Possible Pac-12 & Mountain West Expansion Targets If New League Forms

The Two remaining Pac-12 programs and the Mountain West may get creative

With most of the dust settling from conference realignment, there are only two programs remaining in the Pac-12. 

There are four programs leaving for the Big Ten, four for the Big 12, and two heading off to the ACC. Oregon State and Washington State were both left waiting for an invitation but never received one, and with the American saying they weren't interested, their only option is the Mountain West.

Now how they eventually end up with the Mountain West has yet to be determined, as there are financial happenings that need to be figured out with the Pac-12 still. There is also a possibility that the Mountain West absorbs the two programs and takes the Pac-12 mantle, or as we learned on Tuesday evening there is a possibility of forming a conference in a manner we haven't really seen in American sports. Yahoo's Ross Dellenger reported that the Mountain West and Pac-12 may form a conference that entails promotion/relegation with the Pac-12 being the higher of the two leagues. 

In order to get to a situation where they are at eight teams in each league, they will need to add two programs.

Now obviously a lot needs to happen in order to get to this point, but it is never too early to discuss possible fits. 

 There are two obvious teams that Dellenger laid out, but there are a pair of other programs that may have a case. Teams like Idaho, Montana, and Montana State would also appreciate the chance but would need a huge wave of expansion to get in.

Sacramento State & UC Davis

Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

The Hornets have been on a terror ever since Troy Taylor took over, and they appear to be trending upwards even after his departure. The Hornets have made the FCS Playoff three of the last four years, and the lone year they didn't was due to the pandemic. They even upset Stanford this past weekend, which was the first time since 2005 that Stanford had lost to an FCS school. They fit in geographically for this new-look conference, and would likely be perfectly fine with starting in the lower division as Dellenger expects the two new teams would. 

As for UC Davis, this is assuming that the conference wants to value geography which would again be perfect to pair these two together. They have made the playoff three times, and even have a rivalry with Nevada. Unfortunately for these two programs, the next duo of schools appear to be at the front of the line and are the San Diego State/SMU to the Pac-12 to this expansion round.

North Dakota State & South Dakota State

Chris Jones-USA TODAY Sports

These two teams were the ones listed by Ross Dellenger as possible candidates, and clearly have a better case than the two California schools. You have to go back all the way to 2010 to find an FCS title game that one of them wasn't a part of, and in that time North Dakota has won nine titles, with South Dakota winning one last year over the Bison. 

On top of that, they likely won't have as much of an adjustment period as both teams have faired well against FBS teams. NDSU beat No. 13 Iowa in 2016, beat Minnesota in 2011, Iowa State in 2014, and Kansas State in 2013 among other victories throughout the years. South Dakota State beat Colorado State in 2021 and Kansas in 2015 and. They bring an intense rivalry to the conference, and would likely have a case to be the first schools promoted when the time comes.