The Pac-12 expansion effort was thrown into disarray on Monday after the additions of Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State and San Diego State. On the same day that it began being rejected by AAC targets, the league announced Tuesday evening that Utah State had formally accepted an invitation to join the league in 2026.
With Utah State leaving, the Mountain West and Pac-12 are now down to seven members each. According to Yahoo Sports, the Mountain West has received rights grants from seven current members, including UNLV. However, the MWC is still in danger of disbanding without the minimum eight schools needed to be recognized as an FBS conference, and rights grants are non-binding, meaning UNLV and Air Force, who have attracted interest from other schools, could still drop out.
The new Pac-12 has not signed new television contracts with its seven current members, who will not play together until 2026. The Mountain West’s current contract expires in 20 months. In fact, sources have told CBS Sports that both conferences are actively seeking media partners without knowing for sure what their respective lineups will be made up of. Additionally, it is believed that the Pac-12 has been pitching media rights deals to these American schools that would pay them $10 million to $15 million per year. This is where the speculation part comes into play. As mentioned earlier, neither the MWC nor the Pac-12 have long-term media rights agreements. Streaming is believed to be part of the Pac-12’s media rights plan.
CBS Sports has confirmed that Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez is trying to get existing schools to sign at least five-year rights deals in order to enter the market. This is a cart-first situation. The Mountain West is seeking media deals without knowing its lineup of members, and is now trying to solidify that lineup with rights grants.
Industry sources were skeptical of the move because the league just transferred four of its best programs — Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Boise State — to the Pac-12. Sources told CBS Sports that the four schools were “incentivized” to move to the Pac-12 because they would each receive $5 million to $7 million from Pac-12 funds. The combined transfer fees and penalties for the four schools are $45 million, which the Pac-12 would theoretically fund at some point.
AAC goals are maintained
Early Monday morning, Memphis, Tulane, UTSA and USF – all schools that had reportedly been targets of the Pac-12 – issued statements reaffirming their commitment to the AAC.
“We are a conference that prioritizes the welfare of our student-athletes, has proud academic institutions, produces the highest level of intense competition, and has outstanding national and direct-to-consumer media partners,” the AAC said in a statement. “Together, we are committed to continuing to build the American brand, exploring new opportunities for exposure and value, and developing innovative economic resources – all for the benefit of our student-athletes. We know there has been interest in our institutions from other conferences, but we firmly believe it is in our individual and collective best interest to maintain our commitment to each other. Together, we will continue to modernize our conference, enhance the student-athlete experience, achieve championship-winning success, and build for the future.”
According to Yahoo Sports, the Pac-12 argued in its presentation that if AAC powerhouse teams joined the league, the league could generate $12 million in share revenue per school, up from the roughly $9 million AAC programs receive, while also potentially requiring a $25 million exit fee to move to the Pac-12.
The four American schools decided to stay due to stability, and the league has existing television contracts that expire in 2032. The Pac-12 and Mountain West proposals were noted as “speculative” because they do not have television contracts.
These decisions are big wins for the AAC as it seeks to maintain its status as the top non-powerhouse league in the country. The conference has been a consistent expansion target over the past decade, with a combined four schools joining the Big 12 and ACC. The league now holds onto its most valuable assets.
