Three Mountain West programs that haven't been vetted for Pac-12 expansion despite being considered as candidates

While many people thought these programs would be good fits the Pac-12 is

Author:
Kevin Borba
Publish date:
Jun 17, 2023 4:08 PM EDT

In this story:

UNLV Rebels

Fresno State Bulldogs

Boise State Broncos

Over the last couple days the Pac-12 expansion talks have really ramped up thanks to the announcement that San Diego State has informed the Mountain West of their intentions to leave.

The only thing standing in the way of expansion is of course the Pac-12's media rights deal, which is supposedly going to be finished by the end of June. The college football world is more so in a "I'll believe it when I see it" mindset, but with the movement from San Diego State one can presume that something is bound to happen. The media rights deal has been a controversial subject depending on who you ask, but according to Pac-12 insider John Canzano who recently told me the Pac-12 is confident they can get a deal better than the Big 12's.

Something he doubled down on Friday in an updated report, with the caveat that he recently heard the Pac-12 would need San Diego State and SMU in order to surpass that mark. While those two programs have long been viewed as the favorites to join the conference, there was once a belief that the conference could add up to four programs.

That doesn't seem as likely these days, but the Pac-12 has looked into a handful of other programs. However, there are three programs that many people have been speculating and viewing as candidates that Canzano confirmed haven't gotten a look. All three are Mountain West programs, and all three programs have likely been hoping to be called upon to make the leap to the Power 5 level.

Boise State

Much of realignment is predicated on the tv market, and Boise's market is not nearly desirable enough for them to really be considered by the Pac-12. They may eventually get a Big 12 look, but market wise and academic wise they don't fit in the Pac-12.

Fresno State

Unfortunately for Fresno State, they don't have a desirable market down there in the Valley. While they do have a significantly better market than Boise State does, it's not really a market that the Pac-12 needs. San Diego State on the other hand offers that Southern California market that is obviously one of the more coveted markets in the country.

UNLV

A hub of all kinds of sports, Las Vegas currently has a NFL, NHL, WNBA, USFL, and frequently hosts the UFC. Sin City is also expected to eventually get an NBA team, and is soon to get an MLB team. What they likely won't be home to any time soon is a Pac-12 team. While many people, myself included, thought the place where the Pac-12 hosts their conference title games would get a look, Canzano reported they aren't being considered. Despite being one of the most visited places in America, they don't have nearly as many televisions as one would expect. Of these three candidates, if any of them were to get a look eventually I would be fairly confident in saying it'd be UNLV.