7 Mountain West schools agree to stay, steadying the conference amid realignment

Syndication: The Montgomery Advertiser

Seven Mountain West schools have agreed to remain in the league amid overtures by the Pac-12 to lure away at least one more of its teams, the conference announced Thursday.

The move comes after the Pac-12, which was reduced to just two teams after last summer’s realignment, announced two weeks ago that four Mountain West teams would join the league in 2026, including Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Colorado State. Utah State agreed to join earlier this week.

The seven remaining Mountain West schools signed a memorandum of understanding to stay in the league. They include Air Force, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV, Wyoming and Hawaii.

Because Hawaii is a partial member, the Mountain West needs to add two more schools to be recognized as a conference under NCAA rules, but the league will have until 2028 to do so.

“Our immediate priority was solidifying the membership of the Mountain West. Now our focus turns to our collective future on behalf of our student-athletes,” Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez said in a statement. “The agreements announced today mark a historic moment for the Mountain West and provide much-needed stability and clarity as the world of intercollegiate athletics continues to evolve rapidly.”

The remaining Mountain West teams agreed to execute grants of media rights from the member institutions to the conference from 2026 to 2032.

“I feel very good about where we landed in these fluid times related to conference realignment,” Wyoming athletic director Tom Burman said in a statement. “The Mountain West Conference will move forward to be at the NCAA requirement of eight full members. We will work with Mountain West leadership to actively add new members, but at this time we cannot comment on the matter of specific…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/7-mountain-west-schools-agree-013116256.html

Author : NBC Sports

Publish date : 2024-09-27 01:31:16

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