is located in the recruiting-rich locale of San Marcos, which is located roughly halfway between Austin and San Antonio along I-35.
The Bobcats head up our list of potential expansion candidates, at +125, while we’re still keeping our eyes on potential defections from the American Athletic Conference for other Pac-12 members.
That’s because the AAC plays a central role in the next wave of conference realignment, with schools like Tulane and Memphis potentially defecting from their longtime conference home, even if they did rebuke the Pac-12’s expansion overtures last year.
Both the Green Wave and the Tigers have put forth quality football and men’s basketball teams in recent years and would be a coup for Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould, with conference insider John Canzano listing both as strong candidates to defect to the West Coast conference next.
Other names to remember when it comes to the Pac-12’s continued expansion drive are Mountain West schools like UNLV (+800), who are flanked on either side by teams in the AAC (Tulane, Memphis, North Texas and UTSA), while the final candidate is a longshot one, with Sacramento State of the FCS potentially moving up a level should they opt to reclassify in the coming years.
The biggest stumbling block for Gould and company remains the $27.5 million exit fee that AAC schools have to cough up if they move on by the time the Pac-12 reforms in 2026, though there’s no such thing as a dealbreaker in today’s NCAA world where realignment is the name of the game right now.
Pac 12 Expansion News
June 30, 2022: UCLA and USC announce they are leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, setting in motion the instability that ultimately tore apart the original Pac-12 Conference
June 30, 2023: Then-Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff’s attempts to add SMU and San Diego State to the Pac-12 to replace the two L.A. schools come and go without happening, leading many to wonder if the conference’s days are numbered
July 27, 2023: Colorado announces it is leaving the conference for the Big 12, leading many to begin writing the Pac-12’s epitaph
Aug. 4, 2023: Oregon and Washington announce they are leaving to join the Big Ten, while Arizona, ASU and Utah all announce exit plans for the Big 12 that same day, leaving Cal, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State as the lone members of the Pac-12
Sept. 1, 2023: Cal and Stanford announce they are leaving the Pac-12 for the ACC, leaving the two remaining members of the Pac-12
Aug. 2, 2024: All 10 of the departing schools officially exit the Pac-12, leaving Oregon State and Washington State to rebuild the conference from the ground up
Sept. 12, 2024: Four Mountain West Conference members (Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State) announce they are leaving the conference to join the Pac-12 in 2026.
Sept. 23, 2024: Utah State also announces it is leaving the Mountain West to join the Pac-12 in 2026.
Stick with BetArizona for all college football developments, including Arizona Bowl Projections.
USA Toady photo by Mark J. Rebilas.
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Pac 12 Expansion News FAQ
In 2026, the Pac 12 will include Oregon State, Washington State, Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State, San Diego State, Utah State and Gonzaga (non-football member). Until then, Oregon State and Washington State will be the only football members of the conference.
The Pac-12 Conference underwent significant changes in recent years. Prominent schools, starting with UCLA and USC, departed and that led to other remaining schools following suit via conference realignment. The future of the Pac-12 was left in limbo with just Oregon State and Washington State remaining.
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