Pac-12 relaunches with seven new full-time members and returns basketball tournaments to Las Vegas

The Pac-12 officially relaunched on July 1 with seven new full-time members, turning a conference that had been reduced to a shell of its former self into a rebuilt league with a new foundation for the next phase of college sports realignment.

The seven schools joining as full-time members are Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, San Diego State, Texas State and Utah State. Oregon State and Washington State remained from the previous Pac-12 lineup, giving the conference nine full-time members in all.

The league also said it now has 12 affiliate members, though the strongest reporting reviewed did not fully spell out the complete affiliate breakdown.

A rebuilt Pac-12

The relaunch marks a major step in the Pac-12’s effort to move beyond the upheaval that left it with only two continuing members after the latest wave of realignment. The conference had been rebuilt through additions announced in 2024 and 2025 before the July 1, 2026 relaunch took effect.

That makes the new Pac-12 a different organization in both footprint and identity. The new full-time group stretches across the West and beyond, and it gives the conference a larger base for scheduling, competition and branding.

Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould framed the move as the start of a new era for the league. The conference’s public messaging emphasized both the scale of the rebuild and the chance to establish a more stable long-term structure.

Basketball returns to Las Vegas

Alongside the membership reset, the Pac-12 announced that its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will return to Las Vegas starting in 2027. The events will be held at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

That move restores a familiar postseason setting for the league. AP reported that the Pac-12 previously staged tournaments in Las Vegas from 2013 to 2016 before later moving the events elsewhere.

The return also gives the conference a high-visibility tournament home in a city that has become a central meeting point for college basketball and conference events. For a league rebuilding its brand, that matters as much as the membership changes.

What it means now

The immediate significance of the relaunch is competitive as well as symbolic. A nine-member full-time league is easier to schedule and market than a conference left with only two surviving members, and the addition of affiliate members suggests the Pac-12 is building out a broader structure around the full-time core.

The move also reshapes West Coast college sports geography. Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, San Diego State, Texas State and Utah State now join Oregon State and Washington State in a conference trying to re-establish relevance after near-collapse.

The next things to watch are fuller scheduling details, clarifications on the affiliate-member structure and more information about the tournament format the league hinted at in its announcement. For now, the central facts are clear: the Pac-12 is back with a larger membership and a return to one of its old basketball homes.