The Mountain West Is Working on a Plan to Retain Schools

Two weeks ago, the Pac-12 announced that it would add four Mountain West schools—Boise State, SDSU, Fresno State, and Colorado State, in 2026. 

The Mountain West is working on a written commitment from existing members to remain in the conference, a source confirms to Front Office Sports. The deal will include financial incentives for members. If the league is successful in this endeavor, the agreement will be signed and announced by the end of Monday. Air Force, one of the schools considering leaving, has agreed to remain in the conference as of 6:00 ET.

The main goal is keep the Pac-12 from poaching additional Mountain West schools like UNLV. The Pac-12 still needs two more existing FBS members to maintain its current status, according to NCAA rules. (The conference has talked with Gonzaga—a potential fit from a basketball standpoint—though the school wouldn’t count toward the FBS minimum. The Pac-12 has not made a formal offer to Gonzaga as of Monday afternoon, a source told FOS.)

Also on Monday, the AAC announced that Memphis, Tulane, UTSA, and USF would remain in the conference despite being courted by others, and later suggested the rest of its schools had made the same commitment.

Even if the agreement is successful, the Mountain West has plenty of work to do in order to rebuild and replace the four schools it will lose to the Pac-12. However, the conference has received interest from several schools in both the FBS and FCS classifications, a source previously told FOS.