Halfway there, Pac-12 is living on a prayer: What's next after 4 Mountain West schools agree to join in 2026?

The Pac is back, baby! In true "Pac-12 After Dark" fashion, news began to break overnight that the once-dying conference was in the process of poaching four schools from the Mountain West conference.

Thursday morning, that news was official with the Pac-12 announcing it would be adding Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State in 2026.

Those four would join Oregon State and Washington State who decided to stick it out after the 10 other schools darted for greener pastures in the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC conferences in 2023.

Meet the new kids on the block

Boise State: A member of the Mountain West since 2011, the Broncos are best-known for their David role against college football Goliaths, particularly their 2007 Fiesta Bowl upset over then-No.7 Oklahoma. It's almost poetic that they're finally in the Pac-12 after boasting a 3-1 record over Oregon all-time.

Colorado State: The Rams have been Mountain West members since 1999. Fans might recognize them from their 2023 near-upset of Deion Sanders and Colorado, which needed overtime to settle. Some notable football alums include Trey McBride, Michael Gallup and Shaq Barrett.

Fresno State: A member since 2012, Fresno State offers a football program that has shot up in notoriety since the days of Derek Carr and Davante Adams. The Bulldogs have won four conference championships since joining the Mountain West (2012, 2013, 2018, 2022).

San Diego State: Another member since 1999, it could offer the most athletically besides Boise State. The Aztecs have won three conference championships in football and 12 combined tournament and regular season championships in basketball.

Is the Pac-12 done adding teams?

The short answer: No. The Pac-12, like every other NCAA conference, has to have at least eight members. It's currently in the middle of a two-year grace period since losing nearly all its members this year. So, expect the Pac-12 to be exploring further additions in the coming months.

With the addition of the four Mountain West schools in 2026, the Pac-12 will be on the hunt for at least two more to round out the eight minimum. Who it could be targeting is currently unknown but likely suspects include the American Athletic Conference's Tulane and Memphis.

Others could include UNLV, Texas State or even reaching into the upper echelon of FCS schools like North Dakota State, South Dakota State and Montana State.

It also wouldn't be out of the question for it to make a renewed effort at adding Gonzaga and/or Saint Mary's as basketball-only members, especially after the Big 12 and Big East have shown no interest.

What happens to the Mountain West now?

A conference that was once seen as a possible replacement to the Pac-12 altogether in the Power 5, now is in danger of becoming just as obsolete.

The Pac-12 and Mountain West left things on an icy note when both let a key deadline pass in attempts to renew their football scheduling agreement past this year. The Pac-12 already has a basketball scheduling agreement with the West Coast Conference through 2026.

The Mountain West will likely also be looking to add teams to re-bolster its athletic prowess in the face of this setback. It too could try looking at top FCS teams or even pick apart the Western Athletic Conference which has already seen two members leave for the West Coast Conference.

It's unclear whether the Pac-12 will be re-welcomed as a power conference but it's unlikely that question will be answered within the next couple years.