The Mountain West Conference lost five teams to the Pac-12 starting in 2026, but it seems the conference won’t suffer any more departures.
The UNLV Rebels and Air Force Falcons pledged to remain in the conference on Wednesday night. According to Action Network’s Brett McMurphy, they will seemingly benefit from financial incentives via the exit fees of other Mountain West members.
Air Force & UNLV expected to remain in Mountain West, sources told @ActionNetworkHQ. The 2 schools are each expected to receive a signing bonus b/w $25-$30 million – 5 times their media rights value – from the pending exit fees the MW will receive, source said. MW still needs 1…
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) September 26, 2024
Air Force and UNLV both had interest from multiple conferences, including the American Athletic Conference and Pac-12.
ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura reported Wednesday night that with Air Force and UNLV confirmed to be staying, the Hawaii Warriors, New Mexico Lobos, Nevada Wolf Pack, San Jose State Spartans, and Wyoming Cowboys will all sign a ‘binding agreement’ to remain with the Mountain West.
The latest round of realignment got underway earlier in September when the Boise State Broncos, Colorado State Rams, Fresno State Bulldogs, and San Diego State Aztecs announced they would be heading to the Pac-12.
Earlier this week, the Utah State Aggies announced the same.
The realignments aren’t done yet, though, as both the Pac-12 and Mountain West are currently below the NCAA’s eight-member conference requirement.
