What Should Mountain West Do Once San Diego State Leaves?
Should the Mountain West add teams?
Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire
Maybe staying pat is an idea.
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Don’t kid yourself Mountain West fans, San Diego State is on its way out of this league to join the Pac-12. At least that is what has been reported for the last few months.
The only issue now is when the Pac-12 will invite them and how much the Aztec’s payout to the Mountain West will be.
San Diego State is asking the league for a one-month extension on having to pay either nearly $17 million or $34 million. Ideally, San Diego State would like to play less.
There is no real incentive for the Mountain West to do that as the league gets nothing out of it.
So… what should the Mountain West do under the assumption that San Diego State is going to leave the league?
We will provide a list of options that could be what the Mountain West could do. There are plenty and likely thousands of combinations to choose from.
It's just if but when SDSU leaves the league. What should Mountain West do?
— Mountain West Wire (@MWCwire) June 16, 2023
Do Nothing
This honestly might be the best option. The NCAA does not require 12 teams to host a football conference title game so that money maker is still on the table.
Being out West, the options to add an FBS school are very, very slim. There is UTEP and New Mexico State and neither of those sound like great ideas.
The Mountain West media rights deal is coming up fairly soon at the end of the 2026 school year between CBS and FOX. That means negotiations are likely to begin about two years out which is next spring.
The conference can start negotiating to see what is out there for the league about a year from now. That can give the conference time to see what teams they may or may not want to add.
The value of adding teams in their geographical footprint aren’t there so maybe staying at 11 football and 10 basketball schools for the time being is a good option.
Take Some Western Schools
As mentioned, UTEP and New Mexico State are the only two FBS teams in the area. Neither are great at football but at least the Miners have a historical tie to New Mexico, Air Force, Wyoming, and Colorado State when they were in the WAC together.
That could help make up for the fact that the Miners football success is actually lacking with just two bowl appearances since 2014.
The Aggies are in much worse shape as they are a drifting independent but there is some history by being in the WAC from 2005-2012 which included about half of the current Mountain West. New Mexico State did go to a bowl game this past year so there is hope.
Adding inventory might be the way to go even if the quality is not there.
Raid The New AAC
The Athletic reported that some of the Mountain West higher-ups were interested in some combination of UTSA, North Texas, or Rice to get a Texas presence.
Those schools were part of C-USA but this year are in the AAC. That is a nice jump in pay for those schools. That pay not be great for long as the American media rights deal with ESPN goes through the 2032 academic year.
The Mountain West will have a new deal in a few years and very well could surpass what the AAC is offering which is around $7 million per year. That is the edge for the conference in pulling in some of those schools.
UTSA and North Texas make a lot of sense as they have or recently had success at the FBS level. Rice on the other hand, has not but the school is in a large metro market with an excess of talent in Houston.
Getting the league to 14 teams and three in a close-ish area would mitigate travel with three Texas schools. Plus, from a competitive standpoint it might be a better fit than any other school combination.
Raid The FCS?
This scenario has many more options but the build up to FBS can take some time, well unless your named James Madison. Options out West will always include Montana and Montana State. That is a fierce rivalry, quality programs, and geographically sound.
However, the last time the Mountain West was looking at them they seemed fine at the FCS level.
Other Big Sky schools that could be an option are Sacramento State, Eastern Washington, Weber State, and dare we say Idaho? This conference is the best in the FCS and has had multiple playoff teams at the FCS level.
As for how many from this league is up for debate, plus do they want to jump higher.
Another school is North Dakota State and one of our writers Michael Daly made his pitch for the Bison.
The Bison would be able to bring NFL Draft prospects to the conference. Currently, there are 17 former North Dakota State players in the NFL. The Mountain West would benefit from a school that generates solid professional players. Former North Dakota State offensive lineman Cody Mauch was one of 10 FCS players drafted in 2023. Mauch was also the first FCS player selected in this year’s NFL Draft.
The question is there for North Dakota State if they want to move up.
Add Basketball Schools
Football is king but maybe go after some basketball schools that can help the league. Adding a hoops school would be in combination with football as well, since that is the sport that brings in the cash.
Grand Canyon makes a lot of sense in that regard. They have a tremendous student section with a ton of support despite the school being so young.
This could be an easy add, and with how much money it has perhaps a football program could be started down the road.
Plucking a school or two from the West Coast Conference like St. Mary’s or San Francisco could add depth to a solid league. We could mention Gonzaga but they’d likely have better offers with the Pac-12, Big 12 or even the Big East. However, the Mountain West should at least ask.
One other school to look at is Wichita State. The Shockers were on the radar of the Mountain West but the lack of a football team was an issue. The school did a feasibility study and it concluded it would be very expensive to add football (duh!). With the AAC losing big time basketball members Houston and Cincinnati, maybe the Shockers would be OK in going to the Mountain West.
Whatever the Mountain West decides to do it will shape the future of the conference for years to come, so this is kinda a big deal.
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