By: Pac-12 Conference
League announces new and enhanced access for its football broadcasts and content, plans for the future direction of its football officiating operations and provides updates to its staffing and commercial entity with Pac-12 Enterprises
Bowl partnerships and football championship game tiebreaker language for 2026 finalized
Ahead of its 2026 football season kickoff, the Pac-12 today announced a number of updates spanning football content and production, operations, postseason and officiating as well as league governance, staffing and its commercial entity.
The league’s next chapter in football begins tomorrow with its eight programs competing in nonconference matchups from Friday to Sunday across national television, including games on CBS, FOX, CBS Sports Network, ESPN and USA Network. The Pac-12’s new media partnerships with CBS Sports, USA Sports and CW Sports will see 100% of its home games broadcast across national linear television, with Pac-12 Enterprises producing the vast majority of its regular season inventory for Pac-12 partners. Also with the new partnerships, kickoff times have been set and announced through week 12 (Nov. 21) leading up to the league’s new home-and-home flex matchup to end the regular season and ahead of its championship game.
Enhanced Access: Football Broadcast Content & Production
Coming to the Pac-12’s nationally televised lineup of home games this season will be enhanced access to its head coaches and student-athletes with “Pac-12 Field Pass,” featuring opportunities for each to wear microphones during game action. The opportunities are made possible through the league’s efforts, with guidance and expertise from its best-in-class Pac-12 Enterprises production team, to drive change with the NCAA FBS Oversight Committee in updating applicable rules and regulations, as well as through the Pac-12’s partnerships across CBS Sports, USA Sports and CW Sports.
For participating coaches, student-athletes and programs, mic’d-up content will be produced by Pac-12 Enterprises for its broadcast partners with an internal process of review for quick turnaround in-game to bring fans and viewers closer to the live action than ever before. The Pac-12 will work with its institutions and broadcast partners for the enhanced access and rollout. Pac-12 Enterprises is set to produce the vast majority of its home game broadcasts in partnership with CBS Sports, USA Sports and CW Sports.
Replay Review Access
In addition to enhanced access on the field with Pac-12 Enterprises’ mic’d-up content, the league and its production team will bring its fans and viewers into its command center and replay room for in-game officiating replay reviews. The process, when applicable and in partnership with Pac-12 broadcast partners, will include an on-air rules expert providing viewers with updates from the command center and replay crew’s process as the audience sees and hears the crew’s official decision.
Bowl Opportunities & Partnerships
For the 2026 season, the Pac-12 will see a number of continuing and new partnerships across its postseason bowl opportunities. Across all bowl partnerships, the league’s opportunities in 2026 are distinguished by former and new members of the conference.
Oregon State and Washington State will be eligible for several bowls alongside former members of the conference, as well as the 2026 SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl alongside all six new members. The six new members of the Pac-12 this season will also be eligible for several additional postseason opportunities beyond the Poinsettia Bowl.
Bowl Opportunities - Former Pac-12 Members
The following bowl opportunities are listed in order of selection for 2026 and will include Oregon State and Washington State along with other former members of the Pac-12. Specifically for the 2026 SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl, Oregon State and Washington State would participate on the new Pac-12 member side of the matchup, facing off against a former Pac-12 member.
All postseason bowl opportunities will be in effect after the College Football Playoff field is set.
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Bowl
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Date
|
Location
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Broadcast
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Opponent
|
|
Valero Alamo
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Dec. 29
|
San Antonio, TX
|
ESPN
|
Big 12
|
|
Las Vegas
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Dec. 31
|
Las Vegas, NV
|
ESPN
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Big Ten or SEC
|
|
Holiday
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Dec. 28
|
San Diego, CA
|
CW
|
ACC
|
|
Tony the Tiger Sun
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Dec. 31
|
El Paso, TX
|
CBS
|
ACC
|
|
SDCCU Poinsettia*
|
Dec. 23
|
San Diego, CA
|
CW
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ACC, Big 12 or Big Ten
|
|
Radiance Technologies Independence
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Dec. 22
|
Shreveport, LA
|
ESPN
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Big 12
|
* Oregon State & Washington State will be featured among the new Pac-12 side of the Poinsettia Bowl matchup
Bowl Opportunities - New Pac-12 Members
The following bowl opportunities are listed in order of selection for 2026 and will include all eight Pac-12 football members for the SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl and all six new Pac-12 football members for the subsequent bowl games.
