The century-old Pacific 12 Conference added four new members, officials said Thursday, in hopes of revitalizing the college sports alliance that's been reduced to rubble by stunning defections.

At this moment, only two athletic programs -- Washington State and Oregon State -- remain in the league that had once proudly called itself the "Conference of Champions."

Starting on July 1, 2026, the new-look league headquartered in the San Francisco suburb of San Ramon, California, will have at least six schools, as current Mountain West members Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State come on board.

The rebuilt conference will need to poach at least two more schools to reach eight, the NCAA minimum for a conference recognition.

The Pac-12 was granted a two-year grace period by the NCAA to reach eight by summer 2026 following a series of shocking defections.

"For over a century, the Pac-12 Conference has been recognized as a leading brand in intercollegiate athletics," Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould said in a statement. "We will continue to pursue bold cutting-edge opportunities for growth and progress, to best serve our member institutions and student-athletes. I am thankful to our board for their efforts to welcome Boise State University, Colorado State University, California State University, Fresno, and San Diego State University to the conference. An exciting new era for the Pac-12 Conference begins today."

While Pac-12 will survive in name, it's highly unlikely it'll have the same stature or immediate moneymaking potential of the Big Ten, Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference and Big 12.

Still, the sports refugees of Corvallis, Oregon, and Pullman, Washington, were pleased just to have the semblance of a league in which to operate.

"Today's news is a great start to stabilizing the future of the Pac‑12 Conference and Washington State University," Washington State President Kirk Schulz and Athletic Director Anne McCoy said in a joint statement. "For more than a year, the partnership between Washington State, Oregon State, and the Conference has been united in forging a future that continues the tremendous legacy of the Pac‑12 Conference."

The Pac-12's collapse as a major conference began in summer 2022 when USC and UCLA shocked the college sports world by announcing their defections to the Big Ten, a Rosemont, Illinois-based alliance of Midwest and Northeast schools.

Those desertions, spurred by the promise of big-money TV contracts for the Los Angeles schools, proved to be the Jenga pull that collapsed the Pac-12 as it had been known.

Washington and Oregon joined the Big Ten as well, with Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado leaving for the Irving, Texas-based Big 12.

Stanford and Cal bolted for the Atlantic Coast Conference, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.