CSU Rams, Air Force turn down AAC, to stay in Mountain West, source says

Colorado State and Air Force aren’t going anywhere.

A root adjacent to the concern confirmed a report from Yahoo’s Pete Thamel connected Friday morning that some schools were precocious courted by the American Athletic Conference, but yet decided to instrumentality with the Mountain West.

Earlier this week, it was reported that the AAC targeted chap Mountain West members San Diego State and Boise State lone to beryllium rebuffed by those institutions arsenic well.

The AAC pursued those schools aft members Houston, Cincinnati and Central Florida, on with shot autarkic Brigham Young, accepted invitations to articulation the Big 12 successful September. Those additions were triggered by Texas and Oklahoma’s determination to bolt the Big 12 for the SEC successful August.

With the AAC boasting a larger tv woody than the Mountain West, determination was immoderate thought that definite MW schools would beryllium funny successful making the leap to articulation a league composed mostly of schools successful the eastbound clip zone.

The Mountain West has a woody with FOX and CBS that produces yearly distributions of astir $4.1 cardinal annually to subordinate schools. AAC schools presently person $7 cardinal a twelvemonth from ESPN, but there’s a accidental that fig could alteration with 3 of its largest markets (Houston, Orlando and Cincinnati) nary longer portion of the league footprint.