Boise State, Colorado State Among 4 Schools to Join Pac-12, Leave Mountain West
Mike Chiari@@mikechiariFeatured Columnist IVSeptember 12, 2024
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The Pac-12 confirmed Thursday that it has reached agreements with Mountain West Conference programs Boise State, San Diego State, Fresno State and Colorado State to join the revamped Pac-12.
Pac-12 Conference @pac12Good morning! It’s a beautiful new day đ#BackThePac pic.twitter.com/jfIU1Gk22u
Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports first reported the news, and ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Chris Vannini of The Athletic later confirmed that the four MWC schools would join the Pac-12 alongside holdovers Oregon State and Washington State.
Brett McMurphy of The Action Network noted that the aforementioned MWC teams will officially join the Pac-12 in 2026.
While the four Mountain West teams joining the Pac-12 are a solid foundation for a revitalized conference, the Pac-12 still has to add at least two more members to be recognized as an official FBS conference.
The Mountain West Conference is set to receive $111 million in exit fees as a result of the departures, per McMurphy. Each team will have to pay the MWC $17 million, which the Pac-12 is expected to “help offset,” plus the Pac-12 will have to pay the Mountain West another $43 million as part of a scheduling agreement between the conferences.
Both USC and UCLA announced in 2022 that they were leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, and after the Pac-12 was unable to nail down a suitable television deal, a mass exodus followed.
Last year, Oregon and Washington announced their intention to go to the Big Ten; Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah said they were going to the Big 12; and California and Stanford decided on a move to the ACC.
That left Oregon State and Washington State as the last Pac-12 schools standing, and since there was not enough time to rebuild the conference for the 2024 college football season, they agreed to align with the Mountain West by scheduling six MWC teams each this season.
Last week, ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura reported that the Pac-12 and Mountain West failed to agree to a deal to extend their scheduling agreement beyond the 2024 season.
Landing Boise State, San Diego State, Fresno State and Colorado State is a major coup for the Pac-12 in terms of inching back closer to Power Five status.
Boise State is the most significant addition since the Broncos have long been among the best teams in college football from outside the power conferences.
They memorably went undefeated and beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl in 2006, and they have 18 double-digit-win seasons since 1999.
It is unclear what other schools the Pac-12 could target in order to reach official conference status, but the American Athletic Conference has several programs that could be appealing, including Memphis and Tulane.