All postseason bowl opportunities will be in effect after the College Football Playoff field is set.
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Bowl
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Date
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Location
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Broadcast
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Opponent
|
|
SDCCU Poinsettia
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Dec. 23
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San Diego, CA
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CW
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ACC, Big 12 or Big Ten
|
|
Sheraton Hawai’i
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Dec. 24
|
Honolulu, HI
|
ESPN
|
MWC
|
|
ESPN Bowl Pool
|
—
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—-
|
ESPN
|
—
|
Football Championship Game Tiebreakers
The 2026 Pac-12 Football Championship Game will be played on Friday, Dec. 4 with a 5 p.m. PT / 6 p.m. MT / 7 p.m. CT kickoff for a national televised broadcast on CBS and simulcast on Paramount+ for streaming. The 2026 game will be hosted at the home venue of the league’s highest seed. The matchup will feature the top two eligible teams in the final regular-season standings, with host and seeding determined by the Pac-12’s tiebreaking procedures.
For the 2026 season, the Pac-12 will play a seven-game conference schedule over an eight-week span from weeks five through 12, with each program receiving one bye over that stretch. The final week of the regular season, week 13, will feature a new home-and-home flex matchup that will not count toward conference standings. More information on the 2026 Pac-12 Football schedule and home-and-home flex week is available
here, from the league’s initial announcement in February.
Pac-12 Football Championship Game Tiebreakers
Two-Team Ties
- If two teams are tied for first place both teams will participate in the championship game and the winner of the head-to-head will be the No. 1 seed. If there is not a tie for first place, but two teams are tied for second place, the two-team tiebreaker policy will apply and the winner will be the No. 2 seed and visiting team.
- Win percentage against the next-highest-placed common opponent in the standings (based on record in all games played within the Conference), proceeding through the standings.
- When arriving at another group of tied teams while comparing records, use each team’s win percentage against the collective tied teams as a group (prior to that group’s own tiebreaking procedure) rather than the performance against individual tied teams.
- Win percentage against all common conference opponents.
- Highest CFP ranking(s) on the Tuesday prior to week 13 contests.
- Highest ranking by SportSource Analytics (team Rating Score metric) following the last weekend of regular-season conference games.
- Coin toss
Multiple-Team Ties
In the event of a tie involving more than two teams, the Pac-12 will use a progressive multiple-team tiebreaking procedure to establish championship game participants and seeding.
Once one team gains an advantage and is seeded, the remaining teams will restart the applicable multiple-team tiebreaking procedure. If the process reduces the tie to two teams, the two-team procedure will then be applied.
The multiple-team tiebreaking criteria are:
- Head-to-head results, based on the best cumulative winning percentage among the tied teams. If every tied team has not played one another, the process moves to the next criterion.
- Winning percentage against all common Conference opponents.
- Record against the next-highest placed common opponent in the Conference standings, proceeding through the standings as necessary.
- When arriving at another group of tied teams, each team’s winning percentage against the collective tied group will be used before that group’s own tiebreaking procedure is applied.
- Combined Conference winning percentage of Conference opponents, measuring strength of Conference schedule.
- Highest ranking in the SportSource Analytics Team Rating Score following the final weekend of regular-season games.
- Coin toss.
Player Availability Reporting
To promote the integrity of competition, protect the well-being and privacy of student-athletes and institutional staff, and provide consistent public transparency, the Pac-12 will begin providing player availability reports in football for the 2026 season. For all conference matchups, the league will provide reports in coordination with its member institutions for public release on Pac-12.com. Timing for report submissions by Pac-12 institutions will include the following, to follow shortly on Pac-12.com:
- Three days prior to the scheduled game by 7 p.m. PT.
- Two days prior to the scheduled game by 7 p.m. PT.
- One day prior to the scheduled game by 7 p.m. PT.
- No later than two hours prior to publicized game time on game day.
In addition to conference matchups, the Pac-12 will also participate in player availability reporting for non-conference matchups only when the opponent and opponent’s conference participate for non-conference matchups. Timing for report submissions will adjust in accordance with participating non-conference opponents as applicable.
