Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould’s to-do list this spring is both long and weighty. It starts with securing a media rights deal and adding at least one more school and includes formulating a football schedule, deciding whether to stage a championship game and identifying which Olympic sports the rebuilt conference will sponsor.
But there’s another matter of critical significance facing Gould and the eight schools pledged to the Pac-12 starting in the summer of 2026.
Will the conference implement minimum standards for sharing revenue with athletes?
Granted, revenue sharing is not a frequent topic of conversation among fans around water coolers or on social media. It’s dense and dull and easy to dismiss. But revenue sharing is tied directly to the issue that matters most.
Without sharing, there will be no winning.
“The reason the (new) schools are in the league is they have aspirations for their brands,” Gould told the Hotline on Friday, “and that requires investment.”
The revenue-sharing era is expected to begin across college sports in the fall, assuming the settlement terms of an antitrust lawsuit are approved next month.
Schools that opt into the settlement are permitted to share a maximum of $20.5 million (approximately) with athletes annually.
Along with the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC, the Pac-12 is a named defendant in the House v NCAA lawsuit filed in 2020, before the conference collapsed. As a result, Washington State and Oregon State are automatically opted into the revenue-sharing agreement.
But that’s not necessarily the case for the six schools scheduled to join the Pac-12 in the summer of 2026. Their leagues (the West Coast Conference and the Mountain West) are not named defendants.
Will Gonzaga, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State — and whichever additional schools join the conference — be required to opt in once they become Pac-12 members?
“That has not been clarified for us yet,” Gould said.
If they are not required to participate, the newcomers would have the option to join the revenue sharing agreement this spring, she added. A key piece of the Pac-12’s strategy could hang in the balance.
The Power Four conferences are expected to let each school determine its own level of commitment, with many likely to allocate the $20.5 million maximum amount in the following manner: approximately $15 million to the football roster, $3 million to men’s basketball and the remainder to women’s basketball and the Olympic sports.
The situation isn’t as clear on the next tier of conferences, largely because the Pac-12, American, Mountain West, Sun Belt, Mid-American and Conference USA have smaller budgets and are not required to opt into the revenue sharing agreement.
In fact, only the American has gone public with its plans. In addition to opting in, the American schools have implemented minimum investment standards: Each member must allocate at least $10 million to athletes over a three-year period. (Army and Navy are exempt.)
The Pac-12 is discussing minimum standards, as well.
“We have had conversations lately about the importance of setting benchmarks before we invite new members,” Gould said.
“It’s possible to leave it to the institutions, but there’s a shared commitment to success. What everybody does (with resources) affects the other members. If you don’t do what it takes to be successful, it can bring the other members down.”
She described the athletic directors for the incoming schools as “motivated” to establish benchmarks.
Gould believes the Pac-12 has two advantages as college sports enters the revenue sharing era.
Because it’s a named defendant in the House lawsuit, the conference is involved in crafting the rules of engagement for the new landscape. Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes and his Washington State counterpart, Anne McCoy, are both members of the 10-person Settlement Implementation Committee.
“That’s a real advantage in our ability to establish strategy and bring new members along,” Gould said.
Pac-12 Enterprises, the production studio and technological infrastructure remaining from the defunct Pac-12 Networks, offers a second benefit.
In an era defined by name image and likeness, the multi-media operation can provide Pac-12 athletes with a vehicle for producing content and building their brands.
“We have a chance to reshape our future because of the blank slate next summer,” Gould said. “My vision is to make something that addresses the modern student athlete and the current climate.”
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