CORVALLIS, Ore. — Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes said the newly rebuilt Pac-12 will look to add at least two more schools by 2026 as quickly as possible.
“I think John Wooden said it: 'Let's be fast, but let's not rush,'” Barnes said Saturday. “Let's do things right, but it's in our best interest to move forward as quickly as possible.”
The Mountain West Conference, which collapsed with 10 of its teams leaving, announced a new incarnation Thursday with four Mountain West teams joining Oregon State and Washington.
The revamped Pac-12, featuring Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State, is set to launch in 2026. But the league needs to have at least eight teams to qualify for automatic inclusion in the NCAA championships and the College Football Playoff.
Asked if the conference had seen any teams express interest in joining in the 48 hours since the realignment was announced, Barnes replied simply: “A lot.”
Barnes spoke ahead of the rivalry game between Oregon State and former conference rival Oregon, which jumped to the Big Ten this season. He said the league could potentially add more than the two schools needed to meet the NCAA and CFP thresholds.
“It's very similar to the processes we use to bring in these founding members, in the sense that the criteria will be very similar. We've already started in earnest with our first meeting yesterday to discuss the situation. There's a lot of interest at this early stage,” Barnes said.
“I would love to see this resolved as soon as possible,” he added. “But we certainly want to get it right. We are making historic, long-term decisions and we will take the time to make sure we have the right new members in place. But the sooner we can move forward, the better.”
With just two schools active, the Pac-12 is taking advantage of NCAA rules that allow for a two-year grace period. Currently, the Beavers and Cougars have a football scheduling agreement in place for this season with the Mountain West, giving each six league opponents to fill their schedule. The agreement does not extend beyond this season.
Part of that deal included millions of dollars in additional fees for the Pac-12 if it kept the Mountain West schools. In total, the Mountain West conference could collect $110 million from the restructuring.
