It may not be long before the Mountain West Conference joins in on recent expansion and conference realignment.
According to Kyle Bonagura of ESPN, there “is a widespread expectation that Oregon State and Washington State would move to the MWC” if Cal and Stanford move from the remaining Pac-12 Conference into the Atlantic Coast Conference.
On the other hand, if the ACC doesn’t expand and add Cal and Stanford from the Pac-12, then it becomes less clear according to Bonagura.
Bonagura reported that Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez said the conference will be ready to go in a direction that results from what the ACC does and what Cal and Stanford decide for their futures.
The ACC hit “roadblocks” on its way to potentially adding Cal and Stanford earlier this week. The reasoning for the obstacles ahead of the conference may’ve been due to the weight of adding such programs and even possibly Southern Methodist University of the American Athletic Conference.
Nevarez told Bonagura that “a lot of it is just trying to sort fact from fiction” and working with conference leaders to determine the best course of action for the Mountain West.
Among the remaining possibilities could also include the Pac-12 merging with the Mountain West. The Mountain West is “receptive” to this potential pairing according to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports.
Another route could be the Mountain West expanding to include Cal and Stanford in all sports other than football, according to Bonagura.
Bonagura also reported there is “almost no chance” that nine of the 12 programs in the Mountain West vote to dissolve the conference and rid each program of the required $34 million buyout.
