UNLV to rekindle Pac-12 interest after commitment to Mountain West hits a snag

The UNLV athletics program has a tough decision to make. The Rebels have an opportunity to leave the Mountain West Conference for the Pac-12 but aren’t committing to that move, per Action Network. The Rebels had previously seemed committed to stay in the Mountain West, per ESPN, but the school is looking again at the possibility of leaving.

The Mountain West is on life support. The conference lost several members to the Pac-12, and UNLV finds itself on a sinking ship.

A number of schools are joining the Pac-12, in an effort to rebuild that crumbling conference. To go with Oregon State and Washington State, there are five new schools joining the league. They are Colorado State, Utah State, San Diego State, Boise State and Fresno State. Gonzaga is also joining as a basketball only member, per Action Network, but there’s been some conflicting information regarding that development.

The Pac-12 is interested in breaking up the league into basketball-only members to go with their football programs, per the outlet. The idea behind that is to develop new revenue streams for the league.

UNLV will play a huge role in conference realignment

UNLV athletics is in a very uncomfortable position. The Mountain West needs 8 members to survive as a league under NCAA rules, and the conference doesn’t have that. The Pac-12 doesn’t either, as it sits with seven members. If UNLV leaves for the Pac-12, that conference would have the 8 members necessary to qualify for NCAA FBS membership.

If the Rebels leave the Mountain West, the school would have to pay exit fees to the conference. That can be pricy. The Pac-12 lost out on obtaining some AAC schools including Memphis because it would cost $27 million for those schools to leave the AAC, per ESPN.

The conference realignment world continues to shift, and things may continue to get messier before it’s all settled.