Pac-12 campus officials, conference executives to meet this week as 2026 bowl lineup remains in flux

Pac-12 executives are gathering this week at Oregon State for three days of meetings that will address a barrage of topics but are not expected to produce significant news.

Key outstanding issues in football and basketball, including postseason plans, remain weeks, if not months from resolution.

That's not for the lack of effort. The agenda is packed for the conference's nine athletic directors, who are meeting Tuesday with commissioner Teresa Gould and her leadership team. The university presidents will join the group Wednesday, with the presidents and Gould meeting exclusively on Thursday.

(OSU is hosting the event because president Jayathi Murthy is chair of the conference's board of directors.)

The agenda can effectively be separated into matters specific to the reconstituted conference's inaugural year, which begins July 1, and longer-haul topics like expansion.

The Pac-12 will have eight football-playing schools next fall and nine basketball members. An additional school competing in both sports would make scheduling easier, particularly in football, but there's no indication of imminent expansion.

Decisions likely to be announced later this spring include logistics for the flex weekend at the end of the regular season, plus the tiebreaker procedure, kickoff times and process for issuing injury reports.

There is no basketball schedule yet, although it will feature 16 conference games in a double round-robin format (home and away against each team).

And while the conference will stage its men's and women's tournaments in Las Vegas next spring, the facilities haven't been finalized. T-Mobile Arena, which staged the Pac-12 men's tournament for years, has been booked by the Big Ten in both 2027 (women) and 2028 (men).

Athletic directors and presidents also will receive updates on Pac-12 operational issues, NCAA matters and plans for broadcasting Olympic sports that aren't part of the announced media deals with CBS, The CW and USA Network.

But the most complicated issue of all is arguably the most pressing, at least for fans. And it's the matter the rebuilt conference has the least control over: the 2026 bowl lineup.

There have been two football seasons since the last major round of realignment devastated the former Pac-12 and engorged the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC.

But because of uncertainty over the future of the College Football Playoff, bowl executives opted for the path of least resistance and kept the affiliations in place.

As a result, legacy Pac-12 schools remained tied to Pac-12 games despite being members of new leagues. USC played in the Alamo Bowl last season, for example, while Arizona State was in the Sun Bowl.

But the 2026 season creates a dilemma. There have been no membership changes to the Power Four, but the Pac-12 and Mountain West have experienced drastic turnover.

Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Texas State and Utah State have joined the Pac-12, along with continuing members Oregon State and Washington State (and Gonzaga for basketball).

Meanwhile, Northern Illinois, North Dakota State and UTEP have joined the Mountain West.

If the bowl arrangements for 2024-25 remain in place for the upcoming season, it could create an awkward situation.

Imagine Washington State winning seven games and participating in the Sun Bowl due to the Pac-12's longstanding partnerships and San Diego State winning nine games and playing in the Potato Bowl, which is tied to the Mountain West.

The Sun Bowl is far more prestigious than the Potato Bowl, with a better TV window and more attractive opponent.

And there's another complication: The LA Bowl, which matched the Pac-12 against the Mountain West, no longer exists.

(The bowl was shuttered after Washington beat Boise State in December.)

The Pac-12 would prefer to adjust the tie-ins to account for membership changes, but that would disrupt partnerships for the power conferences that feature legacy Pac-12 schools.

The ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten (and SEC) are understandably hesitant to overhaul their bowl partnerships knowing that 2026 could be the final year of the 12-team College Football Playoff -- and that any expansion would force a restructuring of the bowl season.

Essentially, they don't want to uproot the entire structure twice simply to create a better situation for the Pac-12 and Mountain West.

Two leagues are different.

Everyone else is the same.

What's a bowl system to do?

Don't expect clarity until May, at the earliest.

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