This week news broke of the final component of the new Pac-12’s media deal being announced. The long arduous journey to lock in the new partners for this promising blend of both traditional and new school collegiate athletic brands has been a big conversation in the world of sports media.
Here are our summary of what the new Pac-12’s media outlook will be for 2026 and beyond.
A New Anchor with CBS Sports
In June 2025, the Pac-12 announced a long-term agreement with CBS that runs through the 2030-31 season, positioning CBS as the conference’s flagship partner for its key football and men’s basketball content.
Under this deal, CBS will carry the Pac-12’s football championship game and the men’s basketball tournament championship game, along with a minimum slate of regular-season games on its main broadcast network and cable arm. This ensures that both major sports have marquee access to a national broadcast platform—crucial for the Pac-12’s efforts to reestablish its brand and reach.
From a football perspective, this gives member institutions a familiar and dependable network home for their biggest games and the title contest, raising visibility for recruiting, alumni engagement, and national exposure.
From the viewpoint of men’s basketball, knowing that the championship game is on a major national network gives the tournament tangible stature and helps restore the conference’s tournament narrative.
Expanding the Footprint via The CW Network
In August 2025, the Pac-12 further bolstered its arrangements by extending its partnership with The CW through the 2030-31 season. Under that agreement, The CW will broadcast 13 regular-season football games and 35 men’s basketball games, along with 15 women’s basketball games and the semifinal and championship rounds of the women’s basketball tournament.
This increases the Pac-12’s over-the-air reach—important for audiences without cable or premium subscriptions.
For football, the The CW deal means additional national exposure beyond the CBS-anchored games, spreading Pac-12 home matchups into another broadcast window.
For men’s basketball, having 35 regular-season games on The CW adds volume and consistency to the schedule, allowing more teams to appear in live national broadcasts—and helping rebuild the conference’s basketball identity with some of the bigger basketball brands on the West Coast.
San Diego State and Gonzaga both will spearhead that attempt for the revamped Pac-12 brand.
The Third Piece: USA Sports
Most recently, just this week in November the Pac-12 announced a five-year media-rights partnership with USA Sports (the newly rebranded sports arm of USA Network/Versant).
This deal, which runs from the 2026-27 season through 2030-31, assigns USA Sports 22 regular-season football games, 50 regular-season men’s basketball games, and 5-10 women’s basketball games each year.
In addition, USA will carry the Pac-12 men’s basketball tournament up to the championship game (which remains on CBS). The league’s own production arm, Pac‑12 Enterprises, will produce the broadcasts.
From a football lens: this ensures that the bulk of the Pac-12’s regular-season football inventory will land on national platforms—with every home game being distributed across CBS, The CW, CBS Sports Network and USA Network—maximizing exposure.
From a men’s basketball angle: 50 games on USA Sports is a very substantial allotment, supplementing the other networks and capturing consistent national airtime across the season—enabling storylines, rivalries and broader team representation.
Strategic Implications for Football & Men’s Basketball
The combined suite of deals establishes a multi-layered media framework for the Pac-12. For football, the conference has secured a national footprint where its championship game remains a marquee CBS event, regular-season games are spread across major broadcast and cable networks, and home-game coverage is essentially guaranteed to hit national air. That is critical for member schools in recruiting, exposure and monetization.
For men’s basketball, while the Pac-12 may no longer be the dominant west-coast power it once was, the volume and range of coverage—regular-season games on The CW and USA Sports, plus the championship game on CBS—provide a relevant national platform for growth.
The West Coast power programs like San Diego State and Gonzaga, have established themselves on the National stage. However other member programs now have the potential to build a consistent television brand, rather than occasional appearances.
In short, the media-rights landscape for the reconstituted Pac-12 offers both stability and scale for its two most-visible sports. If the conference can leverage that exposure—on the field and on the court—it may well rebuild its identity and competitive profile in the crowded college-sports ecosystem.
Discover more from
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
