Boise State · Pac-12Pac-12 rebuilds around Boise State for 2026 return
Six schools join Washington State and Oregon State as the conference awaits its playoff access, schedule and championship format.
SEP 5, 2026
The Pate State · Editorial IllustrationFootball members in the rebuilt Pac-12
Boise State’s preseason bracket position
Members the Pac-12 once had
01 · The NewsPac-12 Rebuilds Around Boise State
The Pac-12 will return as an eight-member football conference in 2026, with Boise State and six other additions joining Washington State and Oregon State after two seasons as the league’s only members.
The new membership is Washington State, Oregon State, Boise State, San Diego State, Fresno State, Colorado State, Utah State and Texas State. The rebuilt league is being formed around six schools that were not part of the Pac-12 before its collapse, reshaping the western college-football map.
Josh Pate’s August 2026 preseason bracket has Boise State at No. 4, ahead of Texas, Oregon, Penn State, LSU, Notre Dame and Alabama. That makes the Broncos the clearest early measure of what the new Pac-12 can accomplish.
The conference once had 12 members. USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon left for the Big Ten; Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State joined the Big 12; and Stanford and Cal moved to the ACC. Washington State and Oregon State then spent two seasons carrying the league before the six-school expansion for 2026.
Several decisions that could shape Boise State’s postseason route remain unsettled. The Pac-12 has not announced its 2026 conference schedule or championship-game format, and its access to the College Football Playoff has not been established. The conference also has not said whether it will add more schools.
The eight members give the Pac-12 a football season again in 2026. Boise State will carry the first national test of whether this version of the conference can matter beyond its own title race.
02 · The StakesThe Stakes
The Pac-12’s survival — and Boise State’s path to the 12-team College Football Playoff — now depend on whether the conference can secure meaningful postseason access. Its leading playoff contender will also test whether the rebuilt league can support a national case.
03 · The Detail Beneath the HeadlineWhat Most People Are Missing
The rebuild recovered six of the 10 membership slots lost when the old league collapsed, lifting membership from two to eight. It still leaves the Pac-12 four teams short of its former size, so Boise State’s national case will be made inside a league with a smaller set of conference opponents and fewer members available for a title-game structure.
That turns the unannounced schedule and championship format into more than administrative details. They will decide how often the league’s leading contender can face the other seven members and what additional hurdle stands between Boise State and a conference title.
04 · The Open QuestionsQuestions to Be Answered
What playoff access does the Pac-12 champion get?
Josh Pate’s No. 4 placement puts Boise State in position to expose the difference between being ranked for the field and having a defined route into it. The conference has not established that access, and the answer will set the value of both its regular-season race and its championship. A playoff announcement is the tell.
05 · The Watch ListWhat We're Watching
Boise State’s playoff case
Does the Broncos’ national case hold as the rebuilt Pac-12 takes shape? Boise State is No. 4 in Josh Pate’s August 2026 preseason bracket.
Postseason access
Will the Pac-12 receive meaningful access to the 12-team College Football Playoff? Its access has not been established.