The 2025 college football season is officially in the rearview mirror, and now all eyes turn to the new-look Pac-12. With just eight months until kickoff, the conference faces a pivotal stretch.
There’s still no finalized schedule, no championship game site, no tiebreaker rules, and no bowl tie-ins. That’s a lot of blanks to fill in - and fast.
But help is on the way. University presidents, athletic directors, and Pac-12 executives, led by commissioner Teresa Gould, are set to meet this week in the Bay Area for a three-day summit that should bring much-needed clarity to the conference's immediate future.
Here’s a breakdown of what’s on the table - and why it matters.
2026 Football Schedule: Three Paths, One Decision
The Pac-12 held off on finalizing its 2026 football schedule while waiting for the College Football Playoff to sort out its format. That clarity came late last week when the CFP confirmed it will stick with a 12-team format - at least for now - after expansion talks between the SEC and Big Ten hit a wall.
That decision has ripple effects. As in recent years, one automatic playoff spot will go to the highest-ranked champion from outside the power conferences. That’s a big deal for the Pac-12, which is trying to reestablish its footing after the recent wave of realignment.
With just eight football members heading into 2026, the Pac-12 is weighing three scheduling models:
- Seven-game conference schedule - Each team would need to find five non-conference opponents. That’s a tough sell both financially and logistically, and it’s considered the least likely option.
- Eight-game schedule with one home-and-home series - Each team would play one conference rival twice (once at home, once away), trimming the non-conference load to four games.
- Hybrid model - Still features a home-and-home series but only counts seven games toward the conference standings. One of those matchups would essentially be an exhibition in terms of title implications.
The expectation is that one of these formats will be chosen this week, though the actual schedule may not be released until February. That delay would allow individual schools time to review and sign off on the final version.
Championship Game: Neutral Site or Campus Showdown?
Another key decision involves the location of the conference championship game. The Pac-12 has options here too. It could stick with a neutral site - Las Vegas is an obvious candidate - or go with a campus-hosted format where the top seed earns home-field advantage.
Either way, fans and schools alike are waiting for an announcement, which could come as early as next month.
Bowl Game Tie-Ins: A Longer Timeline
The bowl picture is a little murkier. Because postseason tie-ins require coordination with both bowls and other conferences, this piece of the puzzle is expected to take more time. The Pac-12 is working behind the scenes to secure its spot in the postseason lineup, but don’t expect immediate answers.
Looking Ahead to 2027: Expansion Still in Play
Don’t hold your breath for a 2027 schedule just yet. The Pac-12 is keeping its options open as it explores expansion for the 2027-28 academic year. Ideally, the league would add at least one more football member, which would allow for a cleaner eight-team round-robin format.
There’s also the possibility that the College Football Playoff could expand again - potentially to 16 or even 24 teams - so the Pac-12 is wisely building in flexibility before locking anything in beyond next season.
Basketball: Round-Robin Returns
On the hardwood, the Pac-12 is expected to operate as a nine-team basketball conference in 2026-27. That means a true round-robin schedule: 16 conference games per team.
That’s half of the regular-season slate, thanks to the NCAA’s decision last summer to increase the maximum number of games to 32 starting in 2026-27. (The current limit is 31.)
As for the postseason, both the men’s and women’s Pac-12 tournaments are expected to remain in Las Vegas - a familiar and fan-friendly home for the conference.
Jersey Patches: New Revenue Stream Incoming
In a move that could have a big financial impact, the NCAA Division I cabinet recently approved the use of commercial jersey patches. That opens the door for schools to generate new revenue - potentially millions - at a time when athletic departments are looking for every dollar they can find to support revenue-sharing models and stay competitive.
The Pac-12 still needs to decide whether patch deals will be handled centrally by the conference or left to individual schools. Either way, this is a development worth watching.
Olympic Sports: Possible Expansion
Right now, the Pac-12 lists 18 sponsored sports on its website, including football and men’s and women’s basketball. But that number could grow. The conference is considering adding one or two more Olympic sports, though no decisions have been made yet.
Federal Legislation and NCAA Governance: The Big Picture
One of the weightiest agenda items - and arguably the most complex - involves the future of college sports governance. There’s a growing push for federal legislation that could bring consistency to NIL rules across states or even offer antitrust protection for schools and conferences.
At the heart of the issue is whether college athletes should be classified as employees - a move that would allow them to unionize and collectively bargain. Legal experts say that could be the only way to bring order to the current chaos surrounding NIL and the transfer portal, but schools and conferences have been hesitant to go down that road.
This is a conversation that won’t be resolved in one meeting, but it’s one the Pac-12 - and all of college sports - can’t afford to ignore.
The Pac-12 enters 2026 at a crossroads, with major decisions looming across football, basketball, and beyond. This week’s meetings in the Bay Area won’t solve everything, but they’ll go a long way in shaping what the next chapter of the conference looks like. For a league trying to reassert itself on the national stage, the clock is ticking - and the stakes couldn’t be higher.