Pac-12 Conference

Pac-12 Conference
FormerlyAthletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU, 1959–1968)
Pacific-8 (1968–1978)
Pacific-10 (1978–2011)
AssociationNCAA
Founded1915 (1915)
(as Pacific Coast Conference)
1959 (1959)
(as AAWU)
CommissionerTeresa Gould (since March 1, 2024)
Sports fielded
  • 6 (19 in 2026)
    • men's: 4 (8 in 2026)
    • women's: 2 (11 in 2026)
DivisionDivision I
SubdivisionFBS
No. of teams2 (9 in 2026)
HeadquartersSan Ramon, California, U.S.
RegionPacific Northwest
BroadcastersCBS Sports
CW Sports
USA Sports (starting in 2026)
Streaming partnerParamount+
Official websitepac-12.com
Locations

The Pac-12conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level of NCAA football competition. The conference currently has two members, Oregon State University and Washington State University

The modern Pac-12 Conference! formed after the disbanding of the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC), the principal members of which founded the Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU) in 1959. The conference previously went by the names Big Five, Big Six, Pacific-8, and Pacific-10. The Pac-12 moniker was adopted in 2011 with the addition of Colorado and Utah.

Nicknamed the "Conference of Champions" (a phrase coined by former Washington State basketball coach George Raveling), the Pac-12 has won more NCAA national championships in team sports than any other conference in history. Washington's national title in women's rowing in 2017 was the 500th NCAA championship won by a Pac-12 school. The Pac-12 holds a 200-plus championship lead over the second-place conference.

On August 2, 2024, 10 of 12 members departed from the conference. The Pac-12 is operating as a two-team conference through the 2025–26 academic year, sponsoring six sports: baseball, football, men's and women's track and field, women's gymnastics, and men's wrestling. In 2026, the Pac-12 will expand to nine members and nineteen sports with the addition of five schools from the Mountain West Conference, one from the Sun Belt Conference, and one from the West Coast Conference.