FCS Daily Dose: Pac-12 Rebuild Could Have Massive Domino Effect For Top-Tier FCS Teams

The FCS Daily Dose is a blog-style article series featuring an assortment of news, rumblings, quick hitters, and commentary on various topics.

A new Daily Dose will be published multiple times a week.

Pac-12 Rebuild Could Have Massive Domino Effect For Top-Tier FCS Teams

The Pac-12, now down to just two members in Washington State and Oregon State, is moving forward with a rebuild of the conference. The league is adding Mountain West members Boise State, San Diego State, Fresno State, and Colorado State, effective July 1, 2026.

We’ve talked for a year now about what a Pac-12 rebuild could mean for the FCS. As most know, FBS realignment typically trickles down to the lower subdivision of D1 football.

FCS-to-FBS move-ups have been mostly eastern and southern teams. This is partially why the Midwest has had such a stranglehold on the FCS. North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Montana, and Montana State are in a class by themselves in the nearly 130-team subdivision, both in terms of consistent on-field success and how they operate and fund their football teams.

There have been no ideal FBS landing spots for these four programs and no known invites since the current realignment carousel began a few years ago.

That may be changing as the Mountain West looks to backfill.

Keep in mind that it isn’t the MWC office that decides on new members. It’s the university presidents.

These presidents may look down their noses at adding FCS schools. They believe they are the best G5 conference, so they may first prefer to poach other G5 leagues. If that’s the case, targets could be New Mexico State and UTEP. If this were to happen, CUSA would need to backfill with FCS teams like Tarleton State, EKU, McNeese, SFA, or Austin Peay. Rice, North Texas, UTSA, and Texas State could also be considered by the MWC, but these teams may be comfortable in their already-solid G5 conferences rather than join a Mountain West league that just lost its top brands.

If MWC presidents do look at FCS additions, they may prefer FCS teams within their footprint with bigger markets, large alumni bases, student enrollment, and revenue potential. If that’s the case, Sac State and UC Davis could be targets. Northern Arizona may also be on the long list of options as well due to the factors above.

Or if the MWC presidents are smart and just want to add the best pure football teams with cool home fields and passionate fan bases, they could look at NDSU, SDSU, Montana, and Montana State. Small TV markets, location, and budgets could be hurdles for these four programs in making an FBS jump. But if the invite is extended, I bet all four would say yes. The $5 million fee to go from FCS to the FBS won’t be a roadblock for those four. Montana and Montana State have to make the jump together. The board of regents will ensure the two are always in the same conference. NDSU doesn’t necessarily need SDSU to make the jump and vice versa.

Idaho or Tarleton State could also be in the MWC conversation, but they seem less likely than Sac State, UC Davis, NDSU, SDSU, Montana, and Montana State. Weber State is in the MWC footprint, but I haven’t gotten a vibe of FBS interest there. Some may point to Eastern Washington because of its success, but financial issues make an FBS discussion a non-starter.

Personally, if the MWC looks at the upper tier of the FCS, I hope it grabs all four of NDSU/SDSU/UM/MSU instead of two of the four.

The top heaviness in the FCS would get even worse if the MWC added only the Montana schools or only NDSU and SDSU. If the FCS were to lose all four, sure the subdivision weakens and loses its four biggest brands with great fan bases and engagement, but the playoffs arguably get more entertaining with more parity. And if you gave FCS ADs and coaches truth serum, I bet many would say they hope those four find their way to the FBS. They just can’t match what those four are doing in resourcing their football programs.

And selfishly, covering a Mountain West Conference with NDSU/SDSU/UM/MSU along with covering the rest of the FCS would be very fun for me.

My concern before this Pac-12 rebuild news was how many more Frisco matchups could we take between two of those four until everyone, including those fan bases, gets sick of it. The Bison fan fatigue of FCS football will soon hit SDSU, Montana, and Montana State fans if it’s the same matchups every December and January.

The four current MWC teams will join the Pac-12 in 2026. Meanwhile, the MWC will get going on how to backfill. I’m sure there is already a list of potential additions that has been made, prepping for this Pac-12 raid. So things may be moving quickly here with leaks of who the MWC is targeting.

Most who read my stuff and/or listen to me on the radio/podcasts know I’m typically level-headed and take a balanced approach to topics, especially when it’s stuff that social media is freaking out about like the transfer portal or realignment. So I don’t say this lightly, and I don’t think it’s exaggerated to say the dominos here could absolutely alter the landscape of the FCS, the playoffs, and the national championship picture.

Just imagine the FCS without the Montana schools, the Bison, and the Jackrabbits. That could become a reality. Or it might not.

I’ll put it at a 40% chance that all four get MWC invites. And a 50% chance that at least two of them get invites. Options are limited for the MWC on new additions, but there are some outside of these four FCS powers. It all depends on what the league presidents covet — is it the already-established FBS label, is it TV markets, or is it brands?

And hey, those odds above of going FBS are much higher than the four FCS powers have had since realignment has taken over college football.

Past Daily Doses

Week 3 May Tell Us More About UIW Than Week 2 + 6 Preseason-Ranked Teams Are 0-2 … READ MORE

CAA-SoCon Matchups Providing Good Gauge Of Conferences … READ MORE

Can UND Keep Momentum Going After Its Big Ranked Win? + 4 Ranked Matchups This Week … READ MORE