The college football landscape seems to be shifting by the day, with countless rumors about big time programs interested in switching conferences. One surprising conference could have some interest from current Pac-12 and Big 12 schools that are looking to move.
Mountain West Conference commissioner Craig Thompson on Thursday joined “Colorado’s Morning News” show on KOA 850 AM & 94.1 FM radio with Marty Lentz and Mike Rice. Thompson was asked about the chances that the Mountain West both adds and loses schools.
“We’re not necessarily in a position of ‘wait and see,’ but there could be some Big 12 schools, there could be some Pac-12 schools that would be interested in the Mountain West Conference,” Thompson said. “I think I’ve probably fielded three or four calls from institutions this week saying ‘hey, don’t forget about us if you’re looking to expand.’ But I don’t know if that’s in our best interest at the moment.”
Thompson’s comments seem to speak to the chaos that has ensued ever since it was announced that USC and UCLA were leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten in 2024.
While the Mountain West may not be actively pursuing the addition of any disgruntled Pac-12 schools, the Big 12 is reportedly targeting Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah, among other schools in the conference. Adding any number of these teams could strengthen the conference with Texas and Oklahoma set to leave for the SEC in 2025.
If non-Power 5 conferences like the Mountain West start getting into the re-alignment mix, an already hectic college football offseason could get wilder.
