SAN DIEGO – The ascension saga of San Diego State has entered a new epoch as the Pac-12 officially welcomed the Aztecs to the fold this morning.
After a winding road that has seen the Scarlet and Black compete in DI as members of the Western Athletic Conference and the Mountain West, with aborted moves to the Big East and the Pac-12 along the way, SDSU is now a member of the 111-year-old conference.
“Today is a momentous day for San Diego State athletics, the institution, and the entirety of Aztec Nation!,” Director of Athletics John David Wicker said in a message shared by SDSU’s Department of Athletics.
“Entry into the Pac-12 ushers in the next great era of Aztec Athletics. Our coaches, staff and student-athletes are excited for the competitive opportunities that await us as we look to win Pac-12 championships!”
The Aztecs join the newly reconstituted Pac-12, which has been anchored by Oregon State and Washington State, as well as fellow new members Boise State, Colorado State, Gonzaga (as a non-football member), Fresno State, Texas State and Utah State.
Women’s soccer will be the first program to open wearing the Pac-12 emblem on their uniforms, as they will host USC in an exhibition match on Wednesday, Aug. 5 and will also be the first to play a regular season contest when they open at UC San Diego with kickoff time TBA on Wednesday, Aug. 12, as well as the first to host a home match when they open against Portland State on Sunday, Aug. 16. Start times for all matches are TBA.
The first eight days of October will feature the first home conference contests for the four fall sports:
- Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026 will see the first Scarlet and Black Pac-12 game as women’s soccer hosts Boise State at the Sports Deck, with the start time to be announced.
- Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026 has football welcoming Texas State to Snapdragon Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff in their third home game of the season.
- Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026 will be men’s soccer’s second Pac-12 game and first conference home match against affiliate member Cal Poly, with kick off time TBA at the Sports Deck.
- Thursday, Oct. 8 has volleyball finally playing their first conference match at Peterson Gym against Oregon State at 6 p.m. after starting their conference slate with four consecutive on the road.
The two conference members with whom the Aztecs have the least history with, Gonzaga and Texas State, have been major players in multiple sports.
Gonzaga’s Bulldogs, also known as the Zags, have been a long-time national power in men’s basketball and a regular NCAA tournament participant in women’s basketball, in addition to baseball making 12 NCAA Tournament appearances since the 1970s and four in the last decade.
The Texas State Bobcats have been the Sun Belt’s top athletics department since 2021 and will come into the Pac-12 boasting the largest 2025 fall enrollment amongst member schools at 44,596. Their football program has qualified for and won three consecutive bowl games, while the softball program has qualified for the NCAA tournament in seven of the last 11 seasons and women’s soccer earned the program’s sixth NCAA tournament appearance in 2025.
Live streaming capabilities will be improved thanks to Pac-12 Enterprises, which will allow SDSU to stream multiple events at the same time. All Olympic team sports are expected to be live streamed, including men’s and women’s soccer as well as volleyball during the fall.
Major national broadcast coverage will come from long-term partner CBS Sports, as well as long-term partners The CW and USA Sports. Additional coverage highlights include selected features and press conferences aired on the conference’s Free Ad-Supported TV Streaming (FAST) channel available on Samsung TV Plus, The CW App, Amazon Prime Video platforms, Free Live Sports, Mansa, OrkaTV, Plex, Tablo, the Sportworld app and the Victory+ app.
SDSU leaves the Mountain West as the conference’s all-time leader with 106 conference titles, including five in their final season. Women’s basketball won a regular season title, swimming and diving notched their fifth in a row, women’s tennis took both the regular season and tournament chips, and baseball earned their third outright regular season title and fourth overall.