Pac-12 must get creative to solve its numbers problem

On Monday, several American Athletic and Mountain West Conference programs confirmed their commitments to their current conferences.

AAC members Tulane, Memphis, UTSA and South Florida announced they won’t leave for the Pac-12 early on Monday, followed by ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel sharing that Air Force, San Jose State and UNLV will remain in the MWC.

Thamel added good news for the Pac-12 later, revealing that MWC’s Utah State intends to join the conference.

With Utah State in the fold, the Pac-12 sits at seven members — the five MWC commits, Oregon State and Washington State — one short of the eight required by the NCAA for a conference following a two-year grace period (2024-25). Utah State’s move reduces the Mountain West to seven programs, which could make a merger between the two conferences more likely.

Otherwise, the Pac-12’s options are limited.

Other MWC programs include New Mexico, Wyoming, Hawai’i and Nevada, but we can cross the Wolf Pack off the list of potential additions with UNLV staying.

The Pac-12’s potential agreement to add Gonzaga as a basketball-only member and give it full revenue distribution could complicate matters.

Action Network’s Brett McMurphy’s report about Gonzaga leaving the West Coast Conference for the Pac-12 for “a full conference revenue share” was disputed by college basketball insider Jon Rothstein, so that situation remains fluid.

Programs must weigh the cost of not only costly exit fees from their current conferences but also earning the same distribution as a school without a football program.

Schools from the Sun Belt or Conference USA don’t make geographical sense, which could deter those schools from entertaining offers from a purely financial standpoint, considering the increased cost of travel by playing West Coast schools.

Could the prospect of joining a conference with the name recognition of the Pac-12 be attractive to one university? Maybe.

But what should be a time for the conference to celebrate has turned into one filled with uncertainty.

Instead of the Pac-12 having its pick of the litter, it’s scrounging for scraps.