The Utah State Aggies will join the Pac-12 Conference in 2026, according to a report from Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports on Monday.
If the move is finalized, that will bring the rebuilding Pac-12’s membership roster up to seven schools. Oregon State and Washington State are the lone members of the Pac-12 through next season, but four other Mountain West teams — Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, and San Diego State — will officially join the Pac-12 in 2026.
NCAA bylaws state that Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) conferences must have a minimum of eight teams, so the Pac-12 will still need to add at least one additional school to meet that threshold. The league has a two-year grace period, per NCAA bylaws, so it can play under the minimum this season and in 2025.
Where will the Pac-12 look now? Per Dellenger, the UNLV Rebels are at the top of the list for a move, and the Air Force Falcons have also had serious discussions with the AAC. Those two exits would cause the Mountain West to fall below the eight-team threshold.
UNLV’s exit would likely send Air Force into more serious negotiations with the American Athletic Conference. AAC commissioner Tim Pernetti has been in discussion with the school now for more than a week about acquiring, at the very least, the Air Force football program as a partial member to join military brethren Navy and Army.
If it agrees to leave, Air Force would be the seventh member to exit the conference. According to Mountain West bylaws, support from nine of the 12 football members is necessary to dissolve the conference.
In short, two of the five remaining Mountain West members — Wyoming, Hawaii, San Jose State, Nevada and New Mexico — would have to vote in support of dissolution.
Stay tuned as more news will surely break today.