Just days away from securing a lucrative $1.9 million payday for simply showing up for Saturday’s college football game at Auburn, the University of New Mexico discovered Wednesday night just how truly unstable the world of college sports can be.
Mostly immune to the seismic changes that have altered conference alignments in recent years, UNM and the Mountain West were hit hard when news broke that four prominent members had accepted invitations to join the shattered remains of the Pac-12.
Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State and San Diego State will formally join Pac-12 holdovers Oregon State and Washington State at the start of the 2026-27 season in a dramatic first step to maintain that league’s 109-year history. The conference’s aim is to get to at least eight members before the summer of 2026, an NCAA-imposed deadline for the league to retain its status in major-college athletics.
“We will continue to pursue bold cutting-edge opportunities for growth and progress, to best serve our member institutions and student-athletes,†Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould said in a statement Thursday morning.
That “growth and progress†does not, for the time being, include UNM, despite a number of national publications arguing the school should be considered a main target for further Pac-12 expansion.
UNM interim Athletic Director David Williams said there were signs changes were in the works but admits he was still caught off-guard by the news. He said Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez called him just before midnight Wednesday to let him know.
“Honestly, I spent [Thursday] researching, trying to find out why this all happened,†Williams said. “I’m determined to find out what’s going to happen next and see what’s good for UNM. Our athletic department is strong, and we’re proud to represent the school, the community and the state.â€
UNM President Garnett Stokes chairs the Mountain West’s board of directors and has been front and center as the conference attempted to hold together during the Pac-12’s collapse. She and Nevarez issued a joint statement 13 months ago saying the 12-member conference was committed to staying together after San Diego State announced it intended to bolt for the Pac-12 before deciding to stay in the MWC.
“The University of New Mexico is proud of our athletic programs and the role they play on campus and in the community,†Stokes said Thursday afternoon. “We will continue to monitor the changes in membership to the Mountain West Conference while our focus, as always, is on the best interests of UNM and our incredible Lobo student-athletes.â€
Williams said it’s too early to say if UNM will leave the Mountain West or if the league is ready to add new members.
“It’s too early for giving a yes or no answer to any of that,†Williams said, adding the goals inside his athletic department are twofold: strengthening the football program and taking the things UNM does well —men’s basketball — and making them even better.
“There are challenges in how we get there,†he said. “We want to make this the most attractive department we can.â€
The Pac-12 said it evaluated potential new members using five criteria: academics and athletics performance, media and brand evaluation, commitment to athletics success, geography and logistics, and culture and student-athlete welfare.
Many expressed surprise UNLV and Air Force were not among Wednesday’s defectors, although it’s clear more changes are in the works. The Mountain West is facing further losses to the Pac-12 while it also weighs options that potentially involve adding teams from other conferences.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Thursday that UNLV might wait for a package deal that includes in-state rival Nevada before accepting a invitation to leave the Mountain West.
The MWC will shrink to eight schools after the departures, one of which, Hawaii, is a football-only member.
The departing schools and Pac-12 owe about $110 million in exit fees and penalties to the Mountain West to complete the move.
It’s unclear if the schools themselves would pay the minimum $17 million exit fee or if the Pac-12 and its deep war chest of leftover conference funds would cover it. Just two weeks ago, the leagues announced they were dissolving a scheduling pact that aligned Oregon State and Washington State with Mountain West schools through 2025, a move that now appears to have been a harbinger of what took place Wednesday.
Oregon State and Washington State kept the Pac-12 alive by winning a legal battle last year with the 10 departing members, preserving the conference’s name, brand and, most importantly, tens of millions of dollars in a fund that includes bowl tie-ins, multimedia rights and TV contracts.
The conference was gutted last year when Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA joined the Big Ten. It coincided with the move of Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado to the Big 12.
Stanford and Cal were the last to leave, signing a grant-of-rights pact to join the ACC with a commitment to remain there until 2036. There was speculation Thursday that those schools might rejoin the Pac-12 to take the membership back to eight, but the buyout for breaking that deal with the ACC is said to be around $300 million.
The most talked-about candidates in several media outlets regarding the Pac-12’s next move were UNLV, Air Force, Tulane, Memphis, UTSA and New Mexico.
It has been reported the Pac-12 is only interested in schools that have an annual athletic budget of at least $60 million. UNM’s budget is about $37 million.
Its football program has also been a big deterrent for moving elsewhere. The Lobos have had a winning record in just seven of their previous 25 years since joining the Mountain West as a charter member in 1999. UNM hasn’t been to a bowl game since 2016 and opened this season with a loss to FCS school Montana State.
The announcement couldn’t come at a worse time for the Mountain West. The league’s TV contract, which funnels
$5 million to $6 million to each member every year, expires in 2026. The conference is actively seeking a more lucrative deal that would rival the Pac-12 and AAC, leagues whose TV deals surpassed $10 million for each of its members.