Pac-12 Football Officiating Updates
Ahead of the 2026 season’s kickoff, the Pac-12 today formally announced updates regarding its football officiating program, as well as information regarding its future direction beginning in 2027 as Vice President of Officiating David Coleman is set to transition from the role following the 2026 campaign. The league will begin a search for its new head of officiating during the coming season.
Senior Vice President of Football Administration Merton Hanks offered the following statement regarding the news of the league’s future direction for its football officiating program: “We are excited to kick off our first season of the new Pac-12 with a strong foundation for our football officiating program thanks to key relationships, continuity and leadership from VP of Officiating David Coleman. The Pac-12 looks forward to a successful season on the field and we are proud to continue to evolve and adapt with enhanced access to our officiating process in 2026. On a personal note, I am thrilled to work this first season with a great team across our football administration and member institutions and sincerely thank David Coleman for all that he has done for the Pac-12 in his position and the high level of integrity he has brought and will continue to bring in 2026 to the role.”
For 2026, the Pac-12 is fully equipped with five officiating crews under contract with the majority of its officials possessing prior autonomy-level officiating experience.
Pac-12’s football officiating communications protocol
The protocol is designed to increase transparency and public comment around significant calls that meet certain criteria. The Pac-12 office will issue public statements on calls that, in the Pac-12 Vice President of Officiating's determination, meet one or more of the following criteria:
- Game-ending call or no-call impacting the result of the game;
- Call involving a significant error in officiating mechanics;
- Call involving an error in rules interpretation; or
- Other extraordinary circumstances
Any public statement will be issued no later than the end of the day following the game in which the call occurred.
Pac-12 Administrative Committees
The league today also announced official appointments to the Chair and Vice Chair positions on the Pac-12 Board of Directors and Athletics Directors Committee (ADC) for the 2026-27 academic year. These positions will lead the respective Executive Committees of the Pac-12 Board of Directors and Pac-12 Administrative Committees. These positions are set for a one-year rotation, with future appointments and compositions to be announced at a later date.
2026-27 Executive Committee
Composed of presidents of Pac-12 member universities, the league’s Executive Committee of the Pac-12 Board of Directors will include a chair and vice chair among its board of directors, as well as one at-large position that will be appointed annually by the board, providing greater flexibility to address evolving governance matters while maintaining broad institutional perspectives among the committee.
These positions, in addition to an at-large representative on the Executive Committees, will work with conference leadership and provide a broad set of institutional perspectives and experiences to address a variety of evolving governance matters. Additionally, they will convene quickly to advise on pressing matters and serve to connect conversations across all administrative committees.
|
Position
|
President
|
University
|
Bio
|
|
Chair
|
Kelly Damphousse
|
Texas State
|
Official Bio
|
|
Vice Chair
|
Amy Parsons
|
Colorado State
|
Official Bio
|
|
At-large Representative
|
TBD
|
–
|
–
|
2026-27 AD Committee
Composed of athletics directors of Pac-12 member universities, the league’s 2026-27 AD Committee will include a chair and vice chair as well as one at-large position to serve a similar role as the same position for the executive committee.
|
Position
|
AD
|
University
|
Bio
|
|
Chair
|
JD Wicker
|
San Diego State
|
Official Bio
|
|
Vice Chair
|
Jeramiah Dickey
|
Boise State
|
Official Bio
|
|
At-large Representative
|
TBD
|
–
|
–
|
In addition to both committees, the league will also have a Senior Women Administrator (SWA) Committee and a Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) Committee. Each will have similar roles with a chair, vice chair and one at-large representative to serve similar functions for each group across Pac-12 Conference matters. All committee representatives will serve in a one-year rotation beginning with the 2026-27 season.
Pac-12 Leadership Foundation
The Pac-12 has announced the foundation of its senior leadership team including new leadership hires and internal promotions positioning the Pac-12 to accelerate its strategic priorities as it continues to build the new era of the league. Under the new structure, the Pac-12 is actively searching for its first-ever Chief Commercial & Growth Officer who will lead the Pac-12’s for-profit commercial enterprise and revenue growth strategy. Chief Operating Officer Quashan Lockett has been promoted to Chief Strategy & Operations Officer, an expanded role overseeing the conference's internal operations and strategic planning, leading its high-priority cross-functional initiatives, and measuring progress against its strategic priorities. The league also recently announced key leadership hires during calendar year 2026 including Senior Vice President, Deputy Commissioner Rick Hart and Chief Financial Officer Kendall Tyson. Lockett, Hart, Tyson, the to be named Chief Commercial & Growth Officer, and existing Chief Legal Officer, Scott Petersmeyer comprise Commissioner Teresa Gould's direct reports.
