Utah State joins Pac-12 expansion in latest conference realignment move to rebuild Teresa Gould's ex-P5 conference 

Reports of Utah State joining the Pac-12 circulated on Monday. On Tuesday, the school announced that it will join the former Power 5 athletic conference in July 2026. The program was voted unanimously by the board to become part of the Pac-12 Conference.

Utah State will become the fifth Mountain West Conference school alongside Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State to join the Pac-12 in 2026.

"We are thrilled to welcome Utah State University to the Pac-12, as they join us on this exciting journey forward," Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould said in a statement.

This means the Pac-12 will have seven active members starting in 2026, a big revamp considering the conference faced an exodus of several members, apart from only Oregon State and Washington State.

Utah State University President Elizabeth Cantwell said:

"The vision of the Pac-12 Conference firmly aligns with USU's mission and our commitments to the future. This move unlocks new possibilities by directly enhancing the student-athlete experience and will significantly strengthen our reputation for competitive success, academic achievement, and research excellence."

Pac-12 fights back against Mountain West Conference's 'poaching penalty' amid Utah State joining

While the Pac-12 is set to inherit five prominent programs from the Mountain West Conference, the latter has accused the former of a "poaching penalty," which could cost the Pac-12 over $50 million.

Making its stand against it, the rebuilding conference has called the "poaching penalty" unlawful and unenforceable in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

“The action challenges an anticompetitive and unlawful ‘Poaching Penalty’ that the MWC imposed on the Pac-12 to inhibit competition for member schools in collegiate athletics,” the lawsuit says.

As per the member agreement of the Mountain West Conference, the departing schools may have to pay an exit fee upwards of $17 million per member, depending on how much advance notice the programs provide.

Moreover, the Pac-12 is also challenging the poaching fees involved in scheduling agreements with Oregon State and Washington State. As per the agreement, for every Mountain West program added to the Pac-12, the latter would have to pay $10 million with an increment of $500,000 for every additional school. With five so far, the amount sums up to over $52 million.

A conference needs to have eight members to be recognized by the NCAA and the College Football Playoff. After Utah State's declaration to join the Pac-12, the Mountain West and the Pac-12 are one member short.