Pac-12 Conference

The Pac-12 Conference is a group of universities who play each other in football, basketball, and other sports.  It has won more national championships than any other conference.

The history of the Pac-12 started in 1915 with the founding of the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) by four schools in West Coast states. By 1928, the membership grew to 10 schools. One of these members left in 1950. In 1959, after years of infighting between members and a series of "pay-for-play" scandals in the 1950s, the PCC disbanded. Four of its members—the University of California, Berkeley (California), the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Southern California (USC), and the University of Washington—then formed the Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU) under a new charter that still functions. Another PCC member, Stanford University, joined a month later. By 1964, three more PCC members, the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, and Washington State University, joined. In 1968, the conference changed its name to the Pacific-8 Conference, abbreviated as Pac-8.

The conference name changed to Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) in 1978 when Arizona's two largest universities, the University of Arizona and Arizona State University, joined. In 2011, with the arrival of the University of Colorado Boulder (Colorado) and the University of Utah, the conference name became Pac-12 Conference (not "Pacific").

Despite the PCC and Pac-12 operating under different charters, the Pac-12 includes the PCC in its own history. 

After 10 of the previous 12 members left in 2024, the conference now has only 2 members. Seven new members will join in July 2026.

 Current members 
 School  Location  Founded  Type  Nickname  Joined Oregon State University Corvallis, Oregon 1868 Public Beavers 1915 1964  Washington State University Pullman, Washington 1890 Public Cougars 1915 1962   

 Future members 
Gonzaga is the only future member without a football team, having last played the sport in 1941.
 School  Location  Founded  Type  Nickname  Joining  Current conference Boise State University Boise, Idaho 1932 Public Broncos 2026 Mountain West Conference  Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado 1870 Public Rams 2026 Mountain West Conference  (Fresno State) Fresno, California 1911 Public Bulldogs 2026 Mountain West Conference  Gonzaga University Spokane, Washington 1887 Private Bulldogs 2026 West Coast Conference  San Diego State University San Diego, California 1897 Public Aztecs 2026 Mountain West Conference  Texas State University San Marcos, Texas 1899 Public Bobcats 2026 Sun Belt Conference  Utah State University Logan, Utah 1888 Public Aggies 2026 Mountain West Conference 

Former members
No school had left the Pac-12 from its founding as the AAWU in 1959 until 2024, when 10 of its 12 schools left. Two members of the PCC, Idaho and Montana, were not invited to join the AAWU or its successors.
 Institution  Location  Founded  Joined  Left  Type  Nickname  Currentconference  Missoula, Montana 1893 1924 1950 Public Grizzlies Big Sky  Moscow, Idaho 1889 1922 1959 Vandals  Eugene, Oregon 1876 1915 Ducks Big Ten 1964 2024  Seattle, Washington 1861 1915  Huskies  Los Angeles, California 1919 1928 Bruins  Tucson, Arizona 1885 1978 Wildcats Big 12 Arizona State University Tempe, Arizona Sun Devils  Boulder, Colorado 1876 2011 Buffaloes  Salt Lake City, Utah 1850 Utes | Berkeley, California
| 1868
| 1915
| Golden Bears
| rowspan=2 | ACC
|-
| Stanford University| Stanford, California
| 1891
| 1918
| rowspan=2 | Private
| Cardinal
|-
| ''' Los Angeles, California 1880 1922 Trojans Big Ten

 Footnotes 

References