Which Mountain West School is Already Lobbying to Join Pac-12?
The announcement that USC and UCLA will leave the Pac-12 for the Big 10 continues to shock the usual downtime in college football. Usually, this time of year, we see coaches taking their last days of vacation before the round of conference media days. The move to expand the Big 10 has jolted fans, writers, coaches, and everyone associated with college football out of their sleepy summer doldrums.
One of the central questions on everyone's minds is what is the future of the Pac-12 Football Conference? Every fan of teams from San Diego State to Boise State has developed scenarios for their team to join the Pac-12. Before we get rolling, let's take a look at the current teams that are in the Mountain West Conference.
Mountain West Conference Schools
In the issue of fairness, here are the teams currently in the Pac-12 Conference.
Pac-12 Conference Schools
Let's look at how a few folks are positioning their schools to replace USC and UCLA in the 'new Pac-12.'
And then there's Fresno State that has embraced the campaign to join the Pac-12. Never mind academics, it's all about the size of your television market.
Like any other group of 5 schools, the Bulldogs would love to move to a Power 5 conference. Although, some say that the Power 5 has already been reduced to the Power 2 of the SEC and Big 10. The bigger the conferences mean bigger payouts to the schools in those conferences. We've entered the season of speculation where everyone throws a headline out to get you to click on their story.
What do we know right now?
Credible sources say that the Big 10 has its eyes on Notre Dame. Another rumor is that several Pac-12 teams are looking to bolt for the Big-12. Now we have a Washington lawmaker looking to pass legislation preventing Washington from leaving the Pac-12.
The above tweet from the Washington lawmaker should warn all of the remaining schools looking to chase big money. College football programs get tax breaks on all the revenue they earn. If lawmakers get involved, and they will because most schools are state institutions, we could see further regulation on whether or not these mega conferences exist without proper taxation.
What's next for Boise State Football and Athletics?
Boise State will continue to work with the resources that they have available to them. If we see a consolidation of power conferences, we could see the beginning and end of schools like Boise State not getting the opportunity to challenge the big boys on the field.
We'll continue to keep you informed as this story develops.