Mtn. West gets 7 commitments, targets Texas St.

• ( img src=”https://a4.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2020%2F0429%2Fr693997_1296x729_16%2D9.jpg”alt=”title”) (img src= “https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/columnists/full/bonagura_kyle.png&h=80&w=80&scale=crop”alt=”” width=”40″height =”40″/) Kyle Bonagura, ESPN Personnel WriterSep 26

  • , 2024, 07:00 PM ET Close Covers college football.
  • Signed up with ESPN in 2014.
  • Attended Washington State University.

The Mountain West, after receiving signed commitments Thursday from its seven staying member schools to remain in the conference, is currently taking a look at adding more.

Texas State, which would be an all-sports addition, has become a target for Mountain West expansion, sources informed ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Thursday night. Another target that could quickly enter into focus for the conference is Northern Illinois, which would be as a football-only member.

Previously Thursday, the conference announced Flying force, UNLV, New Mexico, Nevada, San José State, Wyoming and Hawai’i had signed a memorandum of comprehending to stay in the league, with all of them agreeing to carry out grant of media rights from 2026 to 2032.

“Our instant top priority was strengthening the membership of the Mountain West. Now our focus turns to our cumulative future on behalf of our student-athletes,” MWC commissioner Gloria Nevarez said in a statement. “The contracts revealed today mark a historical moment for the Mountain West and provide much-needed stability and clearness as the world of intercollegiate sports continues to develop rapidly. We are thrilled about our future and are executing our next steps in broadening the Mountain West.”

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width =”65″ height=”65″/) 1 Related It also revealed prepare for how it will disperse money it received in exit costs from the five schools leaving for the Pac-12. Those schools– Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Utah State and San Diego State– are on the hook for approximately $18 million each, per the conference laws, however negotiations might cause reduced overalls.

Once it is determined what the total pot is, the distribution breakdown will be 24.5% for Flying Force and UNLV, 11.5% for New Mexico, Nevada, San José State and Wyoming, and 5% for Hawai’i.

In its own declaration, UNLV said it anticipates a lump-sum payment from the Mountain West of in between $10 million and $14 million in 2025, with extra payments in between $1.5 million and $1.8 million over a six-year period starting in July 2026.

UNLV was the lynchpin for this to come together. The school signed a memorandum of comprehending to stay in the Mountain West on Monday, but it was nullified when Utah State left for the Pac-12 the very same day. After re-engaging with both the Pac-12 and Mountain West, UNLV once again decided to remain, thanks mostly to the monetary bundle it described.

“The league is an authentic brand and a recognized product,” UNLV athletic director Erick Harper said. “Increased incomes are an important factor. As we look ahead and continue our climb as a sports department, this also provides us required flexibility as we pursue our future objective of joining a self-governing [Power Four] conference.”

With six full-time members and one partial member in Hawai’i, the Mountain West still needs to add two full-time football-playing schools to satisfy the NCAA minimum requirement but would have till the start of the 2028 to do so.

The Pac-12 stands at seven members and will require an additional school by the 2026 season.