UTEP expected to join Mountain West after leaving Conference USA: Source

UTEP is expected to join the Mountain West Conference, a person briefed on the discussions told The Athletic on Tuesday.

The move gives the Mountain West seven full members, one short of the NCAA’s required eight to function as a conference. The MWC is rebuilding after recently losing five of its schools to the Pac-12. An announcement on the move could come as soon as Tuesday.

UTEP, a member of Conference USA, will owe about $8 million to the league to exit, according to a person briefed on the situation. CUSA has a grant of rights as part of its current television contract.

The Miners have long considered the Mountain West an ideal geographical fit, since UTEP sits in the westernmost part of Texas. The Miners were members of the Western Athletic Conference from 1968 to 2004 before moving into CUSA in 2005.

As the MWC looks to add an eighth member, discussions with Texas State — currently in the Sun Belt — are ongoing, according to a person briefed on the discussions. But a resolution may not be imminent, as Texas State is mulling potential options among the Mountain West, Pac-12 and even the American Athletic Conference, where three other Texas schools reside.

The Mountain West has also had discussions with Tarleton State, which is part of the United Athletic Conference in the FCS. Tarleton State, located in Stephenville, Texas, has aggressively pushing itself as an FBS option in realignment in recent years as the program has invested heavily in athletics and infrastructure.

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