As the Pac-12 Conference looks to expand, the University of South Florida was among four American Athletic Conference schools to announce Monday they remained committed to the AAC.
USF, Memphis, Tulane and Texas-San Antonio released a statement that made no mention of the Pac-12, but several people with knowledge of those talks told The Associated Press the conference had targeted those schools as potential new members.
“While we acknowledge receiving interest in our institutions from other conferences, we firmly believe that it is in our individual and collective best interests to uphold our commitment to each other,” the AAC schools said. “Together, we will continue to modernize the conference, elevate the student-athlete experience, achieve championship-winning successes, and build the future.”
We are the American Athletic Conference. pic.twitter.com/nuwCtF0dQz
— The American (@American_Conf) September 23, 2024
The Pac-12 did announce it is adding Utah State as its seventh member and is in discussions with basketball powerhouse Gonzaga to join the rebuilding conference in 2026, multiple people with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Monday.
In a whirlwind day of maneuvering by three leagues, Utah State and UNLV of the Mountain West became prime targets for the Pac-12 after the American schools decided to stay put.
While Utah State, based in Logan, accepted the Pac-12's invitation, according to two people, UNLV’s decision was uncertain Monday night as Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez worked to keep the conference's remaining schools together.
The Mountain West received commitments from Air Force and San Jose State earlier in the day, according to two other people with knowledge of that conference's situation, but it was unclear if anything was binding if the rest of the remaining members were not on board. Air Force had been drawing interest from the AAC to join Army and Navy in that conference.
The other Mountain West schools include New Mexico, Wyoming, Nevada and Hawaii for football only.
The people all spoke on condition of anonymity because the Pac-12's and Mountain West's strategy and internal discussions were not being made public.
The Pac-12 began to restock for a 2026 relaunch two weeks ago by landing Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Colorado State from the Mountain West to join Washington State and Oregon State, the only two Pac-12 schools left after a dramatic round of realignment took effect this summer.
The Pac-12 needed at least two more members in all sports to reach the eight required to be a recognized conference with access to NCAA championships and the College Football Playoff in 2026.
With Utah State on board, that's down to one and the conference is exploring options beyond just UNLV.
