What are the odds of a reverse merger between the Mountain West and the Pac-12 versus the Pac-12 simply poaching a selection of Mountain West schools to rebuild the conference? — @MarcSheehan006
— Between four and eight schools give notice that they are leaving the Mountain West in the summer of 2026 to join the Pac-12, a scenario that leads to departure fees for the outbound schools and a poaching penalty for the Pac-12. The third scenario would leave WSU and OSU with no path into the ACC or Big 12 and no possibility of Stanford and Cal returning. They would be forced to think bigger than a reverse merger with the Mountain West.They would explore enlarging the conference footprint to include schools in Texas, with UTSA as an intriguing target.
Granted, we should not discount the possibility of WSU and OSU joining the Mountain West in a traditional expansion move. The ‘Pac-2’ schools don’t necessarily need a formal media rights agreement in place by that point. But they would need to have the membership piece locked down. He blames the collapse entirely on the presidents’ poor leadership, the difficult circumstances he inherited , and the schools’ refusal to accept the Apple deal he placed before them.But he has the right to remain silent.
Money played a factor in Martinez’s decision to enter the transfer portal, but it wasn’t the only factor. Not quite three years later, the NCAA is moving toward a complete policy reversal and permitting athletic departments to broker the deals between the athletes and their business partners.If athletes are declared employees and paid salaries by the schools — we think that step is inevitable in the next two or three years — the impact of NIL opportunities on recruiting and transfer decisions could diminish slightly.