If Air Force is indeed on the verge of leaving the Mountain West, the move would come without a unified front from those who help to bankroll the academy’s athletics.
A report from Action Network on Tuesday said Air Force — along with Colorado State — could be leaving for the American Athletic Conference in a move that could be announced as early as next week.
But Air Force won’t leave without first facing internal pushback.
“The (Air Force Academy Foundation) and several big donors are vehemently against the move,” a source wrote to The Gazette on Tuesday.
Air Force has been rumored to be among those targeted by the AAC since the conference lost Cincinnati, Houston and UCF to the Big 12 earlier this month. The Big 12, which also added BYU, plucked those three from the AAC in response to losing Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC.
Some of the earlier reports included Boise State and San Diego State along with Air Force and Colorado State as teams the AAC would try to grab from the Mountain West. However, Boise State’s interest has been cool throughout, as it is assumed to be eyed for the next round of expansion by the Big 12 and wouldn’t have an interest in paying exit fees to conferences twice in a short span. San Diego State athletic director John David Wicker similarly called a potential move a “nonstarter.”
The decision likely wouldn’t have been complicated for Air Force had Boise State and San Diego State also been attached to a move, as it would have shifted Group of Five power decisively to the AAC. The AAC’s television contract with ESPN pays around $6 million per school, about double the pact the Mountain West has with CBS and Fox. However, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that a clause in the AAC deal allows ESPN to renegotiate the terms with a change in membership. It’s uncertain, if only Air Force and Colorado State join, if the clout maintained by the AAC would be seen as enough for ESPN to keep the terms. If the money drops, this could become a lateral move.
One feeling expressed from an Air Force donor to The Gazette is a hesitancy to sever long-term partnerships with regional institutions like Wyoming, New Mexico and other charter members of the Mountain West without a clear incentive to do so.
Air Force Academy athletic director Nathan Pine, right, holds a jersey with Superintendent Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria
Air Force athletic director Nathan Pine refused comment on the issue. Sources indicate Pine has been a driving force in the Falcons potentially moving conferences and at least one high-ranking member of fundraising arms of alumni organizations has reached out to him to make the case for staying in the Mountain West.
But a window to stop the momentum might be closing. On Tuesday, Action Network’s Brett McMurphy reported the move for the Falcons and Rams will come “likely next week.” McMurphy has long been among the most connected and credible college football reporters.
CBS Sports said it confirmed the report, but, citing a source, said such was “not across the line yet” as the AAC wanted to add more than just Air Force and Colorado State.
