WAC meetings: Verdict Eight schools enough

Steve Carp

Wednesday, June 3, 1998 | 11:02 a.m.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Now that they have decided that eight is indeed enough, UNLV and the seven other schools that have announced they are leaving the Western Athletic Conference can get started on the real tasks at hand.

And there is plenty to get done.

In the next six months, the yet-to-be-named league hopes to have an identity, a headquarters, a set of bylaws and its paperwork completed with both the WAC and the NCAA.

To accomplish that, each of the eight schools will supply a member to be part of a transition team which will work with the presidents on the many administrative matters which need to be addressed.

However, the search for a commissioner will not begin until January. The search will be on a national scale and there may be an interim commissioner named in the coming weeks to guide the fledgling league through the next few months.

"A lot of burden will be placed on this committee," Colorado State president Al Yates said Tuesday, after the eight schools met separately from the remaining WAC members at The Inn at Spanish Bay. "Our goal is to be ready to begin July 1, 1999, and we'll act as quickly as we can.

"This first year is going to be different and it is going to be difficult. But I believe that working together, we can make this a great conference, one of the premier athletic conferences in the nation. I think we have the time to do what we need to to make the right choices."

The transition committee will consist of athletic directors, senior women's administrators, faculty representatives and senior administrative staff. UNLV president Dr. Carol Harter said she already has talked to athletic director Charlie Cavagnaro about serving on the committee, and Cavagnaro has agreed to assist in the project.

"He has experience at this, having started two other leagues," Harter said. "His expertise will be invaluable."

San Diego State president Dr. Stephen Weber said he likely would look to his AD, Rick Bay, to be the Aztecs' rep.

"He would certainly be my top choice," Weber said.

The "large-ticket" items -- a name for the conference and a home for its headquarters -- won't happen until the committee has looked at all the alternatives.

The name of the conference could very well be tied to a title sponsor, which would pay the league a flat fee for attaching its name to the circuit. Stadiums and arenas and tournaments all have title sponsors. Why not a league?

"I think it's something you can take a look at," Utah president Bernie Machen said. "Whether that's the way to go, I don't know."

Yates said it is important that whatever name the new league chooses be representative of the eight institutions' goals and reflect the geography of the area which stretches from New Mexico to San Diego and covers six Western states.

"I'd like to see it done quickly," Yates said. "But not so quickly that we made a mistake."

It was with that thought process that the eight presidents elected to maintain the status quo and not expand to a ninth team. Late Tuesday morning, Yates and BYU president Merrill Bateman met with Fresno State president John Welty and Hawaii president Kenneth Mortimer to break the news that neither school would be considered for the new league.

The meeting lasted approximately 20 minutes. When it was over, both presidents left grim-faced and refusing comment. Later, Welty, putting on a brave front, said his school had re-affirmed being a member in good standing with the WAC.

"I do appreciate their meeting with both of us and explaining to us their decision," Welty said. "You can look in hindsight as how things were handled and the lack of clarity that was involved as to whether to go with eight or nine. But we're in an excellent position to move forward and that is our intention at Fresno State, to move forward."

Yates said it was about numbers, not the quality of the schools which wanted in, that decided it.

"We felt this group of eight has a compatibility to it. It is a good core," he said. "If we caused any institution any grief, any anxiety, we regret that.

"When you're not able to satisfy everyone, you're going to be sad. There's a bittersweet feeling to it. But I believe this was the right thing to do."

Harter said the eight schools were united once the decision was made to remain at eight.

"I'm not going to get into counting noses, but you can sense there was a consensus to stay (at eight)," she said. "I'm comfortable with it. There's an energy and a synergy that has come with this. We're extremely compatible."

Utah's Machen said, "We just didn't see any compelling reason to change things."

WAC notes

* BENSON STAYS ON: Any speculation that WAC commissioner Karl Benson may be leaving as well was squashed Tuesday when Benson announced he will remain as the WAC's chief. Benson, who has four years remaining on his rollover contract, said he was not offered the commissioner's post by the group of eight schools that are leaving the WAC at the end of June 1999 -- although he did talk to them. "I had to leave these meetings knowing where I stood," Benson said. "My goal is to make the eight remaining schools a viable conference and continue the WAC's strong tradition of excellence." Benson did say while he's staying on, the conference's headquarters may have to move from its suburban Denver location. "I think we have to look at Texas because of the five teams in that area," he said, including Tulsa in that mix. "Denver, even though it is centrally located, may not be viable."

* SCHEDULE CHANGES?: Don't discount the possibility of the WAC split getting a head start come basketball season. Benson said it is possible the 1998 schedule could be altered to have the remaining WAC teams play each other in one division, with the eight breakaway schools meeting each other. For UNLV, that would mean games with Utah, New Mexico, BYU and San Diego State instead of Tulsa, TCU, SMU and Rice. "I think it's something that will be discussed," he said. "If the council wants it, we'll bring it to the presidents." For the change to be implemented, all 16 presidents would have to agree to it. Benson said the 1998 football schedule will remain intact.