We’ve seen lots of conference realignment and program shuffling in college athletics over the past decade plus. There are now 16-team Super conferences on the immediate horizon.
As a result of all the movement, we’ve seen a former Power Six conference, the Big East, simply punt (before being resurrected for basketball only) and the historic Western Athletic Conference cease playing football. We’ve seen conferences like the American Athletic be born and flourish, so much so that their three best programs got poached by the Big 12.
What we haven’t seen? A merger. Could that be part of the next wave of realignment?
Consider this: The ground is shaky underneath the Pac 12 conference right now. USC and UCLA have already announced plans to jump to the Big 10. Oregon and Washington could be next. Rumors swirl about Stanford and Cal joining too. Colorado and Utah are rumored to be headed to the Big 12.
The Pac 12 could ultimately be forced to fold up shop too.
Or…they could join forces with the Mountain West.
This hasn’t been a very good football season for the MW to this point. Bell cow Boise State is just okay. Pre-season favorite Air Force has underachieved. They have teams like Nevada, Hawaii and Colorado State who’ve been part of the “Bottom 10” rankings during the first half of the season. The MW conference champion won’t be ranked high enough to even be considered for College Football Playoff.
Still, depending on what happens with the next wave of conference expansion/re-alignment, the Mountain West – which in a vast majority of football seasons this century has been the best of the Group of Five conferences – could find itself in a position to add, rather than subtract, college football programs that carry at least a little bit of cachet.
Problem is, the MW doesn’t have a phat media rights contract at the moment to entice schools to join. But the Pac 12 does, and rather than forfeit that, second-year Pac 12 Commish George Kliavkoff should be approaching the MW (and retiring Commish Craig Thompson) about joining forces.
The current MW schools would be all over it.
The result could be a 16-team conference that remains worthy of Power Five status.
How about a South Division that includes Arizona, Arizona State, San Diego State, UNLV, Air Force, Hawaii, New Mexico and Fresno State.
The North would have Boise State, Oregon State, Washington State, Wyoming, Colorado State, Utah State, Nevada, San Jose State.
With the addition of San Diego, Las Vegas and Denver, and the retention of San Francisco, Seattle and Phoenix, you’ve got some decent media markets for Kliavkoff to promote his product.
If you’re the Pac 12, and you’re about to go helmet-to-helmet with these pending defections, what have you got to lose?
Remember, the College Football Play-off format will change for the 2026 season and begin to include the six highest ranked conference champions. The restocked Pac 12/MW would be a lock to get one of those spots every season, and perhaps a second team for an at-large berth.
A decade ago, with their collective noses pointing skyward, Pac 12 schools would have looked at schools like San Diego State and Boise State as academic inferiors and wanted no part of a collaboration. But times have changed. A lot. Several MW schools are on par with many Pac 12 teams on the field, so if they want to keep their TV money, the Pac 12 better start looking at them as equals…and prospective business partners.
Certainly makes sense if only 4 current PAC12 schools remain. Good point.