The offseason is definitely not the slow season as yet another week delivered news impacting both the Pac-12 legacy schools and other universities across the region.
Here are three developments you might have missed.
1. NCAA nears decision on tournament expansion
Nitty gritty: The NCAA is expected to determine in the coming weeks whether to expand March Madness, according to ESPN, with both the men’s and women’s events potentially growing to either 72 or 76 teams for the 2025-26 season.
Why it matters: The tournament is a national treasure that generates revenue for every school in Division I and delights fans in every state. The men’s version hasn’t changed an iota since the First Four was added in 2011 and hasn’t changed in any material way since growing to 64 teams (from 53) four decades ago.
There is no public swell of support for expansion. Only the folks in charge, it seems, want to mess with a good thing.
To that end, Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould joined her peers on the pro-expansion bus:
In March, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark indicated he was “in favor of expansion to 76. I think that’s the right number.”
In May, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, arguably the most influential person in college sports, suggested he would support expansion: “If it works, from a presentation standpoint, if it works from a financial standpoint and it works from the teams involved standpoint, my interest is high.”
And earlier this week, Gould added her voice to the chorus.
“I am 100 percent supportive (of expansion),” Gould told the Hotline. “The devil’s in the details. What does the bracket look like? When and where do you play the games? What’s the impact on conference tournaments? But assuming it’s fiscally responsible, I’m always in favor of more postseason access for the student-athletes.”
The comments all came with essentially the same caveat: The money needs to be right.
In other words, expansion hinges on more cash from the tournament’s broadcast partners, CBS and Turner. Currently, each game played (except the championship) is worth about $350,000 to the participating teams’ conferences, paid out annually for six years. The commissioners don’t want the unit value to decrease with the additional teams, so the networks need to ante up.
Gould suggested the NCAA would not have waded this deep into the negotiations unless it had good reason to believe an agreement was within reach.
If that’s the case, March Madness is on the brink of expansion — whether we want it or not.
2. NBA Draft comes, goes, barely registers
Nitty gritty: It was not a productive draft for the Pac-12 legacy schools, with only two players, Washington State’s Cedric Coward and Arizona’s Carter Bryant, selected in the first round.
Why it matters: It’s not the worst performance in recent memory from the collection of 12 basketball programs, but it’s close. In both 2010 and 2023, the Pac-12 produced a single first-round pick, and they mustered just two selections a few times. But typically, the conference sent three or four players into the first round.
What’s more, the legacy schools produced only one second-round pick this week, Stanford’s Maxime Raynaud.
That’s it folks: 12 schools, 59 total draft slots over two rounds — and only three selections.
To a certain extent, it doesn’t matter. The schools are scattered across four conferences, three of which are based on the other side of the country.
But the paucity of high-level talent across those 12 programs reflects the second-rate state of college basketball in the West. Only one Pac-12 legacy school, Arizona, reached the Sweet 16, this spring. (That was the case in 2024, as well.)
Yes, Brigham Young had a terrific season; Gonzaga remains highly relevant on the national scene; and San Diego State has performed well in March over the years.
But the Pac-12 legacy schools, which play a vital role in the quality of play across the region, are struggling. USC, UCLA and Oregon have regressed. Washington has been bad for years. The Bay Area schools are irrelevant. Colorado and Arizona State offer little more than an occasional flash.
The Pac-12 wasn’t a very good basketball league in the final years of its previous existence, realignment didn’t spark newfound success and, for that reason, the sport is worse off along the West Coast.
3. Pac-12 offers membership to Texas State
Nitty gritty: The conference extended an invitation to Texas State on Thursday and expects the Bobcats to accept on Monday, following a meeting of the university’s governing board.
Why it matters: To reach certification requirements, the rebuilt Pac-12 needed an eighth all-sports member before it officially comes online next July.
That critical threshold has been met with the Bobcats (assuming they accept) joining newcomers Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State, plus Gonzaga, which doesn’t play football.
The development allows the Pac-12 to begin piecing together an operational plan for the 2026-27 competition season. Atop the to-do list: Create a football schedule and determine whether the conference will stage a championship game.
(The Pac-12 must complete its media rights negotiations, as well. On Monday, it announced CBS will become the primary partner starting in 2026. But at least one, and perhaps three more networks could purchase rights to the remaining inventory.)
Yes, sure: Commissioner Teresa Gould could engage in further football expansion. But our hunch is that she pumps the brakes and moves forward with eight.
There isn’t an obvious, easy option.
UTSA, North Texas, UNLV, Memphis — they all carry legal, logistical or financial complications.
Also, UNLV already rebuffed the Pac-12’s overtures last fall. (A gigantic mistake on the Rebels’ part, in our estimation.)
That doesn’t mean the Pac-12 is finished with its reboot, however. The Hotline views an eventual basketball-only addition as a reasonable possibility.
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