Utah State reportedly a ‘top target’ if Pac-12 stays in west
Sep 22, 2024, 7:00 AM
Utah State could be a "top target" of the Pac-12 as their expansion plan shifts to the league's current geographic footprint. (KSL.com)
(KSL.com)
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 @ActionNetworkHQ https://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.
