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Out of nowhere, the Pac-12 Conference landed Boise State, San Diego State, Fresno State, and Colorado State in another expansion move. As a result, the Mountain West Conference is now searching for answers, and other programs such as Air Force could also be on the move.
There aren't a ton of viable options for the Mountain West, and dipping into some top-end FCS programs could be a logical route. However, Chris Vanini of The Athletic mentioned a few programs as options for the MWC.
‘Sources familiar with discussions believe UTEP and Texas State are potential targets, as FBS members who wouldn’t have to make a transition. Sam Houston might be an option, too. New Mexico State is in the region, but the school is going through a presidential search, and New Mexico may not favor adding the Aggies. FCS Tarleton, located in Stephenville, is another potential Texas option. The school just recently completed its transition from Division II but is growing rapidly and has a lot of money at its disposal.'
Vannini mentions UTEP, Texas State, Sam Houston, and even New Mexico State as options, with FCS Tarleton State as another. While none of those are name-brand programs, the Mountain West has very few options.
Would UTEP, Texas State make the move to the Mountain West?
On the other hand, it remains to be seen if those schools, primarily UTEP and Texas State, would leave their current situations to join a suddenly-depleted MWC, as Vannini mentions.
‘The question is what kind of Mountain West these potential additional schools would be walking into. Texas State likely prefers the Sun Belt where it sits (or a possible future AAC invite), while Conference USA has a grant of rights that makes an exit fee larger, the only G5 league with such an agreement.'
The Mountain West is losing Boise State, its best school in football for the past decade. They are also losing Sa Diego State, whose basketball program was in the national title game two tournaments ago and has found much success on that front. Colorado State has found success in football and Fresno State has been competitive, for the most part, in football.
All of those factors diminish the value of the Mountain West Conference, so the incoming schools might not be so inclined to make what could be labeled as a lateral move.
However, Wyoming athletic director Tom Burman had some interesting thoughts on the MWC adding programs, per Vannini.
“If (these) eight can stay together and we can add some teams, we can really be a good league,” Burman said. “If (the Pac-12 can’t add AAC schools), it’s likely they’re going to circle back to the Mountain West, and we could lose an additional member or two members. So that’s why expansion is very, very important.”
It is another domino effect in college sports, and the Mountain West Conference is going to have a rough time finding some programs to add.
