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LOGAN — The Aggies could be on the move, and not just traveling back from Philadelphia after Saturday afternoon's college football game at Temple.
Utah State is considered a "top target" if the Pac-12's latest expansion plan shifts to the league's current geographic footprint, as first reported by Brett McMurphy of The Action Network.
UNLV is also considered a top candidate by the league that recently announced it would add Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State to join Oregon State and Washington State in reconstituting the self-described "Conference of Champions."
The league was previously thought to be interested in Memphis, Tulane, UT-San Antonio and South Florida from the American Athletic Conference, according to Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger and others. But that league would currently require an exit fee of around $27.5 million per school to extricate itself from the conference, ESPN's Pete Thamel confirmed Saturday.
The estimation is based on a $25 million exit fee that SMU recently paid to join the Atlantic Coast Conference earlier this year.
UNLV, Utah State emerge as Pac-12's top expansion targets if Pac-12 adds schools in current footprint, sources told @ActionNetworkHQhttps://t.co/lhNAXjb7YK
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) September 21, 2024
Texas State from the Sun Belt has also been mentioned as an expansion candidate for both the Pac-12 and Mountain West.
The Pac-12 is already set to pay the Mountain West more than $100 million in exit fees and "poaching penalties" built into the conference's contract for a one-year scheduling agreement with the Cougars and Beavers for the 2024 season.
The two Pac-12 schools did not extend the agreement for another year, leading to adding the four Mountain West schools in time for the 2026 season.
If the Pac-12 shifts its sights on the Aggies and Rebels, it would mark six of 11 schools to depart the league by the 2026 season. Exit fees would apply to each of them — as well as an escalating "poaching fee" for each school taken by the Pac-12 — but the conference's current members could also vote to dissolve the league with a majority ruling.
The precedent for the AAC negotiated exit fee for SMU's departure with less than 27 months notice is $25 million, which the league would expect from any potential departing schools. There's also a revenue loss of at least $2.5 million that pushes total to $27.5 million. 2/2
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 21, 2024
Nine votes are required for the league's dissolution. Air Force has also emerged as a "serious target" to join its fellow service academies Army and Navy in the American Athletic Conference, according to ESPN and others.
That would leave just New Mexico, Wyoming, Nevada, San Jose State and Hawaii's football program (the Rainbow Warriors compete in the non-football Big West in most other sports) to potentially seek other options — or keep the conference alive with additional reinforcements.
Those could come from the FCS ranks, with North Dakota State, Montana, Montana State and Tarleton State in Texas being considered among the candidates, according to Yahoo Sports.
Conference USA's UTEP and the Sun Belt's Texas State have also been connected to the Mountain West.
