Boise State Broncos ON SI

Pac-12 expansion candidates: North Texas Mean Green

Conference must add at least one football-playing school before 2026
Bob Lundeberg|
North Texas Mean Green.
North Texas Mean Green. | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

The rebuilt Pac-12 has eight members signed up for the 2026-27 athletics season: Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, Oregon State, San Diego State, Washington State and Utah State. 

The conference must attract at least one more football-playing member before 2026 to reach the NCAA’s eight-team minimum to qualify as an FBS conference. Gonzaga does not have a football program. 

The Pac-12, which poached five teams from the Mountain West and Gonzaga from the West Coast Conference, is expected to add between one and six additional members in the coming weeks and months. 

As conference realignment wages on, Boise State Broncos on SI is taking a look at schools that have been linked to the Pac-12 in various reports. 

We began with the Memphis Tigers and will now take a look at another American Athletic Conference member: the North Texas Mean Green.

University of North Texas

Location: Denton, Texas

Current conference: American Athletic Conference

Enrollment: 46,940

Endowment: $340.8 million

Athletics budget: $44.2 million

Football stadium: DATCU Stadium (30,100 capacity) 

Basketball arena: UNT Coliseum (9,797 capacity) 

The case for North Texas

North Texas is the largest university in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the United States’ fourth-biggest metropolitan area with a population of 8.1 million. Among Texas public universities, only Texas A&M and UT-Austin have higher enrollments.

The Mean Green put together back-to-back nine-win football seasons in 2017-18 and reached a bowl game in 2024 under second-year head coach Eric Morris. 

DATCU Stadium opened in 2011 and was designed by the same architecture firm that created the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium.

In men’s basketball, North Texas won an NCAA Tournament game in 2021 and is the AAC co-leader this season sitting at 13-4 overall and 4-1 in conference play as of January 21. Second-year coach Ross Hodge took over the program from Grant McCasland, who is now at Texas Tech. 

And arguably best of all, North Texas sits just above some of the most fertile recruiting grounds in the country. 

The case against North Texas

North Texas has experienced recent success in football and men’s basketball, but neither program is a traditional winner. 

The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex is saturated with pro and college sports options, and North Texas is not a major player in the market. 

While the on-campus experience has greatly improved in recent years, North Texas remains a commuter school with 82 percent of students living off-campus.

The basketball arena — UNT Coliseum — was built in 1973 and needs substantial updates. 

Just like Memphis, North Texas also comes with a hefty $25 million AAC buyout. 

Verdict 

North Texas is likely nothing more than a backup plan for the Pac-12, but the Mean Green would bring value to the conference. 

The Dallas–Fort Worth metro is massive and the Pac-12 appears to be interested in tapping into the Texas market. 

If Memphis remains a ‘No,’ the Mean Green could be an option to pair with a travel partner like Texas State, UTSA or Tulane. But the $25 million exit fee remains a significant hurdle for both sides. 

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Bob Lundeberg
BOB LUNDEBERG

Bob Lundeberg is a reporter for Boise State Broncos On SI. An Oregon State graduate, Bob has lived in Idaho since 2019 and is an avid hiker and golfer.

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