Pac-12, Mountain West reportedly considering promotion-relegation system amid merger talks

In a move that would be unorthodox for American college sports, to say the least, the two remaining Pac-12 schools and Mountain West conferences are pondering a merger that would build a relegation and promotion system for football and other sports, Yahoo Sports‘ Ross Dellenger reported. Any deal between the two conferences is unlikely in the short term.

But the idea of a two-tiered system where the Pac-12 keeps status as a major conference and the Mountain West sits as the lower league apparently has potential. One conference administrator expressed to Dellenger the need for the leagues to think outside their normal boxes.

“We have to think differently,” said one anonymous Mountain West athletic director to Yahoo. “We’re always trying to fit things in a box and we are always late to the party. How do we get in front of this?”

The way it would work out would be relatively simple: The two leagues would keep existence as such in terms of branding and status, critically, for the Pac-12, in the eyes of the College Football Playoff selection committee. Keeping the conferences separate in the eyes of the NCAA and CFP would also serve to protect payouts from NCAA basketball tournament shares and autobids for NCAA championships.

The goal is for the remaining members of the Pac-12 — Oregon State and Washington State — plus the 12 current Mountain West members, to add two more teams to get to 16 total. This would create, in essence, two eight-team conferences bound by a relegation agreement. It could also apply for sports beyond football, too.

Which of the Mountain West teams would get the first pick at going up to the Pac-12 could be a messy and political process. As for adding two more teams to get from 14 to 16, Dellenger posited that North Dakota State and South Dakota State, respectively, fit the bill.

The relegation system would work as such: The first-place team from the Mountain West regular season is promoted to the Pac-12 for the next season and the last-place team in the Pac-12 is relegated to the Mountain West. The No. 6 and No. 7 teams in the Pac-12 play to not get relegated, and the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the Mountain West play for promotion.

This creates two promotion/relegation games with real stakes, while also preserving a Pac-12 title game with the potential to set the league up for a bid in the 12-team College Football Playoff.

The model also creates a framework to setup in-season matchups, either across the two leagues or with the promoted and relegated teams facing off to open the season.

This all, of course, remains a theory until both leagues act. And that might take some time, as a Whitman County, Washington, court has ruled in favor of Oregon State and Washington State for a temporary restraining order to prevent the Pac-12 from meeting as the two teams left contend they have sole right to make decisions over the league with 10 other teams leaving.

Until that court case is settled and the question of “Who is in charge of the Pac-12 now?” gets answered, the potential for Pac-12 Relegation After Dark remains just that: Potential.