Once their media deal is done, they're looking at expansion candidates to get that required eighth football team (although, I'd assume they want nine to have an eight-game football schedule and 18-game basketball schedule). And that media deal will evidently be announced in the coming weeks. Several networks are interested in Pac-# media rights, and it appears likely that they'll have multiple TV/streaming partners when all is said and done. (Which makes the previous Pac-12 leadership's inability to get a deal done even more baffling!)
Those media rights will bring in approximately $9-10 million per school. It's nowhere near SEC or Big Ten numbers (or even ACC or Big 12 numbers), but it's certainly an increase of what the Mountain West schools would've been getting had they stayed. And, while the eighth football team doesn't make much of a difference when it comes to the TV contract, you'll understand why multiple schools would be interested in filling that spot and getting their share of those Pac-# TV dollars.
So, it's not a question of if they'll add another football member. Everyone knows they will. They have to in order to meet the NCAA minimum to qualify as an FBS conference. The question is more how many schools and where they'll come from. Other Mountain West schools are off limits, so they need to find them somewhere else. And one school in particular jumps right to the top of mind.
UNLV and New Mexico aren't options. But New Mexico State is. And New Mexico State just might be the perfect choice. It's a choice that makes so much sense, in fact, that it would be stupid for them NOT to do it. And by "them," I mean both New Mexico State and the Pac-#.
New Mexico State has been a member of Conference USA since 2023, but they're a geographic outlier in that conference. They're even more of a geographic outlier now that UTEP is departing Conference USA for the Mountain West (which, similarly, was a move that made way too much sense for both parties to not do it). With UTEP gone, though, New Mexico State is off on an island, hundreds of miles away from its nearest conference rival (some schools actually still care about those sort of things).
By contrast, Colorado State (546 miles) and San Diego State (681 miles) are both closer to New Mexico State than their nearest Conference USA opponent, Sam Houston State (770 miles). New Mexico State would also stand to benefit from playing in a more prestigious league against bigger-name schools. And there would obviously still be some long trips to Washington State, Boise State and Oregon State, but the increased revenue from the media rights deal would more than make up for it. And those trips are still closer than going to Liberty, Florida International or Kennesaw State!
They'd fit right in competitively, too. New Mexico State's football team went 3-9 last season, but went a bowl game in both 2022 and 2023. Utah State and San Diego State weren't exactly world beaters last football season, either, and they were no-brainer choices for the Pac-#. And New Mexico State's men's basketball team is in the middle of the pack, but Conference USA is a one-bid league while the rebuilt Pac-# likely won't be.
From the Pac-#'s perspective, meanwhile, it's worth considering the conference footprint. Specifically what New Mexico State adds in that regard. It's not just on the Texas-New Mexico border, it's on the USA-Mexico border. That would extend the Pac-#'s reach to places it's never been before. With two coast-to-coast Power 4 conferences, the chance to touch the Mexican border (twice, since San Diego State does, too) should really be too good to pass up.
The Pac-# did an excellent job of rebuilding the league by adding the most successful, most well-known overall athletic programs from the Mountain West. Adding a men's basketball brand name in Gonzaga, too, was just the icing on the cake. Since the remaining top teams in the Mountain West are unavailable, grabbing the most historically successful Western-based school from another conference seemed like the next logical step. And New Mexico State certainly fits the bill there, too.
Sacramento State hasn't been shy about making their interest in joining the Pac-# known. In fact, they've been doing everything they can to make themselves look like an attractive option for the Pac-#. You've gotta admire their persistence, and I do think it'll pay off eventually. But New Mexico State should be preferred over Sacramento State for one big reason. New Mexico State's football team is currently FBS. Sacramento State's isn't.
While Sacramento State would obviously be more than willing to make the jump from FCS to FBS should they get the Pac-# invite, how much would they actually help the Pac-#? This is a team that went 3-9 last season, so it's not as if they'd be bringing in an FCS powerhouse that would be capable of competing at the FBS level right away. New Mexico State doesn't exactly move the needle much, either, but it's still a bigger value add than Sacramento State would be.
From the sound of it, the Pac-# doesn't seem that interested in Sacramento State, primarily for those reasons. There's been some talk about schools like Memphis or Tulane, but the travel costs are a concern there. Which brings me back to New Mexico State. They haven't been bandied about much as a potential Pac-# expansion candidate, but they check a lot of boxes.
I have no idea what school(s) will eventually end up joining the Pac-# when the conference returns for the 2026-27 season. If New Mexico State isn't being considered, it should be. Because the Aggies make way too much sense. So much sense, in fact, that it's surprising that it hasn't happened already.
They'd fit right in competitively, too. New Mexico State's football team went 3-9 last season, but went a bowl game in both 2022 and 2023. Utah State and San Diego State weren't exactly world beaters last football season, either, and they were no-brainer choices for the Pac-#. And New Mexico State's men's basketball team is in the middle of the pack, but Conference USA is a one-bid league while the rebuilt Pac-# likely won't be.
From the Pac-#'s perspective, meanwhile, it's worth considering the conference footprint. Specifically what New Mexico State adds in that regard. It's not just on the Texas-New Mexico border, it's on the USA-Mexico border. That would extend the Pac-#'s reach to places it's never been before. With two coast-to-coast Power 4 conferences, the chance to touch the Mexican border (twice, since San Diego State does, too) should really be too good to pass up.
The Pac-# did an excellent job of rebuilding the league by adding the most successful, most well-known overall athletic programs from the Mountain West. Adding a men's basketball brand name in Gonzaga, too, was just the icing on the cake. Since the remaining top teams in the Mountain West are unavailable, grabbing the most historically successful Western-based school from another conference seemed like the next logical step. And New Mexico State certainly fits the bill there, too.
Sacramento State hasn't been shy about making their interest in joining the Pac-# known. In fact, they've been doing everything they can to make themselves look like an attractive option for the Pac-#. You've gotta admire their persistence, and I do think it'll pay off eventually. But New Mexico State should be preferred over Sacramento State for one big reason. New Mexico State's football team is currently FBS. Sacramento State's isn't.
While Sacramento State would obviously be more than willing to make the jump from FCS to FBS should they get the Pac-# invite, how much would they actually help the Pac-#? This is a team that went 3-9 last season, so it's not as if they'd be bringing in an FCS powerhouse that would be capable of competing at the FBS level right away. New Mexico State doesn't exactly move the needle much, either, but it's still a bigger value add than Sacramento State would be.
From the sound of it, the Pac-# doesn't seem that interested in Sacramento State, primarily for those reasons. There's been some talk about schools like Memphis or Tulane, but the travel costs are a concern there. Which brings me back to New Mexico State. They haven't been bandied about much as a potential Pac-# expansion candidate, but they check a lot of boxes.
I have no idea what school(s) will eventually end up joining the Pac-# when the conference returns for the 2026-27 season. If New Mexico State isn't being considered, it should be. Because the Aggies make way too much sense. So much sense, in fact, that it's surprising that it hasn't happened already.
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