The Pac-12 never stopped fighting. Now it wants its seat back

It doesn’t take long for Teresa Gould to just pause for a moment and reflect.

“It's actually really hard to put into words and to really express kind of the emotion around what the last couple years have felt like,” she told USA TODAY Sports. “It's almost like a blur.”

After a few years in the Pac-12, she became the conference commissioner in March 2024 and was immediately tasked with figuring out its survival. Ten schools were months away from bolting the league. She was handing out conference championships to teams already out the door, all while the Pac-12 Network shut down with massive layoffs.

By the time the dust settled, the league — long promoted as the "Conference of Champions" — was down to just Washington State and Oregon State.

It could have folded. The Cougars and Beavers could have swallowed their pride and left for a stable home, albeit in a non-Power conference structure.

But rising from the ashes is the new Pac-12, and it would like the opportunity to re-introduce itself.

The 2026-27 season starts the new-look conference, with Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State, San Diego State, Texas State and Utah State joining. Oh, and don’t…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/sports/