On the surface, it’s just a basketball move.
Grand Canyon University, the flashy, non-football school from Phoenix, is joining the Mountain West a year early, effective immediately for the 2025–26 season. No football implications. Just 17 sports’ worth of scheduling headaches and bracket reshuffling.
But make no mistake: this isn’t just an accelerated transition. It’s a shot across the bow in a conference fight that’s already hanging by a thread.
A Surprise Addition… and a Backlash
The Mountain West’s official line was celebratory. Commissioner Gloria Nevarez praised GCU’s “elite recruiting,” “passionate fanbase,” and “state-of-the-art facilities,” saying the decision was about “prioritizing the student-athlete experience.” The Lopes will now be eligible for conference titles and NCAA Tournament bids a year earlier than expected.
But behind the scenes, the move was anything but unanimous.
Boise State, one of five schools leaving for the Pac-12 in 2026, publicly condemned the league’s decision. In a statement to Bronco Nation News, Boise officials slammed the GCU addition as a breach of trust:
“The Mountain West’s actions are contrary to express representations… The universities were not consulted or permitted to vote on the early invitation to GCU. We will address this matter and the harm to the departing universities in litigation.”
San Diego State echoed that sentiment to the Union-Tribune, calling the vote “surprising and disappointing” and implying they were misled by both the conference and Commissioner Nevarez.
That part matters. Because they’re not just upset they’re accusing the Mountain West of lying.
Mediation, Money, and Motives
All of this is unfolding in the middle of court-ordered mediation between the Mountain West and Pac-12, with over $145 million in play:
Roughly $90 million in exit fees from the five departing schools
$50–60 million in poaching penalties owed by the Pac-12
Potential damages from broken media, tournament, and scheduling guarantees
The mediation deadline? July 15. And the GCU vote just made things messier.
Boise State, SDSU, and others are preparing to cite the early GCU decision as evidence of bad faith. Their argument: that the Mountain West broke procedural norms, excluded dues-paying members from key decisions, and disrupted schedules and budgets in what was supposed to be a final, stable season.
In other words, this wasn’t just a basketball vote. It was a legal landmine.
Why GCU? Why Now?
Grand Canyon didn’t have much of a choice. After pulling out of its West Coast Conference plans, the school was essentially homeless for the 2025–26 season. Its nationally competitive basketball programs including a men’s team that reached the NCAA Round of 32 in 2024 were in limbo.
The Mountain West saw leverage.
With five power programs walking out the door next summer, the league’s basketball profile was on life support. Grand Canyon offers:
4 NCAA Tournament appearances in 5 years (men’s basketball)
A wild home atmosphere in the Havocs’ student section
37 WAC titles across sports in the last four years
A major-market presence in Phoenix
UNLV and Nevada both supported the move. The rest of the remaining league did too. And without the departing five allowed to vote, it sailed through.
The message was clear: the Mountain West isn’t waiting for permission to rebuild.
What This Means for the New-Look Mountain West
Let’s zoom out.
As I wrote in The New Mountain West: What’s Left, What’s Next, and Who Leads Now, this is no longer a prestige league. It’s a survival league. And GCU’s arrival marks the official start of that survival mode.
The new Mountain West is a patchwork of states. It includes:
Hawai‘i (now a full member)
Northern Illinois (football-only)
UC Davis (non-football)
UTEP (full member)
Grand Canyon (non-football, basketball power)
It spans four time zones. It lost every major football brand. It added no new ones.
In hoops, the ceiling drops. But GCU, UNLV, New Mexico, and Reno could still form a multi-bid base. The profile will shift from “best mid-major in America” to “WCC with altitude.”
In football, nothing changes. And that’s a red flag. Boise, SDSU, Fresno, Utah State, and CSU carried the league for years. Their exit leaves UNLV and Air Force at the top. The product weakens. The margins shrink.
This isn’t a league trying to win the West. It’s a league trying to keep the lights on.
Final Thought: A Win for the Present, a Risk for the Future
Bringing in Grand Canyon early was likely the right call from a competitive, logistical, and political perspective. It adds March value. It eases scheduling burdens. And it reclaims a bit of agency in a chaotic realignment cycle.
But it also blew up whatever fragile truce existed between the Mountain West and its departing members.
Boise State and San Diego State aren’t just leaving now. They’re lawyering up. Their final season in the Mountain West won’t be a farewell tour. It’ll be a courtroom brawl.
The only question left is whether this was bold leadership or reckless escalation.
We’ll find out soon enough.
Michael Cooper covers UNLV athletics, realignment strategy, and college sports finance for The Scarlet Standard. Subscribe for free to get every update as the 2025 season and beyond unfold in real time.