Utah State may be one of the targets for a rebuilding Pac-12 according to a report from Action Network that built on a brief note from Yahoo Sports from earlier in the week.
The Pac-12 made its first expansion move Sept. 12 when it announced the upcoming additions of four Mountain West schools — Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State — and are looking for a minimum of two more additions to reach an NCAA-mandated minimum of eight member institutions to remain a recognized conference.
Most reporting rumors thus far have focused on the Pac-12’s interest in adding schools in the AAC, mainly Memphis and Tulane with USF and UTSA also being under consideration.
The mutual interest of these teams is in question, however, particularly following a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel which indicated the exit fee from the AAC would be $27.5 million per school. The exit fee, in addition to an increase in travel costs, could dissuade those four from considering jumping ship, especially with the media deal value for the Pac-12 being uncertain. Per Ross Dellenger, the Pac-12 is pitching to prospective teams a media deal that would be worth between $12-15 million, but there are plenty of skeptics of that number.
In that same article from Dellenger, he dropped a quick note that the Aggies were possibly in line to receive an invite to the Pac-12 along with UNLV and Air Force.
“If Memphis does stay in the East, it could severely disable the MWC. The Pac-12 is likely to turn attention to UNLV, Air Force and Utah State, three programs that have or will soon see the league’s presentation to expansion members,” Dellenger wrote.
The Pac-12’s interest in the Aggies, or any other MW schools, seems to be largely dependent on what the AAC schools do as Dellenger said if they go west it would “likely eliminate” any chance more MW programs receive an invite.
While Dellenger’s reporting was brief and non-comital, on Saturday, Action Network reporter Brett McMurphy said outright that UNLV and Utah State “are the top expansion targets for the Pac-12 if the league decides to add schools in its geographical footprint” per the outlets sources.
“UNLV and Utah State both have gained momentum due to their competitive, revenue and viewership stats being on the rise, sources said,” McMurphy wrote. “Another source added that ‘the athletics and university leadership at both universities have a synergy with the new Pac-12 makeup.'”
