In 1999 the Mountain West Conference was formed from teams that were part of the 16-team WAC. I got married that same year and having some money in our collective pocket, we went to Hawaii on our honeymoon because we knew we’d probably never do it again. Which we didn’t. It was obviously beautiful and a core memory for me but today’s MWC mutiny made me think of that trip. On more than one occasion during that week, one of the locals made it known that they were not happy with Wyoming as one of the teams that left Hawaii high and dry back in the WAC. I didn’t think much of it at the time. But this morning with four MWC schools officially announcing their intentions to leave for the Pac-2, I knew a little better about how the Rainbows must have felt. 

If you missed it, Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State and colorado state (I will not capitalize them) all accepted invites to join Washington State and Oregon State in an effort to re-expand the Pac-12 which collapsed last summer. 

For now, this leaves UNLV, Air Force, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah State, Nevada, San Jose State and Hawaii (football only) in 2026-27. 

My first reaction is anger, although after about an hour I’m not sure why. Will this Pac-12-2-6 league get more money? I assume that is their reasoning. But television revenue, or more specifically the lack of it, was the reason that teams like Utah, Arizona, Arizona State and Colorado bolted to the Big 12 after UCLA and USC defied all geographic common sense to join the Big Ten.

There is a buyout of between $17-18 million per school to leave the MWC with two years notice, which is what the four schools are expecting to pay per sources from ESPN. A one-year notice costs upward of $36 million. The four schools are reportedly joining their new league starting in the 2026-27 school year. 

There’s also the $43 million “poaching” fee that WSU and OSU agreed to with last year’s agreement to play the Mountain West schools. It states that if they tried to lure teams away from the MWC, that is the amount they would pay. So in theory, anywhere from $111 to $115 million on paper for this move. Now I’m sure lawyers will negotiate that number down. But even so, what television deal is coming to offset not only those upfront fees, but to make this a better league down the road?

It’s about assumed money and what I can only again assume is the automatic College Football Playoff aspect of the Pac-12, which still needs two more teams to reach the minimum of eight to meet conference requirements. 

What am I missing? It feels like a lot. I suppose more will come out but here are some thoughts as I try and swim through this latest muck of college realignment. 

• The MWC expands with top-tier FCS schools

In this case, teams like North Dakota State, Montana State, South Dakota State and Montana spring to mind. But would they even want to make that move? In my experiences, both personal and professional, the fans of those schools love their situation where it is. Filling their stadium and competing for an FCS national championship. I have no idea what kind of money, if any, they would gain by making a move to the FBS and the Mountain West. 

• The MWC expands with FBS teams

I know some Wyoming fans have been wanting teams like UTEP and New Mexico State back in the fold as old conference rivals for a long time. They are current members of Conference USA. From a geographical and historical standpoint, they make sense to me. New Mexico gets their in-state rival back in the same league and UTEP puts the MWC back in Texas. But geography has taken a back seat in this whole thing for a long time now. In a scenario where the league wanted to add back four members, who would be the other two? Maybe schools like Tulsa and North Texas make some sense as running mates located in Oklahoma and Texas. But as members of the American League, would they even want to make that move?

• Wyoming and maybe more MWC schools get the same invite

I’ll be honest, of all of the scenarios, this one seems the most murky to me as a fan/writer. I really don’t think the money is there for Wyoming to justify spending nearly $20 million in exit fees. Certainly not yet. And some of the reasons I love Wyoming and it’s conference members is that we are western folks who value loyalty, grit, determination and keeping your word. This seems like the opposite of that. It seems like the guy who doesn’t know anything about houses who decided to push his nest egg into the middle of the table to buy a spec house because that’s what rich people do. It has disaster written all over it. Some may say that if UW and say, Air Force were invited (a HUGE if), you have to accept. I’m not so sure. Personally, I’m surprised that UNLV and Air Force weren’t included in the initial invite. Vegas is exploding as a sports town and Air Force is funded by 360 million taxpayers. 

• Wyoming moves to the FCS 

I’m including this because I need to vent about Wyoming doomsayers who jump to this conclusion every time the schools starts (0-2). To quote the great film ‘Tommy Boy’, I’m going to come and hit you in the head with a tack hammer if you bring this up to me personally. Wyoming has been playing at their particular level of football for over 120 years. They. Are. Not. Dropping. Down. Just like the aforementioned FCS schools may not want to move to FBS, Wyoming fans as a whole would just stop going if they moved to FCS. 

• People = Eyeballs = Viewership = Money

If this equation is true, then Wyoming was never going to be on anyone’s list. We are the least populated state in the union, and as far as I can tell, we have about 100,000 too many people as it is. We don’t move the television needle. Heck, is there even a real television station in the state anymore? We live here for the rural lifestyle. The very rural. And if having more people is the only way to fix this problem, then I don’t want it fixed.