The Mountain West Conference announced Tuesday that UTEP is joining the league in 2026.
“We are excited to welcome The University of Texas at El Paso to the Mountain West as the next step in our strategic membership initiatives,” Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez said in a statement. “The addition of UTEP restores historic rivalries with several of our member institutions within the geographic footprint and provides valuable exposure in the great State of Texas. We welcome and look forward to competing against the student-athletes of UTEP.”
UTEP President Heather Wilson said in the release that leaving Conference USA for the Mountain West “will be better for our student-athletes, our fans, and for El Paso.”
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
Basketball powerhouse Gonzaga will become the latest member of the rebuilt Pac-12 Conference, the school announced Tuesday.
Gonzaga will move from the West Coast Conference where it has dominated for most of the last quarter century into a conference that was being rebuilt around football, but should be pretty stout on the basketball court. Gonzaga will become the eighth member along with holdovers Washington State and Oregon State, and fellow newcomers Boise State, San Diego State, Fresno State, Utah State and Colorado State from the Mountain West.
Gonzaga will join the conference in all of its sports beginning July 1, 2026, as the Pac-12’s only private college up to this point.
“Today represents an exciting milestone for the Pac-12 as we welcome another outstanding institution with a rich history of success into our league,” Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould said.
Adding Gonzaga still leaves the Pac-12 in need of another football-playing member for CFP purposes. Gonzaga does not have a football program.
Last year, Washington State, Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State, Utah State and Gonzaga all reached the NCAA Tournament in men’s basketball and two seasons ago San Diego State reached the national championship game.
Gonzaga athletic director Chris Standiford said talks with the Pac-12 progressed “earnestly” last weekend and the school formally applied for membership Monday night — it was unanimously approved.
“We are excited to join a conference with great tradition and a commitment to innovating during this evolving time in collegiate athletics,” Standiford said.
The Pac-12 began to restock for a 2026 relaunch last month by nabbing the five schools from the Mountain West to join Washington State and Oregon State, the only two Pac-12 schools left after a dramatic round of realignment took effect this summer.
The Bulldogs have thrived in the WCC, reaching the NCAA Tournament every year it has been played since 1998, with two Final Four appearances and eight seasons of at least 30 victories.
The school has in the past talked to the Big East about conference affiliation, and the Big 12 had discussed adding Gonzaga to its strong men’s basketball lineup, as it did with UConn earlier this year.
The Zags have also become a perennial tournament team in women’s basketball.
“Following discussions with Pac-12 member presidents, I believe membership will represent an opportunity to participate in building a conference that imagines new, forward-thinking ways to support student-athletes in a rapidly changing collegiate sports landscape,” Gonzaga President Thayne McCulloh said.
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