I suspect they offered to pay the full buyouts for Boise & SDSU to join the new PAC and then extended traditional invites to Fresno & CSU. With the top two brands in the MWC on the way out they were probably thrilled to be offered a spot in the PAC even having to pay the buyout. I also believe UNLV got the same offer but the NV legislature is causing problems because Nevada isn’t included.

With those schools locked in I’m guessing the PAC has now turned its attention to the AAC. Memphis would get their buyout covered for sure. And the next school I’m guessing the PAC is most interested in is UTSA. If they get both they’ll likely extend offers to USF & Tulane to see if they’ll bail on a dying league at their own expense. I would also expect Gonzaga to receive a basketball only invite to headline a quality hoops league that includes the Zags, SDSU, Memphis & UNLV at the top of the marquee.

One thing I can almost guarantee is that the PAC has done its due diligence on all of the expansion scenarios with their potential TV partners. The CW has shown very nice early returns as a Saturday OTA network partner, and ESPN still needs weeknight content and inventory for the PAC After Dark. So by cutting out the bottom dwelling G5 programs there is likely a really nice per-school payout awaiting a conference that would be the prohibitive favorite annually to earn the G5 CFP bid.