Applicants to Expand PAC -12: Tulane Green Wave – Sports Illustrated

The restored PAC-12 has eight members enrolled for the 2026-27 athletics season: Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, Oregon State, San Diego State, Washington State and the State of Utah.

The conference must attract at least another member of football before 2026 to reach the minimum of eight NCAA teams in order to qualify as a FBS conference. Gonzaga does not have a football program.

PAC-12, which poaches five teams from Mountain West and Gonzaga from the West Coast Conference, is expected to add between one and six additional members in the coming weeks and months.

As the conference is redirecting salaries, SI’s Boise State Broncos examines schools related to PAC-12 in various reports.

We have already covered the tigers in Memphis, North Texas medium green, rice owls, state hornets in Sacramento, Gaels of Saint Mary, South Florida Bulls and Texas State Bobcats. We will now go back to the American Athletic Conference to profile the green wave of Tulane.

Location: New Orleans, Louisiana

Current Conference: A American Athletic Conference

Enrollment: 14,027

Donation: $ 2.11 billion

Budget for athletics: Unknown*

Football Stadium: Julman Stadium (30,000 capacity)

Basketball Arena: Devlin Fieldhouse (4 100 capacity)

*As a private institution, Tulane is not required to release revenue and expenditure data.

A Charter Member of the Sect, Tulane Began de-Emphasizing Athletics in the 1950s and Left the Conference in 1966. til Willie Fritz arrived in 2016

Fritz, who is now in Houston, went with 23-4 overall in his last two seasons in Tulan, including a 12-2 win and a cotton bowl over USC in 2022. The new chief coach John Sumra led the green wave to 9-2 Start last year and ranking # 17 in the playoff of the College of Football before you stumble against Memphis, Army and Florida.

Tulan is one of the best universities in the country and sits in the middle of New Orleans, an events-oriented city that is a desirable destination for travelers.

Yulman Stadium is the most up-to-date campus stadium, which opened in 2014. Green Wave Basketball teams play in the historic Devlin Fieldhouse, which has undergone extensive repairs between 2012 and 2015.

The three -year football run of Tulan under Fritz and Sumral is a complete anomaly in modern history. In fact, this is the first time the program has compiled three winning seasons from 1948-50.

Just like Memphis and South Florida, Tulan is completely outside the geographical footprint of the new PAC-12. Unlike the USF, New Orleans and Memphis are in the central time zone, but travel concerns remain significant.

And once again, the excessive AAC output fee is outlined above everything.

Tulan’s investment in athletics has been paid as Fritz raised the football program to a multi -year AAC contender.

Fritz continued, but Tulan remains one of the best athletics programs in many athletics outside Power 4.

If another South School (Memphis, Texas State and/or UTSA) is ready to board the green wave, PAC-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould should welcome Tulan with open arms.