Additional leadership appointments include recent hires of Chief Technology Officer Scott Adametz, the first CTO for an FBS conference, Vice President of Men’s Basketball Administration Drew Speraw, and several other internal promotions and role evolutions as part of its broader leadership foundation:
- Merton Hanks, Senior Vice President of Football Administration
- Josh Ishoo, Senior Vice President of Brand & Communications
- Michael Molinari, Senior Vice President of Production & Broadcast Solutions
- Dustin Rocke, Senior Vice President of Multimedia
- Rhonda Bennett, Vice President of Women’s Basketball & Olympic Sports Administration
- Nancy Eklund, Vice President of People Operations
- Chris Merino, Vice President of Compliance, Governance & Legal Affairs
- Bob Schmelzle, Vice President, Coordinating Producer
Pac-12 Enterprises: Building & Expanding the League’s Commercial Entity
In building the Pac-12 over the past two years and with a focus on building a new, more connected and modern collegiate sports league, the conference has formally announced today an evolution and expansion of Pac-12 Enterprises. The expansion will bring together all commercial activity, operations and strategy, including with content, data, licensing, media, ticketing, merchandise, partnerships, production and broadcast solutions, technology and other commercial assets, under one coordinated operating model.
All of Pac-12 Enterprises will be led by the Chief Commercial & Growth Officer, reporting to Commissioner Gould, with the Pac-12’s studio production and broadcast solutions unit overseen by Senior Vice President of Production and Broadcast Solutions Michael Molinari, technology and engineering units overseen by Chief Technology Officer Scott Adametz, multimedia distribution, licensing and monetization overseen by Senior Vice President of Multimedia Dustin Rocke, and sponsorship, ticketing, merchandise and data rights overseen by Vice President of Commercial Revenue Sean Peters. The league’s integrated partnerships and sponsorships business will continue to grow in partnership with
Playfly Sports lead by Vice President of Integrated Partnerships and General Manager of the property at Playfly Sports Damon Dukakis.
Today’s announcement is an expansion of Pac-12 Enterprises’ overall entity to include its growing, best-in-class live event and studio production business, as well as its broadcast technology services and solutions business.
Pac-12 Shop: Official Online Merchandise Store Launches
The Pac-12’s new official online merchandise shop launched today and is available at
Pac-12.com/shop. Fans will have access to the inaugural new Pac-12 official apparel and gear with additional featured collections to hit the store throughout the season.
To bring this new storefront to life, the Pac-12 has partnered with Campus Ink. As part of the partnership, merchandise inspired by Pac-12 student-athletes and memorable moments throughout the season will be created by Campus Ink and available at the
Pac-12 Shop.
Pac-12 After Dark’s New Look
One of the most exciting phenomena in sports is back like never before this season: the one and only Pac-12 After Dark!
As part of the league’s updated brand identity, including its new primary and secondary marks and logos, the Pac-12 this week in collaboration with its schools unveiled an updated official Pac-12 After Dark mark and logo on social media. Official merchandise with the new Pac-12 After Dark mark will be available at
Pac-12.com/shop.
Fall Olympic Sports Broadcasts
Through 39 total fall Olympic sport broadcasts for the Pac-12 in August, including home events among women’s soccer, women’s volleyball and men’s soccer, the league has seen more than 200,000 total views and 1.6 million impressions across streaming broadcasts on its YouTube channel (
youtube.com/pac12). In addition, the league has seen more than 3,500 new subscribers over that stretch since games kicked off on Aug. 12, bringing its total channel subscriber count to more than 142,000.
Fans can follow the Fall Olympic season with applicable live home games streaming for free on its YouTube channel. The fall YouTube strategy is part of the Pac-12’s broader evolution of its media and content offerings. The conference continues to develop a direct-to-consumer platform for free-viewing opportunities. The fall season provides an opportunity to expand fan access while continuing to build toward additional ways for fans to engage with Pac-12 content in the future.