The Pac-12 is back (sort of)! What to know about the latest round of conference realignment
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Kyle Bonagura, ESPN Staff Writer
In a surprising move Wednesday night, news emerged that Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State will leave the Mountain West Conference to join Oregon State and Washington State in the Pac-12 prior to the 2026-27 academic year.
This latest round of conference realignment stems from the collapse of the Pac-12 last summer, which was put into motion the year before when UCLA and USC announced they were leaving for the Big Ten.
Here’s what to know about the moves.
Jump to:
What set this in motion? | Finances
Value of the conference | What other schools could join?
What’s next for the Mountain West
What set this in motion?
When Oregon State and Washington State sued the Pac-12 last year for control of the conference board in the wake of eight schools departing, they spelled out in legal filings that they wanted to be able to rebuild the conference. That didn’t mean they definitely planned to execute such a plan. But it has always been an appealing option, even if it was going to be complicated to pull off.
The NCAA requires conferences to have at least eight members, and after the Pac-12 fell apart, it was afforded a two-year grace period to exist below the minimum. That timeline informed how quickly the conference had to move in order to continue to exist.
What do the financials look like?
This is part of why several sources within the industry were doubtful this particular path forward was likely. The way the MWC bylaws are written, departing schools must pay an $18 million exit fee if they give two years’ notice. That number doubles if it’s less than that. The departing schools here expect to owe $18 million each, which is more than $70 million collectively, plus the $40-plus million the Pac-12 will owe the Mountain West in poaching fees that were part of the conferences’ scheduling agreement for this season.
The idea that the Pac-12 (OSU and WSU) and the schools leaving the MWC would commit that type of money was dismissed by many within the industry. Over the past year, multiple sources referred to those fees as a nonstarter for this type of rebuild. Obviously, they were mistaken.
The Pac-12 is expected to be in position to help the schools with the exit fees, in part due to withheld media rights distribution fees to departed members and other conference assets.
How valuable will the new conference be worth to media rights partners?
Here’s where it gets even more interesting. These six schools would not have paid the MWC more than $100 million just to get to this point if they did not feel confident the potential for increased media rights payments would make it worth it on the back end. Keep in mind, too, that it’s likely the MWC will try to withhold media rights distributions for the departing schools over the next two years, as it did when BYU, TCU and Utah all left in 2011 and was set to be the case when San Diego State previously flirted with a move to the Pac-12 last year.
The departing schools are expecting to receive somewhere in the neighborhood north of $10 million annually in the Pac-12. How accurate that projection is remains to be seen, but it the expectation is that it would be more than double what the MWC currently distributes.
Who else will the Pac-12 target?
It will likely aim high and move down the list. Cal and Stanford are the dream acquisitions, but making that happen would be extremely complicated given they just went to the ACC, which is a party in four lawsuits relating to the potential departures of Clemson and Florida State. It’s worth wondering, though, if Cal and Stanford might have any remorse about their decisions to join the ACC given they are receiving just a 30% share of the league’s media rights distributions over the next seven years (in 2022-23, the ACC distributed an average of $44.8 million per school). While the ACC schools are closer academic peers than what the revamped Pac-12 will look like, how much that really matters in the big picture is up for debate.
The more realistic targets are Tulane and Memphis. But those two will need a much clearer understanding of the financial picture to leave the AAC than the threshold used by the four MWC schools. There would be appeal in building the top football league outside the Power 4, but it would still have to make financial sense. UTSA‘s location makes it a good fit.
Among the remaining MWC schools, UNLV is still viewed as a likely candidate to also move. It checks all the boxes, but that it wasn’t in this first wave is telling. The MWC’s position is much weaker today than it was yesterday, and that could be used as leverage to bring in UNLV — or other MWC schools — at smaller yearly distribution rates, a la Cal and Stanford in the ACC. Air Force figures to be the other MWC school that has the most appeal.
What’s next for the Mountain West?
As things stand, its membership will be at eight in two years: Air Force, Hawai’i, Nevada, New Mexico, San José State, UNLV, Utah State and Wyoming. One more defection would take the conference below the required NCAA minimum for which it — like the Pac-12 has now — would get a two-year grace period to grow back to at least eight.
There had been previous speculation that members could try to dissolve the conference — a process that requires a 75% vote — in order to avoid exit fees to join the Pac-12, but that would mean nine teams would have had to be on board. It’s even less likely now given the departing members are not expected to be able to vote.
The money from the Pac-12 raid could help the conference rebuild — using the Pac-12 blueprint — but it’s still too early to say what it will look like long term.
BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox honored longtime radio voice Joe Castiglione, who is calling his final game Sunday, with an on-field pregame ceremony.
