The Pac-12 has been the 2-Pac essentially for the past year, as every 2023-24 member of the conference jettisoned the league for either the Big Ten or Big 12 conferences with the exceptions of Oregon State and Washington State -- though not for lack of trying.
But from the ashes, the league is trying to pull itself back together. It became the temporary 6-Pac Conference last week when it announced it would accept Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State into its membership ranks beginning July 1, 2025.
So, is having State in an institution's name a de facto requirement for joining the revamped league?
Not necessarily. Myriad reports indicate that both the University of Memphis (formerly Memphis State) and Tulane are being targeted as the potential seventh and eighth members of the Pac-12.
John Canzano, a well-respected West Coast journalist who has covered the Pac-12 extensively, reported Tuesday that the Pac-12 meeting was expected to take place midweek this week.
Sources confirmed to FootballScoop that Memphis officials are keenly interested in an opportunity to join the Pac-12 and exit their current conference membership in the American Athletic Conference, of which Tulane also is a member of the 14-team league.
While the Pac-12's rebirth is gaining momentum, it remains unclear if the league can both attain enough members -- and programs of enough magnitude -- to potentially become an automatic-qualifier conference for the College Football Playoff.
As it stands, the league at six or eight teams would still be tiered with Group of Five programs. Only the ACC, Big Ten, Big Twelve and SEC conference champions are guaranteed CFP berths, as well as the highest-ranked Group of Five conference champion. Byes will be awarded to the teams ranked 1-4 in the final CFP rankings, which will be released Dec. 8 -- the Sunday after the completion of conference championship games.
Memphis, which in recent years also vied for Big 12 membership, has an undefeated football team coming off a road win at Florida State and is a top contender for the Group of Five CFP berth this December.
Additionally, Memphis is a sizable media market with a pro sports team -- the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies -- having taken root in the city. The University of Memphis also recently signaled its elevation into the NIL space with a large gift from FedEx, which is set to infuse the school's NIL coffers with $25 million across five years.