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A New Conference. A Proven Legacy.

With a Mountain West-record 106 championships and decades of defining rivalries, San Diego State brings a history of winning into the Pac-12.

San Diego State enters the Pac-12 with a history built on championship success and competition against many of the programs joining it there.

As a founding member of the Mountain West, SDSU helped shape the conference for more than two decades, ultimately leaving with 106 championships—the most in league history among sports in which the Aztecs competed. Along the way, conference races, championship games, rivalry trophies, and memorable matchups became an important part of the Aztec experience.

Now, those histories take on new meaning. Fresno State, Boise State, Colorado State, and Utah State make the move alongside San Diego State, while Oregon State and Washington State bring their own histories to a reimagined Pac-12.

The conference may be new. The competition is anything but.

106

Mountain West Championships

Most in Conference History Among Sports SDSU Competed In

On September 12, 2024, San Diego State announced that it would join the Pac-12 alongside Boise State, Colorado State, and Fresno State.

The announcement marked the beginning of a transformation for both SDSU and the conference. Utah State joined later that month, followed by Gonzaga in October. Texas State became the league's eighth football-playing member in June 2025, completing the Pac-12's required FBS membership.

After nearly two years of anticipation, San Diego State's Pac-12 chapter officially began on July 1, 2026—bringing the Aztecs into a conference that pairs familiar competition with new opportunities.

2011

Colorado and Utah join the Pac-10, creating the Pac-12 Conference.

June 2022

USC and UCLA announce their departure from the Pac-12 for the Big Ten.

July-September 2023

Colorado announces its return to the Big 12. Oregon and Washington announce moves to the Big Ten; Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah depart for the Big 12; and California and Stanford leave for the ACC, leaving Oregon State and Washington State as the Pac-12's remaining members.

September 12, 2024

San Diego State announces it will join the Pac-12 alongside Boise State, Colorado State, and Fresno State.

September-October 2024

Utah State becomes the conference's seventh member, followed by Gonzaga.

June 30, 2025

Texas State becomes the Pac-12's eighth football-playing member, giving the conference the minimum number of football members required to compete as an FBS conference.

2025

The Pac-12 announces long-term media partnerships with CBS Sports, The CW, and USA Sports beginning with the 2026-27 season.

July 1, 2026

San Diego State officially becomes a member of the Pac-12.

July 1, 2026

SDSU's Pac-12 Chapter Officially Begins

RIVALRIES RENEWED

THE BATTLE FOR THE OIL CAN

THE BATTLE FOR THE OIL CAN

63 Meetings • SDSU Leads Series 32-27-4

No opponent has faced San Diego State football more often than Fresno State.

Across 63 meetings, the Aztecs and Bulldogs have built a rivalry stretching across generations. Since 2011, that rivalry has been represented by the Oil Can, a trophy inspired by the journeys fans once made between San Diego and Fresno along the old Grapevine section of Highway 99.

The trophy may be relatively new, but the competition is not. With SDSU holding a 32-27-4 advantage in the all-time series, the "Battle for the Oil Can" brings one of the Aztecs' longest-running football rivalries directly into the Pac-12.

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"The oil can likely came from a time when Aztec and Bulldog fans traveled to football games between the two schools via the old, twisting, precipitous Grapevine section of Highway 99 over Tejon Pass."

Jacquelyn K. GlasenerExecutive Director, Fresno State Alumni Association
SDSU VS. BOISE STATE

SDSU VS. BOISE STATE

11 Meetings Since 2011 • Five Decided by Single Digits

San Diego State and Boise State developed another highly competitive series during their years together in the Mountain West.

The Broncos hold a narrow 6-5 advantage across 11 meetings since joining the conference in 2011, with four games decided by one score and five by single digits. The series has also brought together two of the Mountain West's most successful football programs: from 2011 through 2025, Boise State owned the league's best conference winning percentage, with SDSU ranking second.

Now, the two programs carry that competition with them into the Pac-12.

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SDSU VS. UTAH STATE

SDSU VS. UTAH STATE

Five Mountain West Championship Game Meetings

Few matchups better represent the recent history of Mountain West men's basketball than San Diego State and Utah State.

Since the Aggies joined the conference for the 2013-14 season, SDSU captured six regular-season titles outright or shared—the most over that span—while Utah State won three. Both programs also captured three Mountain West Tournament championships.

Five times, the programs met with the tournament championship on the line, with Utah State winning three of those matchups. With both programs now in the Pac-12, one of SDSU Basketball's most consequential conference series has a new home.

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SDSU VS. COLORADO STATE

SDSU VS. COLORADO STATE

Nine Combined Mountain West Regular-Season Championships

San Diego State and Colorado State share a history that dates back to the beginning of the Mountain West.

As two of the conference's founding members, the Aztecs and Rams became two of its most successful women's basketball programs, combining for nine regular-season championships and five tournament titles.

SDSU closed its Mountain West era by capturing the 2025-26 regular-season championship with a league-record 19 conference victories and a 19-1 record. Colorado State owns one of only four undefeated Mountain West regular seasons, finishing 18-0 in 2015-16.

Now, another longstanding conference matchup continues in the Pac-12.

BY THE NUMBERS

Mountain West Championships106

Most in conference history among sports SDSU competed in

Football meetings with Fresno State63

SDSU's most-played opponent

SDSU's all-time football record against Fresno State32-27-4
Men's Basketball Mountain West Championship Game meetings5

Between SDSU and Utah State

Mountain West Women's Basketball regular-season championships9

Combined between SDSU and Colorado State

Conference names change. The standard doesn't.

San Diego State leaves the Mountain West with 106 championships and decades of defining games, title races, and rivalries behind it. Many of the opponents that helped shape that legacy are making the move alongside the Aztecs, giving familiar competition a new setting and even greater significance.

The Pac-12 represents a new chapter for San Diego State, but SDSU doesn't enter it without history. The championships have been won. The rivalries have been built. And now, the next meetings, milestones, and defining moments will be written in the Pac-12.