After it appeared that the Mountain West Conference was set to lose two more schools to the latest wave of conference realignment, some surprising news on Wednesday evening seemed to change its fortunes.
Despite both Air Force and UNLV being deep in discussion to jump ship from the conference, the Mountain West has successfully convinced both programs to remain committed to the league.
This is massive news for the MWC, as it is already set to lose five programs to the Pac-12 in 2026 and was in danger of dissolving entirely if any more schools decided to leave.
UNLV was garnering attention from the Pac-12 and appeared to be the next school in line to jump aboard there, while Air Force looked destined to join the American Athletic Conference (AAC), which would’ve placed them alongside both Army and Navy.
So, what would keep the two programs tied to a league on the brink of discussion? Money, of course.
According to a report from CBS Sports, the Mountain West is expected to pay at least $25 million in bonus money to each school to remain in the conference — which will be funded almost entirely by the exit fees paid by Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Utah State when they leave to join the Pac-12 in 2026.
“With UNLV and Air Force committing to stay in the MWC beyond 2026, the conference has staved off further poaching with six full members and seven football members,” Brandon Marcello writes. “Eight members are required for a conference to be recognized by the NCAA, an important designation to remain eligible for one of five automatic berths in the College Football Playoff’s 12-team field. The Pac-12 stands at seven members following its latest additions.”
While there’s certainly still more chaos to come for the conference, it appears the Mountain West has bought itself some time to figure things out.
