Main event set for San Francisco card aiming to break boxing's 85-year attendance record
San Francisco boxing event on July 11 aims to break 85-year attendance record!
The Pac-12 Conference has expanded with several Mountain West teams, including Boise State and Colorado State, joining ahead of the 2024 season. Gonzaga also became a full member, despite lacking a football program.
EUGENE, OREGON - MAY 23: The Pac-12 Conference logo on the Autzen Stadium football field on the campus of the University of Oregon on May 23, 2024 in Eugene, Oregon (Photo by Kirby Lee/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Shortly before the 2024 football season began, the Mountain West was turned upside down when Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and later Utah State announced they were leaving the conference for the new Pac-12 conference.
This led to somewhat of an arms race out west, as both conferences were incomplete and needed to keep adding schools. Plus, both are negotiating new media rights deals as the primary revenue source.
Gonzaga joined the fold as a full member a short while later, although they donât have a football program. After many rumors and dead ends, Texas State was officially announced right before the July 1st deadline to give two yearsâ notice. A few affiliate members have been named as well, notably Dallas Baptist as a baseball member, but others are in less publicized sports like wrestling and menâs soccer.
While the PAC is still looking to add another football member, ideally in time for the 2027 season, the conference is mostly complete for the foreseeable future. Therefore, itâs worth examining the state of the conference in various aspects.
This is a companion piece to the Mountain West version we wrote over a year ago. As for thoughts on the future PAC-12 Conference? Read below.
Football is the money-maker in the college sports world. The Pac-12 has lost its prestige, even before the conference dissolved. The âConference of Championsâ fell behind in the later years of the CFP era and now seeks to reestablish itself.
Looking over the list, itâs a top-heavy football conference. Boise State is the clear football flagship and a strong one at that. While they havenât slayed any P4 giants in a few years, they have still left their mark as the first mid-major in the expanded playoff format back in 2024. The Broncos have also won their last three conference championships and figure to be a perennial favorite in this conference as well.
Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Utah State left the Mountain West to join the Pac-12.
Gonzaga joined as a full member, and Texas State was announced just before the July 1st deadline.
The Pac-12 is negotiating new media rights deals, which are crucial for revenue generation amid the conference's expansion.
Affiliate members include Dallas Baptist for baseball, along with other less publicized sports like wrestling and men's soccer.
San Francisco boxing event on July 11 aims to break 85-year attendance record!
Brad Stevens Reflects on Celtics' Fatal Flaws After Playoff Exit
Trey McBride's record-breaking 2025 raises questions for 2026. How does he stack up against Brock Bowers?

Tom Brady on Tough Love: 'I Was Kind of an Asshole' to My Teammates
Joel Embiid will not play in Game 2 due to injuries; return date uncertain.
PWHL announces new team in Detroit, set to debut in December!
See every story in Sports â including breaking news and analysis.
Otherwise, expect the conference to be full of good, but not great, football programs. San Diego State and Fresno State have strong histories over the last decade or so, winning some conference championships of their own. Both programs have had some down years recently following coaching changes, but were on the upswing in 2025. Colorado State and Utah State have been inconsistent programs, but their best years should not be discounted. Texas State has won 23 games over the past three years, and the two holdovers, Oregon State and Washington State, have had past success, but are now figuring out how to navigate football spending on a budget.
It would be fair to expect the PAC to produce the Group of Six Champion about 40% of the time, with an average of five bowl teams every year. Thatâs the makings of a solid mid-major football conference, but this projection wonât be enough to unseat the American as the premier G6 conference.
The Mountain West has been regarded as a strong menâs basketball conference, but how does the new-look Pac-12 fare? It might be most helpful to sort teams into different tiers.
Gonzaga is the clear top program in the new PAC and was a huge get by the conference, finally luring them away from the West Coast Conference. Not only will they be in the NCAA Tournament every year, but they will also be a ranked team and one of the better seeds. Behind them, Utah State and San Diego State figure to go dancing nearly every season, and flirt with the rankings at different points in the season. While in some ways, the Bulldogs are in a class of their own, these teams form a strong trio at the top of the conference.
The Broncos and Rams are in the next tier. Those two teams are usually strong teams, but not in the way as the other three. They will help form a solid middle of the conference and be tough matchups every game. Boise State and Colorado State should also be slated to reach March Madness every few years.
The last four teams are more of a mixed bag. Oregon State and Texas State were basically .500 teams last season, but Washington State and Fresno State looked more like bottom-feeders, barely getting double-digit wins. However, all four of these teams have won 20 or more games within the past five seasons, and in the portal era, surprise positive seasons can happen as quickly as the sudden fallouts.
It seems like that the Pac-12 can have a floor as a three-bid league, with four half the time, and maybe five every once in a while, depending on the year. All of that leads to being quite the basketball conference.
This wasnât discussed in the MW version last year, but itâs worth bringing up this time around.
Oregon State has been a top baseball program for years, ranked nearly every season, despite being in a colder climate than many other top programs. Even as an independent, the Beavers have kept winning.
