The Pac-12 Expansion Saga Continues With MWC Programs Declining Invites

It’s been a busy day for both the Pac-12 in name only and the Mountain West Conferences. This year, the Pac-12 was made up of two schools: Washington State and Oregon State. They were given until Summer of 2026 to get the conference back up to eight schools to be recognized by the NCAA.

Two weeks ago, the Pac-12 was able to lock down Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State, and Fresno State to make it a 6-Pac, as fans affectionately called it. They need two more for the opportunity to make a future College Football Playoff and so forth.

Today, four American Athletic Conference programs were offered spots but declined, sticking with the 15-school AAC.

The Pac-12 Expansion Saga Continues With MWC Programs Declining Invites

5 MWC Schools Join Pac-12

The Mountain West set a deadline of 5:00 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time for its schools to sign a new Grant of Rights and reaffirm the commitment to the conference. At that self-imposed deadline, five schools did not sign and left for the Pac-12:

• Boise State (on Sept 12)
• Fresno State (On Sept 12)
• San Diego State (On Sept 12)
• Colorado State (On Sept 12)
• Utah State

3 MWC Schools Stay Home

• Air Force
• UNLV
• San Jose State

4 MWC Schools Still Up in the Air

• Nevada
• New Mexico
• Wyoming
• Hawai’i (football only)

Now What?

Now that the dust has settled, the Pac-12 is sitting at seven programs: Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Oregon State, San Diego State, Utah State, and Washington State.

The Mountain West, once these moves take place in 2026, will be left with seven programs, assuming the four up in the air come back: Air Force, Hawai’i, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV, and Wyoming,

The eight-team requirement is necessary across the board, to the Mountain West will need to backfill to get to that number, at the very least. Two schools that have been tossed around are UTEP from Conference USA and Tarleton State from the FCS level. Both would be worthy additions and would make sense, geographically.

In all reality, college football needs to be nationalized. This constant state of flux where programs are jumping from conference to conference to create new conferences that are nation-wide is not sustainable. While the initial College Football Super League pitch was weak, there are better solutions out there.

The Pac-12 is a shell of its former self. The Mountain West now has to move forward with UNLV and Air Force as it’s premier programs. And, who’s to say this all won’t go up in flames with the possible death of the ACC when/if Clemson and Florida State get their ways?

Who will each conference go after now?

September 24, 2024 EDIT: There has been a curveball. So, that Grant of Rights from the Mountain West was contingent on the eight teams who had not yet defected signing. So, despite Air Force signing, it doesn’t hold any bearing. According to reports, UNLV didn’t actually sign anything, despite previous reports. Both Air Force and UNLV are exploring options after Utah State defected threw a wrench in everything.

We may be seeing the end of the Mountain West in real-time.