Conference realignment in college sports has been buzzing over the last few weeks, as the Pac-12 has retooled their group of members and the Mountain West has been forced to respond. After the Pac-12 poached five former Mountain West members, the Mountain West has been desperately searching for new members, to fill those spots. One of those rumored members was Texas State, who has come on over the last two years as a strong football program on the rise.
On Tuesday, the Bobcats made their official decision to remain in the Sun Belt in a statement on social media.
“The recent interest shown in Texas State and its presence across the college athletics landscape speaks volumes about the university and the work our stand and student-athletes have done to build the Bobcat brand nationally,” the statement, signed by Texas State Director of Athletics Don Coryell, read. “After preliminary discussions with an interested conference, we have decided not to make a change at this time. I’m looking forward to watching all of our sports continue to compete for Sun Belt Conference and National Championships.”
The Mountain West now has seven full-time members and eight football members (Hawai’i is football only) after the addition of UTEP earlier on Tuesday. They need to add one more full-time member by July 1, 2026 to remain an official conference.
Who else can the Mountain West add after Texas State decision?
The Mountain West is quickly running out of options after Texas State announced that they are staying in the Sun Belt instead of flipping conferences. The Mountain West’s pursuit of multiple AAC schools also came up empty, leaving them with limited options to find the final full-time member that they need to remain as an official conference.
The Mountain West can dip into the FCS ranks to try and find an eighth member, and multiple of the top football programs at that level — any of the great programs in North Dakota, South Dakota or Montana — would be logical geographical fits. Any of them would give the conference a lot of football pedigree that it lacks a little bit after losing Boise State.
The most logical option is New Mexico State. Their in-state rival, New Mexico, already plays in the Mountain West, and they could add a great rivalry to both their football and basketball conference slates. Historically, the Aggies have a successful basketball program and could attempt to improve their football tradition in a better league. With the options running out for the Mountain West and Texas State out of the running, this should be the next call that they make.
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