Pac-12 Conference Basketball History

The Pac-12 entered a new era on July 1, 2026, when seven schools officially joined Oregon State and Washington State. The rebuilt conference has nine full members for men's and women's basketball.

Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, San Diego State, Texas State and Utah State joined Oregon State and Washington State to form the new league. Eight of the nine schools sponsor football, with Gonzaga competing as a non-football member.

The first men's basketball season of the rebuilt conference is 2026-27. The Pac-12 Men's Basketball Tournament returns to Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The historical list above preserves the championship data previously tracked on NBAHoopsOnline. Washington State's 1917 championship and Stanford's 1937 championship predate the NCAA Tournament, which began in 1939.

Among NCAA Tournament championships, UCLA leads all men's programs with 11 national titles. Oregon won the first NCAA Tournament championship in 1939.

Colorado and Utah joined the conference in 2011, creating the 12-school Pac-12. That membership remained together through the 2023-24 athletic season.

Following the 2023-24 season, Arizona, Arizona State, California, Colorado, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Utah and Washington departed for other conferences. Oregon State and Washington State remained with the Pac-12 and preserved the conference while its next membership was assembled.

Enrollment and capacity figures above are retained as historical figures from the original NBAHoopsOnline Pac-12 page rather than present-day enrollment counts.

The roots of the Pac-12 date to December 2, 1915, when the Pacific Coast Conference was founded in Portland, Oregon. The original members were California, Oregon, Oregon Agricultural College (now Oregon State) and Washington.

Washington State joined in 1917 and Stanford followed in 1918. The conference expanded again in 1922 with Idaho and USC. Montana joined in 1924, while UCLA entered in 1928, giving the Pacific Coast Conference 10 members.

The PCC became one of the major athletic conferences in the western United States, but disputes involving financial aid, athletic subsidies and conference rules eventually destabilized the league during the 1950s. The Pacific Coast Conference formally dissolved in 1959.

California, UCLA, USC, Stanford and Washington formed the Athletic Association of Western Universities. Washington State later joined the league, followed by Oregon and Oregon State.

In 1968, the conference became the Pacific-8 Conference. Arizona and Arizona State joined in 1978, creating the Pacific-10 Conference.

The Pac-10 remained a 10-school conference for more than three decades. Colorado and Utah joined in 2011, and the conference became the Pac-12.

That 12-school alignment lasted through 2023-24. Ten schools then departed, leaving Oregon State and Washington State as the conference's two remaining members for the transition period.

The conference was rebuilt for 2026-27 with the additions of Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, San Diego State, Texas State and Utah State. Together with Oregon State and Washington State, the new Pac-12 began competition with nine full members.

The schools historically associated with the Pac-12 have produced one of the richest basketball traditions in the country. UCLA alone has won an NCAA-record 11 men's national championships, including seven consecutive titles from 1967 through 1973.

Oregon won the first NCAA men's basketball tournament in 1939. Stanford won the championship in 1942, California won in 1959 and Arizona captured the 1997 national title.

The conference also produced generations of prominent college and NBA players and coaches, while its membership reached from the Pacific Northwest through California, Arizona, Utah and Colorado during the 12-school era.

The rebuilt Pac-12 begins a different basketball chapter in 2026-27, combining Oregon State and Washington State with several successful western programs and Gonzaga, one of the nation's most prominent basketball programs of the modern era.