After the new look six-team Pac-12 conference began to look around the country for new members to complete the rebuild of the conference, Monday presented several shakeups to the leagues plan.
The University of Southern Florida, Texas San Antonio, Memphis and Tulane University all re-committed to the AAC as was said in a statement by the conference Monday on X.
According to Yahoo Sports reporter Ross Dellenger, AAC commissioner Tim Pernetti is exploring private-equity deals for the league, along with new distribution models and further expansion.
One hurdle in adding the four schools, Dellenger reported, was a $25 million exit fee, which the Pac-12 offered to pay $2.5 million of. Ultimately, the four schools rejected offers from the Pac-12, which will now focus on looking elsewhere to keep expanding the league.
Another potential Pac-12 target in Air Force expressed its ongoing commitment to the Mountain West Conference according to Dellenger as well. Air Force was rumored to be receiving interest from the AAC, which already holds Navy and Army.
The Pac-12 is operating under a two-year NCAA grace period and must get to eight teams by the summer of 2026 to rebuild the conference. In recent reports, the league has been looking at a West Coast school specializing on the court, not the field.
According to ESPN, GU said it would join if it got a full revenue share, with Saint Mary’s also having preliminary discussions with the Pac-12. However, GU athletic director Chris Standiford denied the report Monday.
“That is not accurate reporting,” Standiford said.
Also staying put, UNLV and San Jose State University reaffirmed their commitment to the MWC Monday in a report from Pete Thamel, ESPN college football insider, on X. The report leads to another two teams off the Pac-12’s board of options regarding expansion.
The lone silver lining, however, is that Utah State University accepted an offer to join the Pac-12, per Thamel.
The addition now puts the Pac-12 at seven teams, needing one more to be an eligible conference in 2026. As of now all five new additions to the the league have come from the MWC.
With what has been a largely unsuccessful day for the Pac-12, commissioner Teresa Gould has the task of finding not only an eighth team but also proving that the new additions make the conference stand out.
The Pac-12, however, has been crafty thus far, and if the last 13 months have taught anything, it is that anything could happen.
