Cancel that bulk order of beet juice.
San Diego State’s basketball team religiously drinks the nitrate-rich concoction in the days before games in high altitude, believing it enhances oxygen delivery to muscles that becomes more difficult for sea-level athletes venturing into the Rockies. And the Mountain West has six schools above 4,500 feet and two (Air Force and Wyoming) above 7,000.
SDSU’s move to a reformed Pac-12 starting in 2026-27, then, could mean greater television revenues from football … and fewer trips into elevation for its marquee basketball program.
As things stand now, only one of the six Pac-12 members — Colorado State at 5,025 feet — has elevation that is considered problematic. The other five Mountain West altitude schools, so far, have been left behind.
“Those are hard places to play in elevation — Albuquerque, Air Force, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah State,” Aztecs coach Brian Dutcher said. “Everyone knows my stance on altitude: It’s hard to play at altitude.”
There are other benefits. It likely means no 20-game conference schedule with a nine- or 10-team league, something the 11-team Mountain West adopted for the upcoming season after years of resistance from SDSU so it has more flexibility to build an NCAA Tournament résumé.
“Football drives the bus as you think about revenue generation, TV, all that stuff,” SDSU athletic director John David Wicker said. “But our men’s basketball program has been as successful as almost anybody in the country over the past 10, 15 years. It was important to make sure they were in a place where they can continually succeed.
“I think basketball will trade up a little bit.”
The current Six-Pac is statistically superior than the current Mountain West, and it stands to improve as it expands. NCAA compliance rules require the reconfigured Pac-12 to have at least eight football-playing members by 2026-27.
Sources have said the goal is nine for football to accommodate an eight-game conference schedule. A prime candidate is Memphis, which regularly ranks among the best mid-major men’s basketball programs and averaged 12,276 fans last season at the 17,796-seat FedExForum (and has a sizeable NIL kitty thanks to a $25 million grant from Memphis-based FedEx).
Sources also have hinted that the Pac-12 might pursue a 10th, non-football member. That’s a coy way of saying Gonzaga.
The Bulldogs have flirted with leaving the West Coast Conference several times, first with the Mountain West in 2018 before squeezing financial and scheduling concessions to stay, and more recently with the Big East and Big 12.
Oregon State and Washington State signed a two-year agreement to play basketball and other sports in the WCC until the new Pac-12 takes shape. Lines of communication are open.
Dutcher was asked if he’ll lobby Gonzaga coach Mark Few.
“Mark Few is very smart,” Dutcher said. “He’s going to do what’s in the best interest of Gonzaga University. If he looks at this situation and he likes the other pieces we’re adding and he feels that it’s the best situation for Gonzaga to be in, then they’ll make the move.
“But I know this. Two of the best programs on the West Coast are San Diego State and Gonzaga. If we get in the same league together, it’s going to be a hard league.”
It already is.
The average annual ranking in the Kenpom metric over the last five seasons for a Mountain West team is 120. For the six comprising the new Pac-12: 87.
The remaining seven Mountain West teams are 1-7 in the NCAA Tournament since 2020. The six in the Pac-12: 12-11, including SDSU’s run to the championship game in 2023 and Oregon State’s Elite Eight appearance in 2021. Four were in the tournament last season.
Here’s a closer look at the six, with their average final Kenpom ranking over the last five years:
SDSU (19): The crown jewel of Mountain West basketball, with four straight NCAA Tournament appearances (and 11 of the last 14) and back-to-back trips to the Sweet 16. It would have been five straight had the 2020 tournament not been canceled with the Aztecs at 30-2 and projected as a No. 2 seed.
Boise State (52): Coach Leon Rice and his veteran staff have built the Broncos into perennial contenders, finishing first or second in the Mountain West and reaching the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons. The only thing they haven’t done is win when they get there.
Washington State (71): The Cougars ended a 15-year tournament drought last season, winning 25 games and finishing second behind Arizona in the Pac-12 under coach Kyle Smith. With an uncertain future ahead, Smith took the Stanford job and was replaced by Eastern Washington’s David Riley.
Colorado State (73): The Rams have won 20 or more games in four of six seasons under Niko Medved, highlighted by NCAA trips in 2022 and 2024. Last spring, they pounded Virginia 67-42 in the First Four before losing to Texas. As the only altitude team, they’ll have a big home-court advantage at Moby Arena.
Oregon State (146): The Beavers had four straight seasons in the Kenpom top 100 before fading in the last three, finishing 12th, 11th and 12th in the Pac-12 under coach Wayne Tinkle. There is a rich basketball history, though, and 9,301-seat Gill Coliseum can be an intimidating place when full.
Fresno State (160): The Bulldogs have reached the tournament only once since Jerry Tarkanian retired in 2002, and the 15,596-seat Save Mart Center is a morgue most nights. Fresno State is among the Mountain West’s least resourced basketball programs, making the Pac-12 an uphill battle for new coach Vance Walberg without significant investment.
“We’ll see what it is,” Dutcher said. “We’re still two years away. We’ll see who else comes into the league. It could be better for us. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter where we’re at. What we’ve done is build San Diego State into a relevant program.
“We could play in any league and we’re going to remain relevant.”
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