Basketball powerhouse Gonzaga to join Pac-12 for 2026 season

The Pac-12 is adding Gonzaga as a member in all sports the school plays starting in July 2026, the conference announced Tuesday.

Gonzaga brings a rich basketball tradition to the refurbished Pac-12, as the Zags have reached the round of 16 of the men’s NCAA tournament nine consecutive times.

According to sources, talks intensified over the past three days. Gonzaga brings strong media value to the league from a basketball perspective, as it’s one of the sport’s top brands and most consistent winners. The Bulldogs have reached every men’s NCAA tournament that has been played since 1999 — a streak of 25 straight years.

Gonzaga has one of the country’s most respected men’s basketball coaches in Mark Few, who has been at the school since 2000, a run that includes a pair of Final Fours.

In a statement, West Coast Conference commissioner Stu Jackson said they had been notified of Gonzaga’s decision, saying Gonzaga had been a “valued member of the WCC for more than four decades.”

Gonzaga is the overhauled Pac-12’s eighth member, but it does not count as the league’s eighth full-time member, as the school doesn’t have football. The Pac-12 still needs to add another member to reach minimum conference thresholds.

Gonzaga will join San Diego State, Colorado State, Utah State, Fresno State, Boise State, Washington State and Oregon State for a strong regional basketball league.

The Pac-12 faces a crossroads of gauging the market for another member or hunkering down.

The Pac-12 has also had preliminary discussions with Grand Canyon and Saint Mary’s, both of which participated in in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament last year, but the conference is expected to remain focused on adding another football-playing school before shifting its attention back to basketball.

Gonzaga has been a member of the WCC since the 1989-90 season, and the departure is a significant blow to that league.