Boise State, San Diego State stays with Mountain West on AAC; hope for Big 12, Pac-12 interest

Boise State and San Diego State informed Mountain West on Thursday that they plan to stay in the conference, sources have confirmed to CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd and Matt Norlander. Both schools had been targeted by the AAC as possible expansion options after three AAC teams – Cincinnati, Houston and UCF – announced their move to the Big 12 earlier in September.

Boise State intends to stay in the West Mountain in hopes of a bigger invitation – especially the Big 12 or the Pac-12 – in the not-so-distant future, sources told CBS. Sports. The state of San Diego remains in tune with its desire to wait for a better deal rather than potentially moving conferences twice in a short period of time.

The AAC still has an interest in the State of Colorado and the Air Force, and that interest is mutual with the Air Force leading the charge in exploring a movement, sources told Dodd. The Air Force would like to partner with the Navy in the AAC, and the state of Colorado has local interests that align with the Falcons. Universities are within 150 miles of each other in Colorado.

Part of AAC’s goal in targeting the Mountain West teams is to destabilize the Group of Five landscape and solidify itself as an even greater power. The AAC has often been seen as the premier conference of the Group of Five, but the loss of three top programs in major media markets could change that significantly.

With Boise State and San Diego State remaining in place, the Mountain West has a core roster that could rival anything the AAC puts in place after the expansion, making them a candidate for the proposed 12-team playoffs. . The proposed new playoff format sees the top six champions in the conference receive automatic offers regardless of their Power Five or Group of Five league status.

Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel first announced Boise State and San Diego State’s stated intentions on Thursday.