The Mountain West has received binding commitments from UNLV, Air Force and four other full members of the conference following the latest dominoes of conference realignment, Yahoo Sports and NBC Sports reported Thursday.
After Utah State became the fifth Mountain West school to agree to join the Pac-12 Conference, the other six member institutions stayed put, signing agreements that will give each one a signing bonus derived from Pac-12 exit fees. A specific dollar figure was not yet known.
UNLV rejected overtures from the rebuilding Pac-12. Air Force turned down heavy interest from the American Athletic Conference.
With those schools committing to the Mountain West late Wednesday, the remaining members lined up behind them on Thursday: Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State and Wyoming.
Hawaii, a football-only member, also agreed to remain affiliated with the Mountain West despite interest from the Pac-12, Yahoo reported Thursday.
The Mountain West still needs to add two more schools to get to the requisite eight to be recognized as a conference for the purposes of the College Football Playoff.
Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State have agreed to join Oregon State and Washington State in the Pac-12 in 2026.
With seven members, the Pac-12 is still one short of the minimum requirements. On Monday, Memphis, Tulane, South Florida and UTSA all passed on Pac-12 offers to remain in the AAC.
–Field Level Media
