Conference Realignment Ahead Of The 2026 College Football Season

Northern Illinois went west, Sacramento State moved east and the Pac-12 is actually back.

Ahead of the 2026 college football season, 22 teams changed conferences.

Five of the Group of Six leagues experienced changeover, while the Power 4 remained the same.

But two years ago, UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington joined the Big Ten; Arizona, ASU, Utah and Colorado went to the Big 12; and Stanford and Cal became members of the ACC.

Then in 2025, three more teams changed conferences.

Now, ahead of the 2026 season, let's do it again.

To help you keep up with the trends, and remember who each team will compete against for conference titles, here's a look at who came, who went and who remained in each FBS conference.

Additions: Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Texas State, Utah State Holdovers: Oregon State, Washington State After a season in which Washington State and Oregon State were the only two teams representing the Pac-12, the conference has expanded to eight Division I football schools.

Colorado State, Utah State, San Diego State, Fresno State and Boise State came over from the Mountain West.

Texas State also made the move to the Pac-12 from the Sun Belt Conference.

The Pac-12 will include nine schools for college basketball season as Gonzaga came over from the West Coast Conference, but doesn't have a football program.

Additions: North Dakota State, Northern Illinois, University of Texas-El Paso, Holdovers: Air Force, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV, Wyoming Losses: Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Utah State After losing five teams to the Pac-12, the Mountain West was replenished with three teams from different conferences.

North Dakota State is the headliner.

The 10-time FCS national champions come over from the Missouri Valley Football Conference for its debut season in the FBS.