The Pac-12 recently announced that four Mountain West teams will join the conference in 2026. If you ask some fans of the conference and the teams that left. They would tell you the Pac-12 should have added Boise State and Fresno State long ago. Now that these Group of Five schools have been poached… where does the Mountain West Conference go?
The answer is fairly simple. You have two choices: bring in other G5 schools or call up FCS teams. Neither of those would be bad options. However, the latter may be the better way to go. If they went the route of poaching other G5 schools, then they could grab teams like UTSA, Tulane, and Memphis. Navy and Army wouldn’t be bad options either. The Mountain West already has the Air Force.
The best route for the Mountain West conference might be calling up some FCS teams. There are several great teams in the FCS ranks that could do good at the Group of 5 level with a little NIL money. Let’s dive into those schools:
Idaho Vandals
The Vandals played a really tough game against Oregon earlier in the year. Let’s not forget that. This is a blue-collar school that with the resources of an FBS team, could compete. Not to mention, they beat Wyoming in Week 2. With Boise State leaving, adding another team from Idaho makes sense.
Montana Grizzlies and Montana State Bobcats
These two teams will not be separated. If you’re picking one… you might as well pick the other as well. These are two of the most successful programs in the FCS. Each of them has appeared in a national title game in the last three years. They consistently rank at the top of attendance and did so again last season. They also fit the geography of the Mountain West.
North Dakota State Bison
The Bison have simply been the best FCS team over the past decade. Since 2010, they have won a remarkable 129 games and nine championships. They’ve beaten several FBS teams in that span as well, including Kansas State and Iowa. This would certainly give the MW some credibility and a team that would compete for a CFP spot year in and year out.
South Dakota State Jack Rabbits
Arguably, the second-best FCS team over the last decade. They’ve won 103 games over the last 10 years with two championships to show for it. According to Hero Sports, the Jack Rabbits had an average attendance of 18,208 last season. Just like their rival NDSU, they would compete almost immediately.
Many other programs out in the West could be added as well. These are just some of the most intriguing FCS teams.