One of the best basketball programs in the nation is joining Boise State in the Pac-12
The Pac-12 earned perhaps the largest feather in its new cap Tuesday morning with Gonzaga committing to join the conference in 2026.
The Pac-12 received a formal application from Gonzaga on Monday and swiftly agreed. Gonzaga, located in Spokane, arrives from the West Coast Conference, where it has competed since 1979.
The decision brings the number of teams in the reborn Pac-12 up to eight. However, because Gonzaga doesn’t have a football program, the conference still needs to find one more football-playing school to meet the eight-school minimum required by the NCAA for an FBS conference.
The addition of Gonzaga, along with Utah State’s addition last week, means the following schools are part of the new Pac-12: Boise State, Washington State, Oregon State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Utah State, Colorado State and Gonzaga.
Like the rest of the incoming members, Gonzaga will join the conference July 1, 2026.
Gonzaga gives the reborn league one of the nation’s best men’s basketball programs and a highly successful women’s program.
Gonzaga men’s basketball has a national-best record of 148-21 (.876) since the 2019-20 season and has made two trips to the national championship game, in 2017 and 2021 (both losses). The Bulldogs are also the only program in the country to appear in each of the past nine Sweet 16s, matching the longest streak since the NCAA Tournament expanded in 1985.
Boise State and Gonzaga have played each other just twice in men’s basketball: a 71-55 Gonzaga win in Spokane in 1999 and a 94-69 win for the Broncos in Boise in 2000.
Gonzaga’s women’s basketball team is coming off a 32-4 season and has won a program-record 36 straight home games.
The addition of Gonzaga helps build the Pac-12’s strong basketball presence. San Diego State made the 2023 men’s basketball championship game before falling 76-59 to Connecticut.
Boise State has appeared in three straight NCAA Tournaments.
This story was originally published October 1, 2024 at 10:02 AM with the headline "One of the best basketball programs in the nation is joining Boise State in the Pac-12."
