Did the Pac-12 just kill the Mountain West? What’s left of the conference post-poaching

We are only two weeks into the 2024 season and still seeing the landscape of college football change. The Pac-12 dropped the breaking news late Wednesday night that they are interested in adding four Mountain West Conference teams. The news became final in just a matter of hours that Boise State,  Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State are the four teams leaving the Mountain West to officially become Power Five programs starting in the 2026 season.

This news affects the entire setting of college football as it keeps the Pac-12 in the Power Five. It brings the conference one step closer to having its conference title winner automatically receive a college football playoff spot. 

This move also affects how the Mountain West maintains its status as a legitimate threat to the college football world. These four teams leaving will have bigger implications to the landscape of college football than previously anticipated.

What’s left of the Mountain West?

Four key teams are already gone

The conference loses four of its most crucial teams to a Power Five program. Boise State has been consistently in the mix for a Cinderella championship every year since it defeated Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl in 2007. The Broncos have assembled two undefeated seasons and 13 10-win seasons since 2006.

Colorado State is a legitimate threat to win the conference every year. They are also in the spotlight because of the rivalry with the Colorado Buffaloes, led by Deion Sanders. Jay Norvell remains in a serious feud on the field with Sanders.

Fresno State and San Diego State are two programs that don’t have a rich history in football and getting players to the NFL, but they have great success in other sports. The main sports that will be serious threats in college basketball, especially for the San Diego Aztecs in men’s college basketball.

The total amount that the Pac-12 will have to pay for poaching the four teams is $111 million, according to NBC Sports.

Will more Mountain West teams leave?

Losing consistent contenders like Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State puts the conference in a tough bind with only eight teams. It may not stay that way, however.

The move might trigger the Pac-12 to go after more teams like Air Force, Hawai’i, Nevada or Wyoming. These are moves that will likely have to be made after the initial timeframe for the four previous teams leaving in 2026.

The Pac-12 is still at six schools with these four teams joining Oregon State and Washington State. They need to be at eight teams to be recognized as a Power Five program to earn an automatic bid for the playoffs.

There is a solid chance that California and Standford will rejoin the Pac-12 as they only left for the ACC to save their athletic programs. The Pac-12 might not stop there as they want to make their conference with teams rich with great previous history and a solid future ahead of them. Air Force, Hawai’i, Nevada and Wyoming are teams that come to mind. They could be next to join starting in the 2027 season unless the Pac-12 makes an even more impulsive push.

The Mountain West Conference has worked hard to get to the point where they are currently, a legitimate threat to Power Five conference teams, not just in football. This is a conference that lost BYU, TCU and Utah not too long ago. This poaching from the Pac-12 is a brutal blow to the conference and it might not be over, yet.