Pac‑12 Basketball Returns to the Strip
The Pac‑12 Conference announced that its basketball championships will once again be staged on the Las Vegas Strip, with the 2027 men’s and women’s tournaments slated for the MGM Grand Garden Arena from March 9 through March 13.
The decision marks a homecoming for the conference’s postseason events, which last convened at the same venue in 2024 for the women’s tournament and at the T‑Mobile Arena from 2017 to 2024 for the men’s competition.
This year’s field will feature a revamped play‑in round and double byes for the top two seeds, a format designed to reward higher placement and add extra excitement in the opening games.
The conference also welcomed a wave of new members — Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, San Diego State, Texas State and Utah State — who officially joined the league after the departure of ten schools two years ago, helping to reshape the Pac‑12’s competitive landscape.
The reconstituted Pac‑12 now consists of Oregon State and Washington State alongside the newcomers, while the Mountain West Conference will continue to hold its own basketball tournaments at the Thomas & Mack Center on the UNLV campus.
The move underscores Las Vegas’s growing role as a hub for collegiate sports, offering a vibrant venue and the city’s signature hospitality to fans, athletes and media alike.