The Mountain West Conference received commitments from 7 remaining members

The Mountain West, after receiving signed commitments Thursday from its seven remaining member schools to remain in the conference, is already looking to add more.

Texas State, which would be an all-sports addition, has emerged as a Mountain West expansion target, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Thursday night. Another target that may soon come into focus for the conference is Northern Illinois, which will be a football-only member.

Earlier Thursday, the conference announced that Air Force, UNLV, New Mexico, Nevada, San Jose State, Wyoming and Hawaii signed a memorandum of understanding to remain in the league, all of them agreeing to have media rights grants effective through 2026. Until 2032.

“Our immediate priority was to solidify the membership of the Mountain West. Now our attention turns to our collective future on behalf of our student-athletes,” MWC Commissioner Gloria Nevarez said in a statement. “The agreements announced today mark a historic moment for the Mountain West and provide much-needed stability and clarity as the world of intercollegiate athletics rapidly evolves. We are excited about our future and executing our next steps to expand the Mountain West.”

It also announced plans for how it will distribute the money it received as exit fees from the five schools that left for the Pac-12. Those schools — Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Utah State and San Diego State — are due roughly $18 million each, according to conference bylaws, but negotiations could lower that total.

Once the total pot is determined, the distribution breakdown will be 24.5% for Air Force and UNLV, 11.5% for New Mexico, Nevada, San Jose State and Wyoming, and 5% for Hawaii.

In its own statement, UNLV said it expects a lump sum payment of between $10 million and $14 million from the Mountain West in 2025, with an additional payment of between $1.5 million and $1.8 million over a six-year period beginning in July 2026.

UNLV was the linchpin in making it come together. The school signed a memorandum of understanding Monday to stay in the Mountain West, but that was voided when Utah State left for the Pac-12 the same day. After rejoining both the Pac-12 and the Mountain West, UNLV decided to stay again, thanks to the financial package it described.

“The league is a real brand and an established product,” UNLV athletic director Eric Harper said. “Increased revenue is an important factor. As we look ahead and continue our ascent as an athletics department, it gives us the flexibility we need as we pursue our future goal of joining an autonomous (Power Four) conference.”

With six full-time members and one part-time member in Hawaii, the Mountain West still needs to add two full-time football-playing schools to meet NCAA minimum requirements but will have until early 2028 to do so.

The Pac-12 stands at seven members and will need one additional school by the 2026 season.