Are SDSU and SMU really gonna help Utah, Oregon and Washington remain relevant?
No.
But what is your alternative??
Roping in San Diego State is about keeping some semblance of an athletic presence in Southern California after painfully losing UCLA and USC. And at least for SDSU, their current sports programs – Football, Men’s Basketball, Baseball, Volleyball – would right away hold par in the Pac 12.
SMU I don’t take seriously as a potential invite to the PAC 12, especially since they are pining for a future spot in the Big 12 to reunite with their long ago Southwest Conference rivals. As for SMU in the Pac, I don't think it's culturally worked out when conferences chases schools outside of their traditional geography because of their surrounding market share, unless, of course, the only thing that matters is biting into large TV markets (Rutgers?). In the case of the Metroplex it's already saturated by the pro sports teams.
In perusing other, more Pac 12 centric boards, the hesitant consensus is to invite
UNLV:-
Market Share: Clark County NV has a population over 2M
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Geography: Las Vegas is an obvious fit within the Pac 12 geography
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Existing Conference Presence: Pac 12 already plays their basketball tournaments and football championship on the Strip
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Accessibility: McCarren Airport is the 8th busiest airport by passenger traffic nationally, with direct, daily routes to every Pac 12 market
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Stadiums: T-Mobile Arena (basketball dome near Park MGM) and Allegiant Football stadium near the Mandalay Bay are brand new, world class, centrally located on the Strip, and Allegiant hosts the Super Bowl next year
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Rivalry Potential: All Pac 12 schools have sizeable alumni groups in Las Vegas, and given the accessibility (see above) and the volume of hotel options within walking distance of the stadiums (see above), it’s a ready made weekend trip to fly in from Seattle/PHX/Portland to watch the Huskies/Sun Devils/Ducks
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UNLV’s Impact: UNLV has a stronger hometown presence in Vegas than SMU does in the Metroplex. The downside is: 1) UNLV’s athletics aren’t very competitive, however moving to the Pac 12 could be the uplifting factor, especially given their stadiums, AND 2) fellow Pac 12 fans have pointed out how far behind UNLV’s academics lag behind the rest of the conference, which, IMO, isn’t something that will turn UNLV down.
