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. Northern Illinois enters from the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and University of Texas-El Paso transfers from Conference USA. 

Additions: Sacramento State

Holdovers: Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Miami (OH), Kent State, Ohio, Toledo, UMass, Western Michigan

Losses: Northern Illinois

The changes to the MAC are simple. Northern Illinois moves to the Mountain West and Sacramento State replaces them, keeping the total at 13. Sacramento State comes over from the Big Sky Conference. 

Additions: Louisiana Tech

Holdovers: Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia State, Georgia Southern, James Madison, Louisiana, Louisiana Monroe, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Old Dominion, South Alabama, Southern Mississippi, Troy

Losses: Texas State

Similar to the MAC, the Sun Belt made a one-for-one trade. Texas State joined the Pac-12 and Louisiana Tech replaced them from Conference USA, keeping the Sun Belt’s total at 14.

Holdovers: Delaware, FIU, Jackson State, Liberty, Kennessaw State, Middle Tennessee, Missouri State, New Mexico State, Sam Houston State, Western Kentucky

Losses: Louisiana Tech, UTEP

Conference USA lost Louisiana Tech and University of Texas-El Paso, and did not replace them as their total dropped from 12 to 10 members.

Holdovers: Army, Charlotte, East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Memphis, Navy, North Texas, Rice, South Florida, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB, UTSA

The AAC remained the same heading into the 2026 college football season. It produced a CFP team last year as Tulane earned the 11th seed in the 12-team bracket. Charlotte, FAU, North Texas, Rice, UAB and UTSA joined the AAC as recently as 2023 as the conference has expanded to 14 teams for football. 

While the Power 4 conferences also avoided any change heading into the 2026 season, it’s still worth refreshing who’s where. 

Holdovers: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, UCLA, USC, Washington, and Wisconsin

The Big Ten didn’t experience any change ahead of the 2026 season. The 2026 season marks the third season in which former Pac-12 schools Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington will compete in the 18-team Big Ten. 

Holdovers: Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, UCF, Utah, and West Virginia

The Big 12 didn’t add or lose any teams heading into the 2026 season. The 2026 season marks the third year in which former Pac-12 schools Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah joined the league. It’s also the fourth year of BYU, Cincinnati, UCF and Houston coming over to the Big 12 as the conference has expanded to 16 teams. 

Holdovers: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt

The SEC didn’t experience any change ahead of the 2026 season. This will be the third season in which Oklahoma and Texas compete in the conference after coming over from the Big 12 to make a 16-team league. 

Holdovers: Boston College, Cal, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Pittsburgh, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest

The ACC didn’t make any moves ahead of the 2026 season. The 2026 season will be the third year in which Stanford and Cal compete in the 17-team ACC.