In a week with a flurry of conference realignment activity expected, the Mountain West is attempting to execute a plan to keep its eight remaining schools together.
The conference 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.
The remaining Mountain West schools, along with UNLV and Air Force, are Hawaii, Utah State, New Mexico, Nevada, San Jose State and Wyoming. The league could then add schools to that core of eight.
Air Force has already committed to stay in the Mountain West, ESPN confirmed, in the form of a memorandum of understanding that will allow the league to work toward a television deal and grant of rights.
Staying in the Mountain West would also allow the schools to avoid exit fees. The league is slated to bring in more than $120 million in revenue from the departures of Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State and Fresno State to the Pac-12.
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 reformed 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 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.