The 2026 Pac-12 Conference football season begins on September 4, 2026, marking the conference's 48th season and its return to full FBS status after the NCAA granted a two-year grace period to rebuild following the departure of 10 schools in 2024. Left with only Oregon State and Washington State, the two remaining programs had to play as independents in 2025—including facing each other twice—while the conference scrambled to recruit new members. By June 2025, six new schools had joined: Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Utah State (from the Mountain West) and Texas State (from the Sun Belt), bringing football membership back to the required eight. The offseason was marked by significant coaching upheaval, including the firings of Colorado State's Jay Norvell (replaced by Jim Mora) and Oregon State's Trent Bray (replaced by JaMarcus Shepard), as well as Washington State's Jimmy Rogers leaving for Iowa State (replaced by Kirby Moore). The preseason media poll was organized by the Denver Gazette, and the full schedule was released ahead of the highly anticipated season.