Pac-12 Schools List: How many colleges form the Pacific-12 conference?

The Pacific-12 is one of four Power Five conferences that will be affected by realignment next season. The conference will return to 10 teams for the first time since 2011.

What is the history of the Pac-12?

The Pac-12 was initially formed in 1915 as the Pacific Coast Conference. The California Bears, Oregon Ducks, Oregon State Beavers and Washington Huskies made up the conference.

Two years later, the Washington State Cougars became the fifth team to join the PCC followed by the Stanford Cardinal in 1918.

The Idaho Vandals and USC Trojans both joined the conference in 1922 followed by the Montana Grizzlies two years later. The UCLA Bruins were the last team to join the PCC, as they joined in 1928.

The conference changed its name to the Athletic Association of Western Universities in 1959. The Vandals left the AAWU in 1959 followed by the Grizzlies the following year.

By 1968, the conference changed its name to the Pacific-8. In 1978, the Arizona Wildcats and Arizona State Sun Devils joined the conference prompting a name change to the Pacific-10.

That lasted for 33 years until the Colorado Buffaloes and Utah Utes joined the conference in 2011. The Pac-12 name was adopted following their addition and remains that way today.

How will conference realignment affect the Pac-12?

The UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans are set to leave the conference on July 1, 2024, as they will depart for the Big Ten. Furthermore, six other schools have been in contact with or targeted by other conferences. The Big Ten is also reportedly targeting the Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies.

Furthermore, the Arizona Wildcats, Arizona State Sun Devils, Colorado Buffaloes and Utah Utes have all reportedly been in contact with the Big 12.

While it is unclear if those schools will follow the Bruins and Trojans in departing the conference, if they do, the Pac-12 will likely lose their Power Five status as they would be down to just four teams.

Pac-12 is currently the only Power Five conference that remains without a long-term media rights deal. Conference officials have reportedly been targeting the San Diego State Aztecs and SMU Mustangs as replacements for UCLA and USC.

While nothing is official as of yet, aside from the Bruins and Trojans departing, the Pac-12 remains one of the most interesting conferences to keep an eye on as a lot can change over the next 12 to 24 months.