Rebuilt Pac-12 aims to stand apart this season

The Pac-12 has been rebuilt as a functioning conference with eight football-playing schools, plus Gonzaga in basketball and other sports, two years after realignment led to its collapse. Commissioner Teresa Gould said the conference has preserved its assets, assembled a new membership and begun expanding its workforce after asking roughly 30 employees to stay on despite being unable to promise the league or their jobs would survive.

The conference has moved its operations from a headquarters of over 100,000 square feet in downtown San Francisco, which burned through upward of $75 million in rent over 11 years, to a smaller office in a San Ramon business park for about 12% of the previous annual cost.

The rebuilt league drew most of its new membership from the Mountain West, adding Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State, while Texas State joined from the Sun Belt to give the Pac-12 an eighth football-playing member. The conference also has 12 other affiliate members in sports including baseball, men's soccer, women's gymnastics, women's swimming and wrestling.