Pac-12 making push to poach Mountain West teams, per report
The Pac-12 is in the midst of attempting to expand their conference, currently slated to have six members. A more national approach was taken before multiple schools remained committed to the AAC and publicly announced as such on Monday afternoon.
According to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo, the Pac-12 is shifting their focus back out West to current members of the Moutain West. The two conferences are described to be “in a race” against one another with athletic directors having a decision to make by 7 p.m. ET/5 p.m. MT.
“Pac-12 is mobilizing to target Mountain West members in a race against MWC’s efforts to secure schools with financial incentives, sources tell @YahooSports,” Dellenger said via X. “Utah State, UNLV, Nevada & SJ State, as of 530 ET, have not signed. Air Force to get $10M+ bonus.”
In his report, Dellenger lists two schools as the Pac-12’s targets — Utah State and UNLV. From a pure basketball standpoint, there are still conversations ongoing with Gonzaga, arguably the West Coast’s biggest brand in the sport.
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However, ESPN’s Pete Thamel later reported UNLV is expected to commit to the Mountain West for the future, hoping to be one of the conference’s flagship programs. San Jose State will remain with the MWC as well.
“Sources: UNLV has agreed to commit to the Mountain West for future membership,” Thamel said via X. “This looms large for the Mountain West, as UNLV and Air Force are considered the flagship schools for the league’s future. San Jose State also plans to commit this evening, per a source.”
Six members are currently slated to be a part of the future Pac-12, with Oregon State and Washington State being left behind by the now Big Ten and Big 12 schools. Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, and San Diego State will leave the Mountain West to join the Pac-12 in July 2026 while paying exit fees of $17 million each.
As the Pac-12 is looking to meet the NCAA conference requirements, eight members will be required by the summer of 2026.
Four AAC teams reaffirm commitment to conference amid Pac-12 interest
Reports surfaced Monday that Memphis, Tulane, and South Florida were officially expected to remain in the American Athletic Conference despite recently exploring joining Pac-12 in expansion. Following the Pac-12 losing 10 programs in the latest round of conference realignment and recently announcing the addition of four Mountain West teams to their league earlier this month.
But no teams from the American Athletic Conference will be making that move as well. As a group of the AAC’s top programs announced their commitment to their conference quickly following those reports. A joint statement that featured UTSA along with the three aforementioned schools made alongside the AAC on Monday that can be seen below.
“We are the American Athletic Conference,” the statement read. “A conference that prioritizes student-athlete welfare, has proud academic institutions, produces fierce competition at the highest level, and has outstanding linear and direct-to-consumer national media partners. Together, we are committed to continuing to build the American brand, exploring new opportunities for exposure and value, and developing innovative economic resources, all in service of our student-athletes.”
“While we acknowledge receiving interest in our institutions from other conferences, we firmly believe that it is in our individual and collective best interest to uphold our commitment to each other. Together, we will continue to modernize the conference, elevate the student-athlete experience, achieve championship-winning successes, and build the future.”
On3’s Kaiden Smith contributed to this report