The Pac-12 Conference has signed an extension to continue its media rights partnership with CBS Sports through the 2030-31 season. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Pac-12 commissioner is ready for expansion: 'We’re at that point'

Originally posted on Gonzaga Bulldogs on SI
By Cole Forsman | Last updated Jun 24, 2025 2:54 PM ET

The Pac-12 has signed a new media rights contract with CBS Sports, extending their current TV partnership through the 2030-31 NCAA calendar season.

More announcements regarding other media partners are expected to be made as well, though for at least the time being, league commissioner Teresa Gould and her team can finally shift their full attention to courting another football-playing school to the conference.

“I’ve been saying all along that once we get our media rights to completion, or to near-completion — enough where we have a sense of who our patterns are and what the economics look like — we would then pivot back to our membership strategy," Gould said in a recent interview with Yogi Roth of the Y-Option Substack. "And I think we’re at that point."

Gould's sentiments about expansion correspond with Monday's reporting from Yahoo! Sports' Ross Dellenger regarding the Pac-12 and Texas State. Per Dellenger, the two parties are working toward a membership agreement that would start in the fall of 2026. Gould didn't mention the Bobcats by name during her interview, though it's been understood for some time now that Texas State is the heavy favorite to come aboard as the league's ninth member.

All eight members of the Pac-12 have signed their Grant of Rights and membership agreements, cementing July 1, 2026 as the official date in which Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, San Diego State and Utah State join Oregon State and Washington State to form a new version of the once 100-year-old league. However, the league must add at least one more football-playing institution before that same date to reach the NCAA’s eight-team requirement for FBS conference status.

In the wake of its revival, the Pac-12's standing in the college athletics landscape has become rather unique. The league has lost autonomous status following the departure of 10 schools to the ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten, though it is still involved in monumental changes happening in college sports with regard to the House settlement. According to Dellenger, league administrators are scheduled to visit lawmakers this week in Washington, D.C., as industry executives continue lobbying for a federal college sports bill.

The exact financials of the Pac-12's media deal were not disclosed, though Dellenger reports the final annual per-school figure is expected to be lower than what was previously projected last year ($8-15 million).