Realignment News Is On The Horizon As Teams Committ To Stay In Mountain West and AAC

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH- Bombshell news hit the college sports world on September 12, as the Pac-12 announced that they would be adding four new schools, all from the Mountain West Conference. The institutions set to make the jump include the Colorado State Rams, the Boise State Broncos, the Fresno State Bulldogs, and the San Diego State Aztecs, adding to the remaining two members of the old Pac-12, the Oregon State Beavers and the Washington State Cougars. The move will become effective on July 1, 2026.

Breaking: The Pac-12 is officially adding Boise State, Colorado State, San Diego State and Fresno State starting in 2026, the conference announced. pic.twitter.com/VPjK9OEncp

— ESPN (@espn) September 12, 2024

Six teams currently represent the Pac-12 but the conference will need to add at least two more to meet the NCAA minimum requirement and once again be recognized as a competing conference. There continue to be rumors as to where these teams may come from, but it is not out of the realm of possibility that other Mountain West schools could be invited and shift over.

With four prominent programs being picked off, the Mountain West Conference finds itself in a tough position, attempting to calm the stormy sea and keep their remaining eight schools from making the hasty move of leaving for another conference.

With so many questions still to be answered, Brett McMurphy of Action Network Joined Hans and Scotty G on the KSL Sports Zone to discuss what the future may hold for the Mountain West Conference and the future of college football as a whole.

Brett McMurphy Talks AAC, Mountain West, and  realignment with Hans and Scotty

Just before Hans and Scotty hopped on the phone with Brett McMurphy, news broke that Pac-12 targets Memphis, Southern Florida, UTSA, and Tulane would stay committed to the AAC and not enter the conference realignment mix.

We are the American Athletic Conference. pic.twitter.com/nuwCtF0dQz

— The American (@American_Conf) September 23, 2024

“Ya, I don’t think that’s a big surprise,” McMurphy said, “the numbers that the Pac-12 was offering, I don’t know if they were legit offers, to be honest, financially, they were more protections… so they’ve decided to stay on the Eastern part of the United States.”

With those four teams staying loyal to the American, the candidate pool for the Pac-12 became more shallow, likely exposing the most probable prey for the Pac-12.

“The Pac-12… they’ll look more at teams in their footprint: UNLV, Utah State, Air Force would be one… depending on your allegiance, that’s either good or bad, because that’s probably going to be another gut punch for the Mountain West because you’re probably going to lose some more schools to the Pac-12 now,” Brett speculated.

With such an uncertain future, that could mean a mass exodus from the Mountain West, Brett touched on the unfortunate consequences and collateral damage that result from conference realignment.

“I don’t think any conference is trying to wipe out another conference, all they’re trying to do is build up their conference as strong as they can. With whoever the Pac-12 takes from the Mountain West, could that ultimately end the Mountain West? Yes, but I don’t think that’s the intent of the Pac-12… It’s survival,” Brett continued, “you’re just trying to get the best schools you can… the end result is you might wipe out a conference.”

With reports coming in that the Air Force Academy has committed to the Mountain West Conference, the Pac-12 has even fewer expansion candidates.

Air Force remaining in Mountain West, source told @ActionNetworkHQ. 1st reported by @RossDellenger. This is huge for MWC in its fight not to lose any more schools to other leagues #RealignmentNeverSleeps

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) September 23, 2024

Utah State’s Fate

For the remaining Mountain West schools, there is a lot to come in the near future. One of those schools is Utah State, and many Aggie fans have watched with bated breath, not knowing what all of the maneuvering could mean for their crew up in Logan.

“[The Pac-12] doesn’t have a lot of options other than getting teams from the Mountain West. I think they’ve got a great opportunity, the question is how many teams will the Pac-12 add? Do they try to get three or four? That’s to be seen… I think Utah State is certainly in that mix with UNLV, perhaps Air Force,” McMurphy said.

However, with the recent news of Air Force staying in the Mountain West Conference, the Falcons joining the Pac-12 now seems unlikely.

With realignment dominos still falling, there is surely much more still to come, and college sports, as we know it now, could become unrecognizable from what it was just a few years ago.

Tanner Tripp is a sports writer for KSL Sports covering all teams across the state of Utah. Follow him on X @tanner_tripp and Instagram @tanner.tripp here.

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