As AAC schools evaluate, Pac-12 continues pressing for further expansion

Earlier this month, the Pac-12 announced its comeback. 

A year after being left to piece together a conference, Oregon State and Washington State succeeded. The Pac-12 added Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State. 

After entering a scheduling partnership with the Mountain West Conference for the 2024 season, the Pac-12 turned around and delivered a blow to the league. The move left multiple MWC institutions with a fractured conference and questions about their future status.

The chief goal now for the Pac-12 is to continue adding members. 

“The interest in the Pac-12 as a brand, and the interest in the future conference that we’re going to create and build is very, very high across a lot of different stakeholders,” Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould recently told On3. “Whether it’s potential media partners, whether it’s other corporate partners, institutions from other conferences, there’s just a lot of buzz and a lot of energy and a lot of interest in what we’re doing moving forward.”

Sources continue to tell On3 that American Athletic institutions Memphis and Tulane are two of the top targets for further Pac-12 expansion. South Florida and UTSA are also schools to watch. 

While those institutions continue to evaluate options and see presentations, sources have said the schools are not rushing a decision. But that doesn’t mean the Pac-12 isn’t pushing for a decision and clarity.

The sooner the Pac-12 receives clarity on which schools join, the sooner full TV talks begin. And if the AAC schools opt to stay, the Pac-12 will need to turn its attention back to the Mountain West.

As On3 reported last week, Air Force has re-emerged as a top target to join the American. The Falcons were previously in talks with former AAC commissioner Mike Aresco but those talks fell apart. Army and Navy are already in the conference. Playing in the “American” conference also makes sense for a service academy from a branding perspective, a source told On3.

Critical to Memphis, Tulane, USF and UTSA choosing the Pac-12 over the AAC is TV distribution. Sources have said that could range between $10 to $15 million annually. Yahoo! Sports also reported the Grant of Rights would last five years through 2030-31. Top AAC programs are currently making roughly $8 to 9 million annually all-in. 

The other key point is the cost of an exit fee. SMU reportedly paid $25 million to leave for the ACC. ESPN has reported the price tag could be nearly $27.5 million per school. 

The Pac-12 needs to add at least two more schools to reach the NCAA’s minimum to qualify as an FBS conference. The deadline to reach eight schools is July 2026.

Meanwhile, the Mountain West has continued to ramp up pressure on its schools and is trying to lock down commitments. On3 has not been able to confirm any reports of the MWC pressuring schools to sign a new Grant of Rights.

“Do they have a TV deal in place?” UNLV head coach Barry Odom told On3 about the school’s future in the MWC future. “What does that look like? I am a firm believer in let’s go put our action on the field, see how many we can win, see how good we can get, and everything else will take care of itself.

“… I know there’s a lot of conversations going on at the conference level.”