In a surprising move Wednesday night, news emerged that Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State will leave the Mountain West Conference to join Oregon State and Washington State in the Pac-12 prior to the 2026-27 academic year. This latest round of conference realignment stems from the collapse of the Pac-12 last summer, which was put into motion the year before when UCLA and USC announced they were leaving for the Big Ten.
When Oregon State and Washington State sued the Pac-12 last year for control of the conference board in the wake of eight schools departing, they spelled out in legal filings that they wanted to be able to rebuild the conference. That didn't mean they definitely planned to execute such a plan. But it has always been an appealing option, even if it was going to be complicated to pull off.
The NCAA requires conferences to have at least eight members and after the Pac-12 fell apart, it was afforded a two-year grace period to exist below the minimum. That timeline informed how quickly the conference had to move in order to continue to exist.
The way the MWC bylaws are written, departing schools must pay an $18 million exit fee if they give two years notice. That number doubles if it's less than that. The departing schools here expect to owe $18 million each, which is more than $70 million collectively, plus the $40-plus million the Pac-12 will owe the Mountain West in poaching fees that were part of the conferences' agreements.
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