Greg McElroy evaluates Pac-12 'rebirth' after CBS media rights deal, adding Texas State

The new-look Pac-12 will debut next season with a shiny new media rights deal with CBS and a bevy of new programs within its ranks. Nine teams will be within its ranks when the conference’s “rebirth” takes place.

On July 1, 2026, the Pac-12 will officially welcome the additions of Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Texas State, Utah State and Gonzaga. Washington State and Oregon State will remain in the league. One year away from its reformation, ESPN’s Greg McElroy evaluated the where the conference stands with its current members.

“They are a really strong G5 league. It’s not really that dissimilar to the American Athletic Conference,” McElroy said on his show, Always College Football. “I think it has a chance to be the best G5 league when you look at some of the additions that they’ve made with Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno, San Diego State.

“I mean, these are teams that have won a ton of football games in the last handful of years. The possibility of adding Texas State, I think, also makes things very interesting as far as where they’re at from a footprint standpoint.”

Adding the likes of Texas State to its ranks earlier this summer is another tip of the cap to those trying to put the conference back on the map. With nine teams, however, the Pac-12 may open its ranks to more teams in the near future given that some of the top conferences in the country are pushing 16 or more teams in 2025. It may take some time for them to regain the status they once held, however.

Moreover, McElroy believes that the Pac-12’s relationship with CBS should secure the conference’s status as the main player within the Group of 5 ranks for the time being. Of course, it’s a step down from where the conference was at before its members scattered across the NCAA in 2024’s great conference realignment. McElroy’s benchmark is $10 million per program if the Pac-12 want to be considered the best option for players that aren’t joining a Power Four conference.

“I’m not willing to go as far as to say just because they’re the Pac-12, and they were once Power Five, that they’re back in the Power Five. No, I don’t see that,” McElroy said. “But I do think that this could be the destination G5 league every single year when looking at possible playoff contenders.”