Mendenhall prefers playing teams in the West and the Big 12 for ‘money games’ moving forward

With two games played against ranked SEC opponents this season — No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 16 Vanderbilt — Utah State has reportedly pocketed more than $2.5 million for USU athletics.

Those “money games” will no doubt be helpful for Utah State as it transitions to the remade Pac-12 Conference next summer. Moving conferences is an expensive endeavor.

If Bronco Mendenhall has his way, though, the Aggies won’t be playing in multiple money games in a single season going forward.

No, one game a year against a wealthier power conference opponent is enough, Mendenhall has now said on multiple occasions, the latest being an appearance on KSL Sports Zone Monday morning.

“One money game is plenty,” Mendenhall said. “And preferred, I think for any Group of Five, Group of Six program.”

Mendenhall also has a specific vision for what sort of power conference teams the Aggies will play going forward.

Mostly, rather than having to take his program east, sometimes across multiple time zones, Mendenhall wants to play teams that are located in the West, including those in the Big 12.

“Whenever you have a choice when you schedule, there is no reason to go two time zones or go all the way to the SEC,” Mendenhall said. “Right? There are schools on the West Coast and in the Big 12 that are much closer and make more sense, have more regional intrigue and are easier on your team.”

The future nonconference schedules for Utah State football, per FBS Schedules, are fairly hit-and-miss as far as Mendenhall’s ideals go.

• In 2026, the Aggies are slated to play at Utah, but that game isn’t likely to be a real “money game” since Utah traveled to Logan to play the Aggies in 2024 as part of a three-game deal between the schools.
• In 2027, Utah State will travel to Oklahoma (another SEC program) to play the Sooners.
• In 2029, Utah State is scheduled to travel to Oregon to take on the perennial powerhouse Ducks.
• In 2031, the three-game series against Utah will come to a close with another game in Salt Lake City.

Mendenhall conceded that he understands the allure of playing multiple money games in the same season.

“Many administrators around the country, especially in the race for finances — which is real — the financial pressures that everyone feels, it is really easy to say yes to a second one of those (money games) for approximately $2 million-ish. But that is an easier yes than some of the other things, that really have to shift toward development and innovation and process design. Really crafting a way to generate more revenue. I think that is the bind that administrators are in."

One thing that could prevent the Aggies from playing multiple games against power conference opponents in coming seasons is the decisions by the ACC and SEC to play nine games in conference going forward.

The SEC will move to a nine-game conference schedule next season, with the ACC following in 2027 (the Big Ten and Big 12 already play nine games in conference).

Those moves will limit the power conference opponents available for Utah State to play in the future.

There is a problem with that, though. With the move to the Pac-12, the Aggies will need to find more nonconference opponents as the Pac-12 will only have a seven-game conference schedule.

John Canzano reported last week that Pac-12 schools will play five nonconference games next year and USU currently only has two scheduled — at Utah and home against Idaho State.

Canzano further reported that it is likely that Pac-12 schools will schedule multiple Group of Five opponents in the nonconference, likely not from the Mountain West and maybe not even the American, but from the Sun Belt, MAC and Conference USA.

However scheduling shakes out for Utah State going forward, Mendenhall’s preferences are clear — a single money game a year, played against an opponent that has meaning for the Aggies.