Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez addresses possible addition of Oregon State, Washington State

During a game between Oregon State and San Jose State on Sunday, new Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez joined the broadcast and discussed the potential additions of Oregon State and Washington State.

Those two programs are the lone remaining programs in the Pac-12 following the most recent departures from the league, which has been decimated over the past few months.

The Mountain West will certainly be monitoring the situation closely, as the idea of a merger with the remaining teams could be on the table.

“They’re both amazing institutions and I respect everything they have built and they have going on,” Nevarez said. “They’re really playing well this season. We’re ready for anything. We’re open to all opportunities, and anything that makes the Mountain West stronger we’re willing to explore.”

As far as what makes the Mountain West an attractive potential destination for those two programs, on top of geography the league actually has a compelling revenue distribution case.

The league will be renegotiating soon, and the addition of two high-caliber members like Oregon State and Washington State could really bolster the Mountain West’s offering.

At the very least, the Mountain West appears stable.

“In addition to a statement that our presidents got behind a couple weeks ago about how we are united and solid, we have a really great national television package, thank you CBS and FOX,” Nevarez said. “But also we have a chance to go to market in a couple years as our media rights renegotiation will come up. We’re optimistic that we’ll be well-positioned for that.”

More on the Pac-12’s implosion

The likely death of the Pac-12 as a Power 5 conference began in the summer of 2022 when UCLA and USC announced their intentions to leave the league for the Big Ten following the 2023 season. That set the destabilization in motion.

As the Pac-12 failed to secure an attractive television package as a conference, the league’s remaining members began looking at their options.

Colorado was the first to jump ship after the Los Angeles programs, announcing in July it would join the Big 12 for the 2024 season.

After a brief holding pattern, Oregon and Washington announced they too would be joining the Big Ten with UCLA and USC. Shortly after that, the Big 12 announced the additions of Arizona, Arizona State and Utah.

That left only four programs.

Two more departed this week when the ACC officially added California, Stanford and SMU, leaving only Oregon State and Washington State left from the old Pac-12.