Sources: UNLV sticks with MWC despite Pac-12 bid

UNLV plans to remain in the Mountain West despite an offer to join the Pac-12, sources told ESPN on Monday night.

The decision represents a significant win for the Mountain West as it attempts to stabilize after Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State announced they were leaving for the Pac-12.

Air Force, a target for the Pac-12 and AAC, also committed to remain in the conference in the form of a memorandum of understanding that will allow the league to work toward a television deal and grant of rights, ESPN confirmed.

The Mountain West is pushing to solidify its future by offering guaranteed money to the schools, including one-time payments to formalize their status as league members, sources told ESPN. The plan includes large payments to UNLV and Air Force and significant money for the other remaining members as well.

Part of the Mountain West pitch is that the league would ensure no schools take a step back in media distribution money, which is guaranteed, compared with the projected revenue the Pac-12 has presented to some colleges.

Utah State is expected to depart for the Pac-12, sources said, leaving the Mountain West with seven schools to begin the 2026 football season: Air Force, UNLV, Hawai’i, New Mexico, Nevada, San Jose State and Wyoming. The conference will need to add at least one more football-playing school by 2028 to abide by NCAA rules.

Staying in the Mountain West will allow the schools to avoid exit fees. Before Utah State decided to leave, the league was already slated to bring in more than $120 million in revenue from the previous four departures.

Mountain West schools are making almost $6 million annually in overall payouts, nearly $4 million of which is from pure media value. How much the Pac-12 will earn when it is re-formed in 2026 is uncertain, as it has only six members and hasn’t taken the reconfigured product to market. The Pac-12 needs to get to eight members to be recognized as an official conference.

What has happened on the Mountain West landscape is part of a high-stakes stare-down between the league, the Pac-12 and the American Athletic Conference. On Monday, the AAC got commitments from Memphis, Tulane, USF and UTSA — some of the Pac-12’s highest-profile targets.

It was projected to cost more than $27 million per school for Memphis and other AAC members to depart the league between exit fees and nearly $2.5 million in lost revenue, presenting an issue for the Pac-12’s expansion efforts.

The buyout cost and lack of a guaranteed television number from the Pac-12, whose estimates project revenue of more than $12 million annually to schools, loom large over the decision-making.