The Pac-12, after all, lives on. After a massive conference realignment changed college football and sent many teams like Stanford from the original Pac-12 to new conferences, the Pac-12 Board of Directors announced Thursday that four new programs would join in 2026, bringing the conference back to six teams and moving it even closer to once again being a part of the Power Five.

Starting in the fall of 2026, Boise State, Colorado State, San Diego State and Fresno State will leave the Mountain West and join the Pac-12, bringing the conference from two teams to six. This comes amid a two-year period in which the Pac-12 can expand to at least eight teams again this season and next, or Washington State and Oregon State will have to find a new conference to play in.

“For more than a century, the Pac-12 Conference has been recognized as a leading brand in intercollegiate athletics,” Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould said in a statement via an article on ESPN.com. “We will continue to pursue bold, groundbreaking opportunities for growth and advancement to best serve our member institutions and student-athletes. I am grateful to our board for their efforts to welcome Boise State University, Colorado State University, California State University, Fresno and San Diego State University to the conference. An exciting new era for the Pac-12 Conference begins today.”

With Stanford and Cal leaving for the ACC; Washington, Oregon, USC and UCLA leaving for the Big Ten; and Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado leaving for the Big 12, Washington State and Oregon State are the only remaining members of their former conference. After reaching an agreement with the Mountain West for this season, both WSU and OSU will face opponents from that conference this year to fill their schedules. However, because a deal to extend the partnership was not reached in time, the two teams currently in the Pac-12 are expected to play an independent schedule in 2025, though that remains to be seen.

Leaving the Mountain West will cost the four departing schools about $18 million in severance payments. That amount would have been double if the schools had left just one year earlier instead of two. The Pac-12 is expected to help cover the cost of tuition.

Now that the Pac-12 officially has six members, these schools are hoping to add a few more before the 2026 season. This will help a conference with such a rich history remain a premier conference in college sports and continue to produce some of the most talented athletes in the country.