The Pac-12 is raiding the Mountain West as part of its reincarnation effort, and the Mountain West is hoping to stop the bleeding.
The Pac-12 announced Thursday that four schools will be leaving the Mountain West Conference to join the Pac-12 in 2026. Those four schools include Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State.
The Mountain West features 12 schools, so the change will bring them down to 8.
According to Tim Montemayor, a former Utah sports radio host, the Pac-12 wants to get to 10 schools and has interest in adding UNLV from the Mountain West. However, the Mountain West reportedly is trying to negotiate a settlement with the Pac-12 to stop the hostile takeover.
I am told the #PAC12 is looking to get to 10 teams, and would like to have #UNLV be part of that, but has agreed not to take more members of the MWC until a negotiated settlement is reached between the two parties. https://t.co/Ck5GADhkQb
— YouTube: The Monty Show (@TheMontyShow) September 12, 2024
The Mountain West needs to have 8 teams to retain its FBS status, which is one of many reasons they wouldn’t want to lose further schools.
The Pac-12 could also look to grow by welcoming back a few schools.
What we’ve learned over time is that the status of conferences seems to constantly be a fluid situation.
