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The Pac-12 expansion is going to be the primary target for new commissioner Teresa Gould, as the conference is sitting with only two members. However, the conference is going to be playing lesser competition compared to how dominant the Conference of Champions looked in 2023.
It was announced in 2023 that 10 of the 12 teams in the conference would be leaving before the 2024 college football season. As a result, the Oregon State Beavers and Washington State Cougars, the two remaining schools, came up with an agreement with the Mountain West Conference for scheduling purpose.
The Mountain West provided a press release announcing the scheduling agreement and how it would affect their conference action:
"All 12 MW teams will play seven traditional Conference football games in addition to one contest against either Washington State or Oregon State for a total of eight games (four home and four away). ... The Mountain West is currently working on the football schedule and will release matchups soon."
This could be a glimpse into the future, as the Pac-12 expansion could simply be a merger with the Mountain West Conference while keeping the Pac-12 assets. It will be interesting to see if that becomes the new normal.
What could the Pac-12 expansion look like in 2024 and beyond?
New commissioner Teresa Gould has her hands full with the Pac-12 expansion, as the conference needs to add new members to stay intact.
The most likely scenario would be a merger with a conference like the Mountain West to obtain their programs and media rights contract. That would benefit both sides, as the Mountain West will get elevated into a Power Five conference.
The Conference of Champions has the assets to provide the history and name value, but it has one thing that's more significant: an automatic bid into the College Football Playoff.
If the Mountain West doesn'y want to be part of the conference, expect to see multiple Atlantic Coast Conference schools and the bottom tier of the other Power Five conferences to join.
The automatic bid into the CFP will entice programs to join a lesser conference and eventually give Gould decisions to make.
