Utah State athletics refuse to ‘play second fiddle’ under AD Cameron Walker
Jun 19, 2026, 11:55 AM | Updated: Jun 22, 2026, 10:14 am
LOGAN, Utah – The Pac-12 is beckoning, and the Utah State Aggies are ready to step out of the shadows and claim their spot in the league’s hierarchy.
“We don’t have to play second fiddle. This state is big enough,” Cameron Walker, USU Vice President & Director of Athletics, told Scott Garrard on KSL Sports Zone earlier this week. “Whatever ceiling has been on Utah State in the past doesn’t have to be there in the future. Our future will be what we dictate it to be.”
The mentality has already shown up in the Aggies men’s basketball program, which found a way to retain homegrown talents Mason Falslev and Karson Templin despite significant interest elsewhere.
The reigning Mountain West Player and Sixth Man of the Year gives the program a strong foundation as new head coach Ben Jacobson acclimates.
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Across all sports, USU won a school record nine MW championships last season. It was the most titles for a single school in the league since New Mexico hauled in nine championships during the 2013-14 academic year.
Even more impressive is the speed with which the department has grown since Walker’s hiring in September 2025.
Aggies programs had accounted for 18 conference titles since joining the league in July 2013.
They added nine more in year one under Walker’s guidance.
Utah State enters its next chapter with momentum across the department, leaving the Mountain West with regular and postseason tournament winners in women’s volleyball, men’s basketball, women’s gymnastics, and men’s tennis. Women’s soccer added a postseason title to reach nine.
“We want it to be bigger, all across the university,” Walker continued. “We don’t want to just be a member of the Pac-12; we want to be a leader in the Pac-12.”
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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.
