Late Night Breaking College Football News?
There was some huge breaking news in the world of college football last night. It looks like the Pac-12 (Pac-2?) has seemingly returned from the dead. Late last night Brett McMurphy a long time College Football writer and insider posted this news:
Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State & San Diego State leaving Mountain West to join Pac-12 in 2026, sources told @ActionNetworkHQ. Official announcement is expected Thursday morning, sources said. The MWC schools will join Oregon State & Washington State, but Pac-12 still…
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) September 12, 2024
The Pac-12 Is Back….Sorta
The Pac-12, previously thought to be defunct after losing 10 schools to other conferences, has surprised social media with the potential addition of four Mountain West schools. Despite these additions, the conference will still fall short with only six schools, as the NCAA requires a minimum of eight to maintain FBS status. This is per Oliver Hodgkinson of College Football Network:
Point of note: even with the addition of four MW teams, the Pac-12 would still need an additional two teams to qualify as a functioning FBS conference. Eight teams by 2026 is the magic number.
— Oliver Hodgkinson (@ojhodgkinson) September 12, 2024
Can we nickname it the State Conference?
How Does The Pac-12 Get There?
Again per Oliver Hodgkinson and Pat Forde:
According to @ByPatForde, the four new teams plus Oregon State and WSU will be part of a “collaborative process” to select the additional two programs that make up the minimum requirement.
— Oliver Hodgkinson (@ojhodgkinson) September 12, 2024
So of course the question is what two schools do they bring in? One school that many fans have brought up is adding UNLV. UNLV has been a bit up and down in the Mountain West but mostly they have been one of the better programs in the conference and would be a good addition. I would expect them to be one of the schools the Pac-12 adds. What other school they add though could be a number of options that the Pac-12 goes with. Some schools that Oliver brought up to me were:
It this point I think four scenarios make sense:
– Cal and Stanford if the ACC has issues
– If NDSU and SDSU wanted to head to the FBS
– UConn and a MAC school (the MAC has an uneven number of teams from 2025)
– Two AAC schools (Memphis, Tulane)— Oliver Hodgkinson (@ojhodgkinson) September 12, 2024
NDSU likely prefers to remain dominant in its current setting, while SDSU might consider leaving NDSU’s influence behind. Cal and Stanford are unlikely to return after their recent departures, and UConn is probably not competitive enough. Adding two AAC schools could be beneficial, with Tulane’s recent success and Memphis’s decent performance. The landscape is changing, and the balance of power conferences could shift back to five by 2026.
What Does This Mean For The Mountain West Conference?
The Mountain West Conference (MWC), a strong Group of Five conference formed from the Western Athletic Conference, currently has eight schools and aims to expand back to at least ten, possibly twelve. Recruiting new members may be challenging compared to the Pac-12, but options exist, such as FCS teams like North Dakota State or South Dakota State, MAC schools like Toledo or Bowling Green, C-USA teams such as Liberty or Sam Houston State, and Sun Belt options like Marshall or Texas State. The potential changes will likely impact other conferences as well.
For More Great Content
Follow me on Twitter @bmaafiNFL and follow us @GridironHeroics for more great content. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in NFL and College Football, Click here!
