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Published Friday, Aug. 20, 2010 | midnight
Updated Friday, Aug. 20, 2010 | 2:40 a.m.
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OK, so have you caught your wind yet from the Mountain West/WAC tornado that hit and shook up everyone's Wednesday afternoon and evening?
I sort of have.
Now that 24 hours have passed, here are five observations that I have leftover from the whole deal.
Feel free to share yours in the comments section below. Lets get some discussion going, eh?
(Oh, and sorry for not touching base here in The Greene Room for, oh, a few months. My bad. Hope to change that here in the upcoming season.)
1) Poor, poor Karl Benson
During what was a four-hour — yeah, four hours — teleconference on Thursday morning, WAC commissioner Karl Benson made a couple of comments that made him sound like a bitter ex. Lets just call it like it is.
Look, the guy has every right to be upset. His league is now down to six future members and very likely facing extinction.
He said that Nevada-Reno and Fresno State performed "selfish acts" and caused the conference's stability to disintegrate.
Come on. Really? He was fine with poaching BYU just two days ago, then trying to lure Boise State back and essentially destroy the Mountain West. But when it happens to him, it's considered selfish.
In the end, Benson came across a bit like Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert did back in July. Not that bad, but in the same ballpark, right?
Moral of the story: Get over it, man. Trying to hold UNR and Fresno State hostage in the WAC through 2011 won't change the past. Just sayin'.
2) The ball is in your court, BYU
First off, either way, the Mountain West will be fine here, no matter what BYU decides.
If BYU stays put, the MWC obviously chases a 12th team very soon and, you would have to imagine, gets itself in prime position for BCS automatic qualifier status.
If BYU leaves, the MWC stays put at 10 teams for at least a little while, and has probably a stronger football profile than it did before any of this happened. A top-half of the league featuring Boise State, TCU, Fresno State, UNR and Air Force probably doesn't get commissioner Craig Thomspon the BCS AQ status he craves so badly, but it sets the table for that to happen potentially in the future with a couple more aggressive moves. It keeps the league beyond respectable for the time being.
3) Basketball, again, is forgotten
There was a group of national media back in June, when the conference expansion talks around the country were at their most heated point, pointing out that football was driving the bus, while basketball was simply along for the ride.
It's understandable, as the football TV revenue stream is endless if you're in the right situation, while college basketball revenues are, for the most part, maxed out at this point.
It's sort of sad that this had to happen just as the Mountain West was coming into its own as a real player on the national basketball scene. In hoops, the league would greatly benefit from BYU staying put. Then, the MWC keeps its core top-four programs together and adds a very strong mid-major program in UNR.
4) If BYU stays, grab Houston — Quickly
Does this really need much explanation? Great football program, a second school in Texas and the nation's No. 10 TV market.
Gotta be proactive here if BYU decides to come back home.
5) Say what you will about Craig Thompson, but he saved face
The one thing that bothered me during Thompson's Wednesday evening teleconference was that, multiple times, he refused to admit that the moves to add Fresno State and UNR were made in response to the BYU situation.
I, for one, don't believe that this was just some consequence.
But, still, the man won the biggest tug-of-war in Mountain West history, pulled the league back from the edge of the cliff and onto solid ground for the long haul.
That gets a fist bump from me.
Thompson did a great job, and Benson probably cried himself to sleep because he got what was coming to him. It all happened so fast too. I predicted the conference shakeup wasn't done yet, but would have thought it would come next year. This is great news for the MWC. I agree with you on all points Ryan, and I believe BYU will come crawling back to the MWC kicking and screaming, and an invitation will be extended to Houston. Other reports say invites were extended to NMst, Utah st, and one other team (maybe smu?), but no word on Houston which boggles the mind.
Fist pump from me!
i feel bad for hawaii. They have been dying to get into the mwc also... stupid ocean. I hope byu leaves then has to come crawling back in a few years. I also hope montana and montana state step up and join the wac... maybe weber state? What a strange summer.
I hope BYU sticks around. The conference is much better having them and their passionate fans in the mix. If they move on, I wish them well. They deserve that for that they've done for the conference.
And while I can see what Utah bolted, the MWC would have been an excellent conference with them and BYU still in the mix and the addition of Fresno, Nevada and Boise State. That would have been a conference well poised for the future growth this region is going to enjoy.
You know you have to be in a world of hurt when you get outmaneuvered by Craig Thompson.
Benson forgot to read his Bible: live by conference poaching, and you wind up dying by conference poaching.
Best option for the WAC right now is to merge with the Sun Belt, unless BYU is determined to commit suicide and go independent and play all other sports in an incredibly weakened WAC conference.
Finally, if adding UNR and FSU were such good moves for the MWC, why didn't the conference act sooner? Say earlier in the summer when both schools could have come to the MWC at no cost and formed a strong 12 team conference (before Utah left for the Pac 10 anyway).
In any event, BYU would be crazy to leave at this point. If they stay, they will be part of a BCS conference in a few years, and they can then look to bolt to the 10 member Big 12.
If they leave now, good luck getting the quality of schedule they will need to get to a BCS game every year.
And if they think their ratings are low on Versus/CSTV/the mtn, just wait until they're playing San Jose State on the BYU TV channel.
They will be absolutely invisible to anyone who is not LDS.
From what it's sounding like today, Houston could be very close to becoming a member of the Mountain West. With that said, we'd have to presume that BYU is going to stay, which forms a mightily impressive 12-team, 2-division league ...
East: Houston, Air Force, Colorado State, Wyoming, TCU, BYU
West: UNR, UNLV, Fresno State, New Mexico, SDSU, Boise State
??
heard anything about TCU not wanting Houston? The rumor is they'll leave if Houston joins.
East: Houston, Air Force, CSU, WYO, TCU, NM
West: UNR, UNLV, Fresno, SMU, SDSU, Boise
I don't see BYU staying.
I like the idea of getting the entire Dallas/Ft Worth area for exposure. This helps in recruiting for all of us. And, I believe June Jones will have SMU into a BCS game in the next five years.
I believe it's Baylor that TCU has the problem with, not Houston.
Ryan, now that you have gotten me all worked up is there anymore about Houston joining the MWC?
Apparently, BYU still hasn't come to their senses.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/sports/5018...