Castiglione, 74, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this summer with the Ford C. Frick Award, has been the team’s lead radio voice since 1983.
During the ceremony, the team played highlights of his calls over videos of the American League championship team in 1986, and Boston’s World Series title teams in 2004, ’07, ’13 and ’18 on the center-field scoreboard.
Members of those teams came onto the field during the ceremony. Hall of Famer Jim Rice highlighted the ’86 group and Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez was one of the ’04 former players.
Castiglione referred to his call ending the ’04 championship that broke an 86-year title drought, when he thanked the fans. It came on a ground ball back to pitcher Keith Foulke, who was also there to represent that team.
“I will miss being your eyes and ears,” he said. “For 42 years, all I can say is: Can you believe it!”
Jackie Bradley, the 2018 ALCS MVP, caught a ceremonial first pitch from Castiglione.
“Forty-two years is a long, long time for someone to be working every single day to go through the struggles and the successes, the travel and the lifestyle, and always have a smile,” Martinez said. “Those are the kind of people that deserve all the respect that we are giving him today.”
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu handed him a proclamation declaring Sept. 29, 2024, as “Joe Castiglione Day” in Boston. Team president Sam Kennedy presented him with letters from Fenway Park’s infamous Green Monster that read: “CASTIG” in white with a green background color of the Monster.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora, a member of the ’07 team, was also on the field and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, representing the ’13 squad, was on the field as well.
DENVER — Charlie Blackmon trotted out to center field all alone and stood above the giant No. 19 that was etched into the grass at Coors Field.
The longtime Colorado Rockies outfielder known for his bushy beard tipped his cap to the cheering fans one last time as a player on Sunday before a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
It was Charlie Blackmon Day at the ballpark as the four-time All-Star waved goodbye to the game after 14 seasons with the Rockies, the only team he has ever known. Blackmon was back in a familiar spot on the lineup card, too — starting in center field and batting leadoff. This was the first time he’s been in center in six years.
“Literally, the best teammate I’ve ever had,” third baseman Ryan McMahon said. “He’s the most unselfish person I’ve been around. The total pro’s pro.”
A second-round draft pick of the Rockies in 2008, Blackmon blossomed into one of just 50 players in major league history to amass more than 1,800 hits, 325 doubles, 225 home runs, 65 triples and 800 RBIs. He was the NL batting champion in 2017 when he hit .331. He leaves as the franchise’s all-time leader in triples and second behind Hall of Famer Todd Helton in games played, runs scored, doubles and total bases.
Blackmon long has been a fan favorite — along with his catchy walk-up song, “Your Love,” by The Outfield, which never failed to get the crowd singing along. Not only that, but his determined play earned respect from dugout to dugout.
“For me, he’s everything I would want in a baseball player — outside of that big, old, ugly beard,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts cracked. “You look at the last, call it 10 to 12 years, he’s one of probably my top five players I’ve enjoyed watching play.”
This sunny afternoon was all about Blackmon. His wife, Ashley, and two young kids, Josie and Wyatt, joined him on the field for a pregame ceremony, where he was presented with a plaque. He also received a Toyota truck that had been perched on top of a sign in left field. His kids each threw a pitch to him.
On the way into the park, a fan held up a sign that read, “Let Chuck pitch.” Probably won’t happen, manager Bud Black said before the game. He did ask Blackmon if he wanted to carry out the lineup card to the umpires, but Blackmon politely declined.
After all, he had a game to get prepare for.
Black did have a emotional meeting with Blackmon in his office before first pitch.
“We hugged,” Black said. “And then we sort of pulled away, and we smiled at each other and said: ‘Hey, I’m going to see you again. This is not it.'”
Blackmon announced his decision to retire last Monday. He’s expected to remain with the organization in a non-playing role.
Translation: He will still be around come spring training.
“We’ll be like: ‘Hey, Charlie, you’re on field four. You’ve got the outfielders,'” Black joked.
Initially, Blackmon balked at taking the field by himself for the start of the game. He doesn’t need — or crave — being the center of attention.
“I go, ‘Chuck, you’re going to run out to center, but everybody’s not going to go out there with you,'” Black recounted. “He goes, ‘How long am I going to be out there by myself?’ I’m like, ’20, 30 seconds maybe.’ He goes, ‘OK, but not any longer than that.”
Blackmon took the field to applause and the playing of “Centerfield” by John Fogerty. His teammates — and the Dodgers — clapped for him on the top rail of the dugout. He played the first inning in center before moving over to right for the second.
“The way I play this game,” McMahon said, “it’s all based off things I’ve learned from him.”
Blackmon singled up the middle in the third inning and was subbed out for a pinch runner. He received another ovation from the fans.
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