UNLV Rebels Director Of Athletics Erick Harper: "It's The Same Logo... It's Not The Same Conference"

UNLV director of athletics Erick Harper speaks about conference realignment.

Dec 2, 2023; Las Vegas, NV, USA; The Mountain West conference logo on the field at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

This is the final season of the Mountain West Conference as currently constructed. The conference will see realignment following the conclusion of the 2025 - 2026 academic and athletic year. There are six teams leaving the Mountain West for the new Pac-12, and the UNLV Rebels had an opportunity to be one of those teams. However, they decided to remain in the Mountain West and sign an extension with the conference.

The decision to remain in the Mountain West was one of the biggest decisions that UNLV director of athletics Erick Harper had to make since taking over the position in Las Vegas. Harper spoke to the UNLV official website about how he helped come to the decision to remain in the Mountain West rather than leaving for the Pac-12. This is what he had to say about conference realignment.

UNLV Rebels Director Of Athletics Erick Harper

"When it comes to conference realignment, I’m someone who looks at and considers everything — short term and long term — before ultimately determining what’s best for us," Harper said. "And based on the current landscape, we felt the best decision for us was to stay in the Mountain West.

For one thing, the Pac-12 is not what the Pac-12 once was. It’s the same logo but without USC, UCLA, Oregon, Washington, Utah, it’s not the same conference. And that’s no disrespect to those schools that are in the Pac-12 right now.

Also, there’s going to be another conference realignment — everybody knows that. What that’s going to look like, who knows? If anyone tells you they know exactly how everything is going to shake out, they’re absolutely full of it. The only certainty is that those programs that have a strong history of success, reside in strong media markets and are consistently ranked at seasons end are not changing conferences. However, there can be surprises as we have seen in recent years.

The good news for us is that we no longer have to worry about paying an exit fee if we receive an offer to join a power conference.

For now — and as I’ve said many times when the topic of conference realignment comes up — we simply have to continue being the best possible UNLV that we can be. And wherever things fall, they fall."

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