The fun never ends when it comes to conference realignment.
In the past 18 months, virtually every conference across college athletics has monumentally shifted, whether it’s the Big Ten and SEC growing, the Big 12 swallowing up the remaining Pac-12 teams, UConn flirting with the Big 12, or anything else, it seems like realignment will be an evergreen part of college sports forever.
The rumor mill continued churning Monday, as ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that the Air Force Falcons, members of the Mountain West Conference since the conference’s inception in 1999, are a ‘serious target’ to join the American Athletic Conference.
Sources: Air Force has emerged as a serious target to be added to the American Athletic Conference. Air Force had emerged in conversations as a potential AAC add in recent months, prior to the Pac-12 taking four Mountain West schools last week. pic.twitter.com/yDhK1nBNaA
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 16, 2024
Should Air Force make the jump, the Mountain West would face an uncertain future, as four teams are already leaving to join the Pac-12 in 2026 and Air Force leaving would give the Mountain West just six teams, two below the NCAA’s requirement of eight for conferences.
Army and Navy joined the American as football-only members starting in the 2024 season, and it seems that Air Force will follow suit soon.
