UNLV and Air Force have decided to stay in the Mountain West conference amid attempts by the Pac-12 and American Athletic Conference to lure them away. This decision follows the Mountain West offering financial incentives to encourage their prominent members to remain, according to a source familiar with the situation. The source spoke anonymously as the schools had not yet disclosed their intentions. The Mountain West has chosen not to comment on its internal discussions.
A report by The Action Network initially revealed that UNLV and Air Force had opted to remain in the Mountain West. The conference has experienced the departure of five members to the Pac-12 in the past two weeks, with Utah State being the latest to make the move. Commissioner Gloria Nevarez had been working on securing a multiple-year grant of rights to bind schools together within the conference through media rights, in efforts to maintain stability.
Despite the departures, the Mountain West is anticipated to receive around $100 million in exit fees from the exiting schools to help sustain the conference. On another front, the Pac-12 is currently engaged in legal action against the Mountain West regarding $55 million in poaching penalties related to a football scheduling agreement between Oregon State, Washington State, and the conference.
The source indicated that UNLV and Air Force were enticed to stay with signing bonuses exceeding $20 million, a sum that surpassed offers from other conferences seeking to recruit them. UNLV had been a target for the Pac-12 as its potential eighth member, while Air Force had attracted interest from the AAC to join Army and Navy in the same conference for the first time.
Remaining in the Mountain West are Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Jose State, New Mexico, Wyoming, Nevada, and Hawaii (a football-only member). The conference, much like the Pac-12, still requires at least one additional member to meet NCAA and College Football Playoff recognition criteria. The developments in the Mountain West conference’s retention efforts emphasize the competitive landscape of collegiate athletics and the strategic decisions being made by schools and conferences.