As the dust finally begins to settle on conference realignment with the 2023 college football season officially underway, options for the Pac-12’s lone pair of remaining schools are dwindling.
After the ACC added Stanford and California last week, Oregon State and Washington State are faced with an even more challenging task as they search for a conference home in 2024 and beyond. The most feasible scenario now seems to be joining forces with the Mountain West — expanding the conference to 14 football members.
On Saturday, Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez confirmed the conference’s interest in adding the two universities. “We’ve visited both schools, and we’ve started the conversation,” she said.
The American Athletic Conference said it would no longer consider adding West Coast schools, and the Big 12 has previously said it is done expanding.
One possible option is partnering with the Mountain West and keeping the Pac-12 name, but it is still being determined if that is still viable with just two Pac-12 schools left.
AAC Targets Army
AAC is reportedly targeting Army to replace Southern Methodist University, which decided to join the ACC.
Army is an independent school, and joining the AAC would put it in the same conference as its rival Navy. Army would like to keep its game against Navy at the same spot on the calendar — after conference championship games — meaning the matchup could remain a non-conference game.
