Utah State a ‘natural fit’ for the Pac-12

On July 11, 2022, news broke that USC and UCLA — then cornerstone programs in the Pac-12 Conference — were leaving the conference to join the Big Ten Conference.
It was landscape-altering news in the college sports world, a reaction to Texas and Oklahoma leaving the Big 12 Conference for the SEC, and would go on to send reverberations through practically every conference at the FBS level and some at the FCS level too.
Behind the scenes, spearheading the Trojans’ and Bruins’ move to the Big Ten was Diana Sabau, then the deputy commissioner and chief sports officer for the Big Ten.
Sabau is now the athletic director at Utah State University, so when news broke a couple of weeks ago that Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State had agreed to leave the Mountain West Conference to join the remnants of the Pac-12 in an effort to rebuild the league, she couldn’t help but smile.
Conference realignment is right in her wheelhouse.
“I was really exited about it,” she said.
She had reason to be. As of Wednesday, Utah State is officially headed to the Pac-12 in 2026 as its newest member. USU is the seventh announced school in the league, with at least one more football-playing university to come before 2026.
It is a move into a conference that is roundly expected to be the best of the rest — the proverbial Group of 6 — or in other words, the fifth-best football conference in the country.
It isn’t the old Pac-12, a nationally recognized Power conference, but is something new and improved for USU and the other four schools that have been tabbed so far to leave the MW — Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State.
“This is a perfect moment for Utah State and our university to take pride in everything that we’ve accomplished,” Sabau said. “The legacy and the allure of being an Aggie. It (Pac-12 membership) really proves our commitment to elevating USU athletics.
“I talk a lot about future proofing and guaranteeing the future (for USU athletics). My job as athletic director is to weigh future years against the present to ensure the future. Being a member of the Pac-12 produces great value for our athletic teams, not only for our coaches in recruiting, but playing in a very competitive league that is going to give us multiple bids for tournaments and championships. And that is what it comes down to, the postseason and giving your student athletes the biggest stage to shine bright on.”
The cost to get into the Pac-12 was steep.
Reports indicate that Utah State’s exit fee from the Mountain West Conference, the league the school has been a member of since 2013, could go as high as $17 million. Throw in poaching fees demanded of the Pac-12 by the MW — fees that may end up being disputed in court — and it could end up costing tens of millions for USU to join the Pac-12.
On its own, footing that bill was significant for Utah State. The Aggies got help though. While she didn’t go into specifics and who, Sabau said that USU received financial support from across the state of Utah. Support that she “could never have imagined.”
“We have had tremendous support, regionally, locally, and from around the state,” Sabau said. “Which I am just really thankful for. There are individuals, constituents, from all around the state that were really excited about the possibility and prospect of Utah State, joining such a legacy conference.”
Finances will play a major role going forward too.
The Pac-12 doesn’t currently have a media deal lined up and though Sabau wouldn’t go into the specifics of what the league promised Utah State, she noted that the Aggies “are very happy with our agreement,” and received a deal that is pretty equitable with what was promised by the Pac-12 to BSU, CSU, FSU and SDSU.
As for a future TV deal for the conference, Sabau won’t be one of those decision makers but she noted that anyone can see that there are major players in the market that recently lost content and have a need for some, hinting at TNT among others. And the idea is that the Pac-12 brand — even with new schools — will be enough to entice networks to provide the kind of deal that will allow Utah State to be competitive nationally. Seen nationally too.
“We want our game-day experience and the HURD to be seen nationally now,” Sabau said.
There is an idea that money could have kept Utah State in the Mountain West Conference. Multiple reports have indicated that conference commissioner Gloria Nevarez promised MW members financial incentives to sign long term agreements to stay in the league. Utah State was one of those schools, but the university decided that now was the time to take a “leap of faith.”
“The Mountain West is our conference and we’ve had great success in the MW,” Sabau said. “Really, the alignment was deep and strong. There was not necessarily the thought or consideration to make a change, because of the success that we were having.
“But once the four schools left the MW, you could tell that there was a shift in the dynamic. And as an athletics director I want to future proof our programs but also be in alignment with future growth of the institution too. When the opportunity arose (to join the Pac-12), sometimes you have to take a leap of faith. Sometimes you have to make strategic decisions and sometimes it is a little bit of both. That was the intersection that we were at.”
It wasn’t an easy decision for many.
“There were different reactions from different groups (within the university),” Sabau said, “But today, in the modern age of intercollegiate athletics, change is every day. And we have to be able to embrace it, adjust with it and be nimble. Modernize and future proof what we are doing.”
Utah State had some hurdles to get over in order to get into the league, an investigation by the United State Justice Department of USU athletics for one, but Sabau noted that questions were asked and answered.
“They were difficult (conversations). It was brought up. You want to know what you are getting into,” she said. “They (the Pac-12) asked the right questions and they respected our responses.”
Also brought up was Utah State’s Reach and Rise campaign, which has a goal of raising $125 million for Aggie athletics (USU announced Wednesday that it has raised $21 million so far).
Sabau noted that that campaign was started with conference realignment in mind — also the House v. NCAA antitrust settlement — and that the campaign definitely didn’t hurt Utah State in conversations with the Pac-12.
“When we launched that campaign, it was strategic. Knowing what was around the corner and wanting to shore up our future,” Sabau said. “It was talked about with the Pac-12, because it is important. We have shown to have an advanced commitment in comprehensive excellence.”
Ultimately the move to the Pac-12 is a bet on Utah State athletics taking a continued leap forward.
Sabau knows that conference realignment almost assuredly isn’t over and no one really knows how long the new-look Pac-12 will exist in its current state. But the Pac-12 right now is a step up for Utah State.
“It was about making sure our student athletes could compete on the best stage with the best opponents,” she said. “To be in a conference that is nationally respected and well followed.”
And Sabau is of the strong belief that Utah State can make real noise in the Pac-12. And build off it.
“Whatever conference Utah State goes to, Utah State wins,” she said. “… I truly believe that Utah State is a competitive cornerstone. The more and more I learn about Utah State and the success of intercollegiate athletics within the state, at Utah and BYU, so much of their foundation and their coaches got their start at Utah State. There is a tremendous legacy here. And so the Pac-12 seems like a natural fit.”
For the latest round of conference realignment at least.