They will be joined by two solid baseball programs in Fresno State and San Diego State. The Bulldogs have won three conference championships since 2019, including the last two. The Aztecs havenât won a conference championship since 2018, but they have won five overall since 2013.
The PAC has also added Dallas Baptist as an affiliate member for baseball. The Patriots have made the NCAA Tourney 14 times since moving to the D1 level in 2004. Then thereâs Gonzaga, which was actually a PAC-12 baseball affiliate before the last round of realignment and has a pretty strong program. The Buldogs have been to the tournament eight times since 2013, most recently in 2021 and 2022.
The conference will obviously have the conference champ qualify for the Road to Omaha each year, and more often than not, it will be Oregon State. But with these other teams, if a second team can make the field of 64 every few years, that should be a significant feather in the Pac-12âs cap moving forward.
This part remains to be seen for both conferences. While both the Pac-12 and the Mountain West have announced new media deals, the total financial terms have not been released at this time.
This likely means that neither side is getting a kingâs ransom, as details would have leaked out by now. Members of the Pac-12 were optimistic in the early going, hoping to command annual payouts of $12-15 million for each school. However, failing to secure other premier football programs like Memphis or South Florida put a dent in negotiations.
It is fair to assume that the PAC will have a better annual payout than the Mountain West on the strength of its program brands. The question will be how much better? The larger the annual gap, the quicker schools will start widening the gap between and the schools in the MW. It could also determine how quickly they can turn a profit from any fees they may end up paying.
After all, the other major wild card is the ongoing lawsuits regarding the exit and poaching fees. This could end up being a key decision on whether the Pac-12 is in a good financial position and, ultimately, whether the decision to defect was a beneficial one.
The Pac-12 conference is named as such because it was originally composed of schools in states along the Pacific coast. As the old version of the conference grew, it moved inland, but preserved its west coast roots with its additions.
Entering this new era, it seems clear that the Pac-12 is once again prioritizing a geographically tight conference, albeit with one clear exception.
Legacy schools Oregon State and Washington State are in states that preserve the Pacific part of the conference, along with a trio of new schools, San Diego State, Fresno State, and Gonzaga. Two other schools, Boise State and Utah State, fit neatly within the conferenceâs northern geographical footprint. Boise is in the Pacific Northwest part of Idaho, located almost directly south of Pullman and Spokane. Similarly, Logan is not far from Boise, giving the conference five schools in close proximity.
Colorado State isnât far from Utah State, although it is pretty far inland when looking at a map. But there arenât any travel concerns, and most of the teams are already used to playing in Fort Collins. Considering the PAC had Colorado as a former member, having another school in that state is no issue for the conference.
Then there is the extreme outlier, Texas State. Located all the way in San Marcos, it is just under 1000 miles from the closest conference-mate (Colorado State), and over 2000 miles from the farthest team in the conference (Oregon State).
Summarizing all of this, the Pac-12 has two main hubs: the lower half of California and another in the Pacific Northwest or adjacent area. These two areas account for seven of the nine schools, with footprints in Colorado and Texas. While Texas is the area that doesnât fit neatly with the rest of the conference, it is providing a benefit. Getting a footprint in the Lone Star State will help teams recruit players from that area and could lead to more bowl tie-ins in Texas as well.
If comparing this version of the PAC to the old one that fell apart, there arenât many changes. They basically traded Arizona for Texas and Idaho while maintaining their previous states.
However, looking at this from the perspective of two schools in Oregon and Washington trying to rebuild a conference, the ânewâ inroads become more important to analyze.
Securing the SoCal area and California in general is vital for any Western Conference. When combined with Texas, the Pac-12 was able to get into the two biggest football states out west and two of the best recruiting states in the nation. Itâs nice they can remain in other solid states like Colorado and Utah, and while Idaho doesnât tip the scales much as an inroad, it does round off the Pacific Northwest region well.
Itâs a shame the conference couldnât get back into Arizona, and Nevada is also a missed opportunity, but the PAC checked off the most important boxes here.
The Mountain West had some strong historical and new rivalries, and quite a few are making their way over to the Pac-12 as well. A few of the notable rivalries:
There will also be opportunities for new rivalries. The internet is already discussing âThe Snake River Rivalryâ between Boise State and Washington State given their close proximity. Also, Colorado State and Utah State both have in-state rivals, but since they are neighboring states, perhaps they can become each otherâs in-conference rivals going forward. Plus, thereâs always the possibility that two teams play competitive games against each other on a yearly basis
Stability is tricky to define in the ever-changing world of college sports, but it remains essential for a conference to survive. There is no doubt that each and every school would attend a bigger conference if invited. However, that doesnât mean other conferences are looking to invite all Pac-12 teams.
Their Grant of Rights agreement is heavily redacted, but runs through June 30, 2031 (according to Chris Murray), with provisions if schools leave for a P4 conference. The two leftover schools (OSU and WSU) hold some extra power compared to others with both having to be part of the three-fourths majority to add new players. Plus, they get to distribute the Pac-12 war chest funds over the next three years how they see fit, including not having to share it at all.
The PAC is as stable as any mid-major conferene these days, which is to say, everyone will be keeping their options open, just like everyone else.