Mountain West Board Of Directors Meetings Included ‘Deliberate Discussions Related To Conference Realignment’
What is the Mountain West thinking for realignment?
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Is San Diego State on its way to Pac-12?
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The Mountain West held its board of directors meeting in Hawaii this past week — what a life. These things are usually full of league business and there is usually some dry stuff involved.
đđđđ: Mountain West Board of Directors Concludes Summer Meetinghttps://t.co/DrbGk06pwz
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) June 7, 2023
Not this time around as the meeting because the third thing mentioned after “strategic planning and branding analysis projects” was the line that the conference higher ups discussed “deliberate discussions related to conference realignment.”
Realignment has to be on the mind of new commissioner Gloria Nevarez because the worst kept secret in all of college athletics is that the Pac-12 is very likely going to invite San Diego State.
That is once the league finalizes a media rights deal.
San Diego State currently has a $17 million payment due to the Mountain West if it leaves by June 30th of this year, but that amount doubles if the Aztecs leave after July 1 with the intention of joining the Pac-12 for the 2024-25 academic year.
These meetings with the board of directors had to have been a huge deal. Not much was said but Nevarez in the past has said she does not want to be always thinking ahead.
âYou canât be reactive,â Nevarez said. âYou have to keep relationships warm, keep your ear to the ground to assess whatâs rumor and what might have legs. I donât know if you can prevent being totally caught off-guard, but even a day or 48 hours heads up, youâre better off.
“Concurrently, plan for losing school A, B or C. Have contingencies ready, schools that could potentially join. Thatâs all you can do at this point. What I like about the Mountain West, despite being an original disrupter, theyâve had stability.â
One proactive move that had at first just been tossed around with hypotheticals actually had some legs.
Per The Athletic, the Mountain West wanted to get into Texas with schools like North Texas, UTSA or Rice. However, not enough league presidents were on board because initially the revenue divided up would have been less by adding those schools from Texas.
This might have been a short-sighted attempt by saying no. Perhaps some of Craig Thompsons tendencies had worn off, as he was more reactionary to these types of moves.
Those teams are now in the AAC which gives the Mountain West even fewer options to possibly join the league if San Diego State is gone. It should be noted that UNLV, Fresno State, and Colorado State have been lightly mentioned as Big 12 or Pac-12 teams.
Options for the Mountain West to add teams — if they choose to go that route — are slim. The same names will be brought up like UTEP or New Mexico State. The former has a long-time relationship with about half of the league, but the Aggies in Las Cruces are even less desirable despite being a rival of New Mexico.
The Aggies do have a solid basketball program and the Miners have improved a bit under Dana Dimel. Those two are the only FBS schools out West as options if the Mountain West wants to keep geography in mind.
They could go back into Texas again to try for those new AAC schools, or try for others but Texas State and Sam Houston State aren’t great options just to be in Texas.
One thing that could possibly help the Mountain West lure in two up-and-coming brands in UTSA or North Texas which has had success back in its Sun Belt Days, and that is a new TV deal.
The Mountain West’s media rights deal pays out approximately $4 million per year, but Boise State makes a bit more due to a special deal they have.
That deal with with CBS and FOX runs through the 2026 academic year and negotiations should get going next summer heading into the 2024 football season.
The AAC currently pays out approximately $7 million per year. Perhaps the Mountain West and surpass that and snag some American schools. Their deal runs through 2031-32, so there is no increasing that deal any time soon.
Being proactive is what Nevarez should be doing just in case that San Diego State does make the expected move to the Pac-12. Or just kick the tires on some AAC schools as the Mountain West has leverage with a media rights deal upcoming soon.
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https://themw.com/news/2023/6/7/general-mountain-west-board-of-directors-concludes-2023-annual-summer-meeting.aspx