Mountain West looking to avoid conference purge by Pac-12
By Austen Bundy
It's been two weeks since the Pac-12 coaxed four premier Mountain West programs to leave their current home for the sunny shores of the West Coast. Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State all agreed to join in 2026.
That's a significant chunk of the Mountain West, and it's reportedly in danger of losing more members to the conference it once had a football scheduling agreement with. ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Monday that the Mountain West is executing a gut check on the rest of its members in an attempt to stave off future poachings by the Pac-12.
Air Force is currently expected to publicly express its recommitment to the Mountain West, per Yahoo Sports. San Jose State also plans to commit.
Utah State is expected to take its offer from the Pac-12, per Thamel, who also said that UNLV officials are expected to huddle tonight to further evaluate options. These two would be the Pac-12's final two additions so that it can meet the NCAA requirement of eight members to be FBS eligible.
Sources: In the wake of Utah State's commitment to the Pac-12, UNLV's commitment to the Mountain West has not been formalized. The school send in an MOU to the Mountain West, but that was predicated on all eight schools committing. The school is continuing to explore options.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 24, 2024
The floundering conference already lost its opportunity to expand East (for now) as the American Athletic Conference's Memphis, Tulane and South Florida are all expected to stay after it was speculated they could be approached next.
The Mountain West is fighting for its own survival now
The Mountain West sits at eight teams after the four-team exodus on Sept. 12. So it has no room for error in retaining members before it also slips below the NCAA minimum.
According to Thamel, the conference is expected to offer renewed revenue-sharing contracts with the remaining members—including big payouts to Air Force and UNLV—in its effort to hold on to its roster of schools.
With the Mountain West and Pac-12 now seemingly at odds with one another, trying to survive in the new tumultuous college football landscape, there could be more movement coming.
Thamel also noted the Mountain West will try to add more schools to its core of eight, which could interfere with the Pac-12's scramble to meet the NCAA minimum by the end of its two-year grace period in 2026.
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