Pac-12 leaders are mobilizing in pursuit of more expansion members after a group of American Athletic Conference schools decided to spurn the league’s interest to join.
Leaders of the conference met Monday over other potential options for expansion. That included an effort to target Mountain West members UNLV and Utah State, the latter of which is now bound for the Pac-12.
Utah State has agreed to join the new Pac-12, sources tell Yahoo Sports, and will eventually become the seventh member.
The other Mountain West schools re-committed to their current conference — with the exception of UNLV, which is still mulling its options.
The Mountain West is proposing a tiered distribution of the wealth, with each member receiving a financial boost. Air Force signed such an agreement with the league Monday. The academy is expected to receive a signing bonus of at least $10 million, sources tell Yahoo Sports. At least one other school, UNLV, could receive a similar financial bonus.
The Pac-12, for now a two-school league, needs to reach eight full members by summer of 2026 to meet NCAA conference requirements. In an effort to rebuild the conference, Oregon State and Washington State executed the first phase of a multi-step expansion effort last week adding Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State and Fresno State. The teams will join the league in July of 2026 and each owe the Mountain West an exit fee of at least $17 million.
Utah State and UNLV were the top Pac-12 targets as of late Monday, but it is unclear if an agreement can be reached with the latter considering the situation in the state of Nevada, where politics are at play.
The Nevada System of Higher Education and its board of regents governs both schools and must approve decisions related to conference affiliation. The current governor of the state, Joe Lombardo, is a graduate of UNLV. The president of University of Nevada-Reno, Brian Sandoval, is a two-term governor of the state who holds respect and power among the regents.
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