Colorado State has officially accepted an invitation to the Pac-12 and will join the conference as full members starting on July 1, 2026. 

DNVR was able to catch up with CSU president Amy Parsons and the director of athletics John Weber to discuss the move and what it means for the future of the university. They also gave some insight into how the process played out, what the reaction has been like on campus and what it means for them to be able to help play a role in this significant moment in school history. 

“It’s just been, without exception, ecstatic,” Parsons said of the reaction to CSU making the move. “People are so excited about the news today, and that goes for coaches and student-athletes, as well as our general student body and our alumni base.

“I just saw the Governor posted about it today. So people are very excited across the board. I don’t know that we’ve ever shared news that has generated quite this level of intense excitement for Ram Nation.” 

As far as what it means for Parsons and Weber, a pair of CSU alums, to be able to guide their alma mater into this exciting new era, Parsons explained how it’s about a lot more than just their obligations as collegiate administrators. Being able to usher CSU athletics into the Pac-12 means something to them on a deeply personal level. 

“It’s really an honor to be in this spot,” Parsons told DNVR. “You know, we’ve been working hard at CSU for so long to be in a position to take advantage of an opportunity like this.”

Parsons cited the building of Canvas Stadium, as well as an increase in investment across the board for all of their men’s and women’s sports teams as major reasons why CSU appealed to the Pac-12. She also mentioned the school’s strength academically and the strides CSU has made from a research standpoint as being major selling points for CSU to Washington State and Oregon State. 

“It really feels like the culmination of a lot of hard work, not just by us, but our predecessors and people over a lot of years who have put in the time to allow us to sign on the dotted line yesterday, and say, yep, we’re joining. We’re going to be part of the ground floor of building the new Pac-12.”

Though there are still details to be released about the buyout process, Parsons and Weber confirmed to DNVR that CSU has informed the Mountain West that they have accepted an invitation to the Pac-12 after being invited earlier in the week.

As things currently stand, CSU would owe close to $30 million between exit fees and penalties associated with the scheduling agreement between the current Mountain West and remaining Pac-12 schools. Some of that bill will likely be picked up by Washington State and Oregon State though. Those two schools will have a lot of revenue coming in due to the departures of the 10 other schools. 

As far as where CSU will stand in the pecking order of this new iteration of the Pac-12, the Rams, along with Boise State, Fresno State, Oregon State, San Diego State and Washington State, will all be board members with equal voting rights for media rights deals and future expansion decisions. All six schools will receive equal shares in the conference as well. 

“For me, this is about so much more than just athletics,” Parsons said. This is about the future of Colorado State, the reputation and visibility of Colorado State, and our ability to build great academic and research alliances with those in our league. And you know, CSU already competes at the top level academically and research wise, and we always strive to compete at the top level in athletics, and this move really shines a light on CSU and our trajectory, where we’re going.

“It’s betting on ourselves, and we love betting on ourselves. At CSU, we’re confident in who we are and where we’re going, and this gives us a chance to kind of take control of our destiny in an unpredictable landscape of collegiate athletics. So it’s really important to us, and it’s really important to be hitching our brand together with other great institutions and with a storied brand like the Pac-12. I don’t think there’s any school in the country that wouldn’t be proud to be part of the Pac-12 and its history, and we’re really fortunate to now be in the driver’s seat, along with our other five colleagues, of building a conference that reflects who we are.” 

While the move does bring a whole lot of exciting change, there is a bittersweet element of leaving schools that CSU has been associated with going back to the original WAC or even further in some cases. Weber made it clear that CSU has a lot of respect for the Mountain West and that they’ve made great friendships as long-time members of the conference. But he also acknowledged that CSU needed to prioritize what was best for CSU in the end. 

If there is a silver lining for those that may be a little bummed to see some of these well-established relationships going away, Weber did say that he’s already contacted Wyoming AD Tom Burman and both sides have an interest in keeping the Border War alive. Weber said in the initial press release that traditional rivalries would be prioritized through non-conference scheduling, but it’s encouraging to hear there has already been direct communication regarding the future of the historic rivalry. After seeing the Rocky Mountain Showdown stop being played annually, the last thing Ram fans want to lose is the yearly bout with Wyoming. 

Finally, while the Pac-12 will still need to add two members before 2026 to retain its FBS status, there is no timeline on when that will happen according to CSU’s administration. There is also no plan at the moment to add any other sports.

“We’ve got a lot to do before we get to the point of starting to think about adding any additional sports,” Weber said. “We’re focused on putting the conference together first, and getting in the market from a media rights perspective, and then we’ll worry about those sorts of things down the line.” 

It was already a historic week for CSU with the first Rocky Mountain Showdown in Fort Collins since 1996. Depending on how things play out on Saturday night, after Thursday’s big news, this may just go down as one of the most important weeks in the history of CSU Football. 

Throw on some Green & Gold. Everything’s coming up CSU right now.