The dominoes of conference realignment continue to fall, aftershocks of the ACC, Big 12, and Big Ten pillaging the Pac-12. The latest fell sooner than expected with Grand Canyon University expediting its transition to the Mountain West.
As Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reported on Tuesday, Grand Canyon has finalized the agreement and will make the move this fall. Without a football program, GCU will be added to the Mountain West schedules in all other sports for the 2025-26 seasons.
The Mountain West has finalized an agreement with Grand Canyon for the school to join the league as a member this fall, a year earlier than anticipated, sources tell @YahooSports.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) July 8, 2025
GCU, which does not play football, is expected to be added to MWC schedules for 2025-26.
Caught up in the movement on the West Coast, Grand Canyon left the Western Athletic Confernece for the West Coast Conference before accepting an invite to the Mountain West. Having already left the WAC, the Antelopes faced the possibility of navigating the 2025-26 seasons without a conference.
While GCU was desperate to find a home for the upcoming year, the Mountain West is also eager to add programs with the imminent departures of Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Colorado State, and Utah State for the Pac-12 next summer. The latest mediation talks between the Mountain West and the five departing programs over exit fees did not yield an agreement.
Grand Canyon University could quickly become a Mountain West basketball powerhouse
With a massive enrollment of over 100,000 students and its unique for-profit model, Grand Canyon University has quickly become a mid-major powerhouse on the basketball court. Joining the WAC in 2013, the men’s basketball program has already made the NCAA Tournament four times, all since Bryce Drew took over in 2020. The women’s basketball program made its first NCAA Tournament appearance this past season, only its 12th year in Division I.
GCU won’t impact the Mountain West’s standing on the football field, which is expecting a significant decline once Boise State jumps to the Pac-12 for the 2026 season. However, the conference has enjoyed a reputation as one of the strongest mid-majors in men’s college basketball for years, even as the bloated Power Conferences gobble up more and more at-large bids. GCU will help to offset the league’s talent degradation and could quickly become the standard-bearer with its remarkable wealth of resources.
Mountain West basketball won’t be what it was without those five programs, once they depart for the Pac-12, but this season will be particularly competitive with the addition of another NCAA Tournament-caliber program in GCU. Last season, the Mountain West sent four teams to the Big Dance after sending six the year prior, a conference record.