Memphis, Tulane, South Florida and UTSA have reaffirmed their commitment to the American Athletic Conference, the universities and conference announced Monday, spurning interest from the Pac-12 to join that rebuilding conference.

The schools had seen presentations from the Pac-12 but ultimately felt the league’s uncertainty and travel weren’t enough to leave an AAC that is exploring new revenues and models. The AAC’s large exit fees were also a major hurdle.

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It’s a blow to the Pac-12’s six schools, which were hoping to create a “Best of the Rest” conference that would’ve been the top non-Power 4 league, with a good shot at its champion getting a College Football Playoff spot. The schools are Washington State, Oregon State, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State, with the latter four set to join in 2026.

The league and its consultants had pitched potential TV revenue of up to $10 to $15 million to AAC members. But the numbers and networks are theoretical, as the Pac-12 wouldn’t be expanding on a previous TV deal. That made the AAC schools cautious.

The AAC, meanwhile, pitched itself on having exposure through an ESPN deal that runs into the early 2030s. It’s also easier for kickoff windows and for travel.

Commissioner Tim Pernetti has been working on private capital investments that would inject more money into the conference. The AAC itself has been the top football league in the Group of 5 since it was formed a decade ago, even with recent defections to the Power 4. Tulane, Memphis and USF specifically receive around $7 to $8 million in TV revenue as legacy members of the conference, but other newcomers like UTSA receive only around half of that.

The AAC has also targeted Texas State in addition to Air Force and UNLV, from the shrinking Mountain West as potential expansion candidates beyond this group.

The AAC includes Army and Navy as football-only members. Adding Air Force would give it the three service academies playing FBS football , but it’s possible Air Force could join as a full member with other sports, if it decided to join.

The Pac-12 is expected to look back west at more Mountain West schools like Air Force, UNLV and Utah State. While the Pac-12 and Gonzaga have had conversations, no agreement or announcement is imminent, people briefed on the situation tell .

The Pac-12 and its four new members are set to owe around $111 million to the Mountain West in exit and poaching fees, but a scheduling agreement signed by the leagues last year would waive all fees if the Pac-12 were to absorb the entire Mountain West.

The remaining eight Mountain West schools have been waiting to see what shakes out elsewhere. While the conference is trying to get the members to stay committed to the league and each other, potentially through a grant of rights or sharing all that exit fee money due their way, this Pac-12 news could change the calculus. Per Mountain West rules, an agreement by two-thirds of the league’s members would be needed to dissolve the conference, another semi-merger possibility that could get rid of exit fees.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

HERRIMAN, Utah — If you look around Mountain Ridge High School, you’ll see a whole lot of red, gray, and white — even more so if you were there Wednesday morning when Mountain Ridge was on air during Good Day Utah as FOX 13 News’ Cool School of the Week.

This year, Mountain Ridge’s theme is “Together as One.”

“We chose this because we really wanted to unify our school,” said Student Body President MJ Darton.

That unity showed as students from cheer, drill, band, and student government all filled the commons area with music and laughter.

“We have the best-performing arts department in the state,” said band instructor Cris Stiles.

“We love how many incredible female athletes we have,” added Mountain Ridge Drill Team Coach Blaikly Lever. “I’m so proud of the hard work, dedication and passion they put in every day.”

Mountain Ridge isn’t just a Cool School because of their school spirit; it also offers a healthy combination of fun and rigor inside the classroom. The school has a variety of AP and Concurrent Enrollment courses. They also have a robust science department and renowned woodworking classes taught by a veteran teacher of nearly 35 years — Mr. Richard Minor.

“I think everybody loves to create and build things. This is where they get to do that,” Mr. Minor said.

The approximately 2,800 students who attend Mountain Ridge also have their choice of student groups to get involved in. Right now, their Latinos in Action group is preparing for events throughout Hispanic Heritage Month.

“Latinos in Action is a program that is meant to empower the Latino youth,” said one Latinos in Action member.

Mental health is also important to administration, teachers and students. The student group Sources of Strength, or SOS, was created to highlight everyone’s strengths and improve mental health.

“Next week we’re running Sources of Strength Week. It’s an initiative we’re doing called ‘Find your Strength Week,’” one SOS student said.

There are a lot of things that make Mountain Ridge High a FOX 13 News Cool School, but Darton said this is something she already knew.

“Mountain Ridge is the coolest school, not just this week but year-round because together, we’re strong,” she said.

If you want to nominate a school for Cool School, you can email nominations to dooddayutah@fox13now.com.

An announced attendance of 8,851 was at the game Sunday at the arena, home of the Iowa Wild, the Minnesota Wild’s American Hockey League affiliate. When game host Andrew Downs asked who was cheering for which team, the Blues fans were dominant, but Utah definitely had a sizable vocal following.

Fans gave a robust cheer to start the game when the public address announcer welcomed, “the visiting St. Louis Blues, and the inaugural game in the history of the hosts, Utah Hockey Club.”

After Utah forward Dylan Guenther scored a go-ahead goal on a power play 8:05 into the third period, fans behind the St. Louis goal started an audible “Let’s Go Utah” chant.

“It’s always nice to get back into game action,” Guenther said. “We’ve had a few good practices. It’s exciting to see the team come together for camp and nice to get a game under our belts and roll into the next one.”

Utah defenseman Robert Bortuzzo said the atmosphere was “very cool.”

“The rink was great, attendance was great. I thought both teams competed really hard and then gave fans a little shootout there,” Bortuzzo said of the multi-round shootout the teams had following the game. “We appreciate them coming out. Their support goes a long way in this League for all teams.”

Utah was generating interest with its gear, as well. Near Section 108, fans formed a long line to purchase Utah and NHL merchandise, from hats to sweatshirts to T-shirts.

“We actually know one of (Utah’s) trainers, so I follow because of that connection,” said Brooke Vass of Lincoln, Nebraska, who bought a Utah tee and a sweatshirt. “We’re [Pittsburgh] Penguins fans, but I don’t have a Western Conference team yet. So, we’ll see.”

It’s been a busy but thrilling time for the Utah Hockey Club. The firsts are piling up, and they’ve all been enjoyable. Now to play in front of the home fans.

“It’s going to be pretty cool. We can say it when we’re done playing, that we were the first team in Utah,” Guenther said. “It’s cool for us, cool for the players, cool for the fans and it’s going to grow hockey in the state, too.”