College basketball conference changes: Takeaways after 27 teams move to new leagues for 2026-27

After a relatively subdued year of realignment in 2025-26, college basketball will undergo seismic conference shifts for 2026-27 that take effect on July 1 as the collegiate athletic calendar flips the page. Much of the movement stems from the reformed Pac-12, which is returning to the scene as a 9-team basketball conference after two years off the grid. As the league backfills from a handful of other conferences, there are ripple effects throughout the Division I landscape set to take hold. Five programs that were formerly part of the Mountain West are now in the Pac-12. The league also landed Texas State from the Sun Belt and Gonzaga from the WCC to join holdovers Oregon State and Washington State from the old Pac-12.

The Mountain West countered by backfilling with Hawaii and UC Davis from the Big West along with UTEP from Conference USA. Meanwhile, the WCC added Denver from the Summit League amid the departure of the Zags, who were the league’s longtime bell cow.

Elsewhere, the old WAC is now the United Athletic Conference (UAC) and is going to feature a vastly different look. The league bringing in a significant portion of the old ASUN, which is now down from 12 to eight teams. Also, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference has changed its name to the Metro Conference. 

How the new Pac-12 fits

The revamped Pac-12 has a long road ahead if it wishes to reclaim the league’s prior status as a high-major conference in basketball. But now that rosters for the 2026-27 season are mostly settled, it’s clear the Pac-12 could — and probably should — function as the top non-major conference in college hoops. San Diego State, Utah State, Colorado State, Fresno State and Boise State are arriving amid a contentious split with the Mountain West, while Texas State is coming from the Sun Belt and Gonzaga is entering from the WCC. Those seven programs will join with Oregon State and Washington State from the old Pac-12 to form the retooled nine-team league.

Using barttorvik.com’s projections for the 2026-27 season as a guide, six of the Pac-12’s nine teams rank inside the top 100, headlined by No. 6 Gonzaga.

Projecting where the revamped Pac-12 will rank in college basketball’s mid-major conference hierarchy

David Cobb

Opportunity in the ASUN

With five members heading out for the UAC, the ASUN will feature just eight teams for the 2026-27 season. One of them will be West Florida, which is beginning its transition from Division II to Division I. The Argonauts won the Division II national title in 2018 and 2026, but they won’t be eligible for the NCAA Tournament until 2030 as they complete the move up.

As a result, the race for the automatic bid from the ASUN will be a battle between just seven teams. As of mid-June, CBS Sports Bracketology projected Jacksonville represent the league in the Big Dance. If that comes to fruition, it would mark the school’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1986.

More moves on the way

Looking ahead to 2027-28, the most noteworthy realignment moves on the horizon are set to occur in the WCC, which will continue its post-Gonzaga makeover by adding UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego from the Big West.

Also, last week Fairfield revealed it will be leaving the Metro Conference to join the CAA in 2027-28.

Conference changes for 2026-27