Mountain West mulls next move as ACC decides on Cal, Stanford - ESPN

As Stanford and California await a decision from the ACC about possible membership, the Mountain West Conference remains on standby, ready to respond however those dominos fall.

After the collapse of the Pac-12 last week, the MWC has found itself in a position of strength and stands as a potential landing spot for the remaining four Pac-12 schools: Cal, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington.

How quickly the trickle-down effect reaches the MWC will be determined mostly by forces out of its control.

«It is about what's happening with the ACC or whoever [Cal and Stanford] are talking to,» MWC commissioner Gloria Nevarez told ESPN on Thursday.

If Cal and Stanford are accepted into the ACC — a possibility that hit roadblocks Wednesday evening — there is a widespread expectation that Oregon State and Washington State would move to the MWC, sources told ESPN.

If the ACC does not add Cal and Stanford, however, it's less clear how things will play out. Since Friday, when five of the remaining nine Pac-12 schools announced they were leaving, the MWC has been gaming out various scenarios.

«A lot of it is just trying to sort fact from fiction out there,» Nevarez said. «There's just so much information about what's going on, and not all of it is true. From my perspective, it's been a matter of connecting with our athletic directors and presidents and contacts that I have in the industry to try to provide our board the best information out there.»

The American Athletic Conference would also be willing to consider adding all four remaining Pac-12 schools, sources told ESPN.

Nevarez declined to provide details about whom she has communicated with or what specific scenarios have been discussed, but stressed the MWC is open to considering