The Pac-12 starts officially in July.
Mountain West Conference Commissioner Gloria Nevarez and Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould found themselves in Miami recently for meetings and festivities involving the College Football Playoff championship game.
Their respective conferences remain in a college athletics turf war. The Pac-12’s media rights deal is mostly done, and the league is set to reopen for business on July 1. The MW’s media-rights negotiations are ongoing. It’s been in survival mode and looking for traction.
Gould’s league would love to grow and add another football-playing member before the 2027 season. UNLV — anchored in Nevarez’s most attractive remaining TV market — still makes the most sense. But the Rebels are currently committed to the MW, which must soon deliver on some financial promises.
Why didn’t the two conferences merge?