The future of University of Wyoming’s athletics competing in the Mountain West Conference became much more uncertain Thursday morning.
That’s because the Pac-12 Conference announced its poaching some of the most prominent schools in the Mountain West Conference to fill holes left by a host of big-name schools leaving the conference last year, like UCLA, USC, Oregon, Washington and the University of Colorado.
Now the new-look Pac-12 promises to have a Mountain West flavor that could impact the University of Wyoming’s longest and most intense rivalries. While UW isn’t one of the Mountain West schools making the jump, Colorado State University is.
Along with CSU, Fresno State, Boise State and San Diego State will all be joining the Pac-12 Conference starting in 2026.
The Pac-12 is on a hiatus from athletic participation after the mass exodus of schools last year started by CU.
The conference, which some people now refer to as the Pac-2, only has two members now in Oregon State and Washington State. These two schools have a scheduling partnership with the Mountain West for this football season. Wyoming will play at Washington State in its season finale Nov. 30.
Chad Baldwin, a spokesperson for the university, said UW is not commenting on the announcement at this time but likely will in the future.
Why It Matters
The announcement is a huge blow for the Mountain West Conference.
In college athletics, football is the biggest source of revenue because of the lucrative TV contracts it draws. Fresno State and Boise State are among the strongest football programs in the Mountain West.
Football is also critical as participation in the College Football Playoff has major payouts for participants and the entire conference they belong to. With the field of the playoffs expanded to 12 teams this season, an elite team in the Mountain West now has a legitimate chance of making the playoffs.
Also, San Diego State is a men’s college basketball powerhouse, and with that school comes the desirable Los Angeles TV market.
Although UW is very competitive in Mountain West athletics, what it struggles to bring to the table is a large TV market because of Wyoming’s small population.
According to the Associated Press, the Pac-12 and the departing schools will likely be on the hook for about $110 million in exit fees and penalties to the Mountain West.
In a statement late Wednesday night, Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez said she plans to enforce these penalties. She also said the conference’s board of directors will meet to discuss its next steps.
“All members will be held to conference bylaws and policies should they elect to depart,” she said. ”The requirements of the scheduling agreement will apply to the Pac-12 should they admit Mountain West members.”
What Does It Mean For The Future?
With the departure of the four Mountain West schools, the Pac-12 is still two schools shy of the eight it needs to be recognized as a conference by the NCAA, which still leaves an opening for UW to potentially be accepted into the Pac-12 if invited in the future.
Baldwin would not comment on whether UW is actively soliciting an invitation.
The two schools most likely to be brought back in the Pac-12 fold are Stanford and California, which are now playing with teams on the other side of the country in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Meanwhile, the Mountain West will drop to eight schools from its current membership of 12, unless it adds schools from lower conferences, which is a possibility. If it stays in the Mountain West, Wyoming will likely experience more relative success in athletics but likely less national prominence and exposure and high-level TV coverage.
Also gone will be the guaranteed rivalry games between UW and Colorado State, although schools with traditions like these have typically retained playing games against each other when they switch conferences, as proven by UW’s home game against BYU this weekend.
Although it’s a remarkable comeback for the Pac-12, it remains to be seen if the conference will return to its former glory as its top former programs like USC, UCLA and Oregon are all now in the Big Ten.
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
