Pair surfaces for commissioner of new conference

Steve Carp

Thursday, June 11, 1998 | 10:55 a.m.

Chuck Neinas is accustomed to building the better mousetrap.

The blueprints have been used successfully time and again. It's just a matter of dusting them off, rolling them out and getting to work.

The man who helped get Conference USA and the College Football Association off the ground may be ready to assist the eight schools that are leaving the Western Athletic Conference at the end of June 1999 to form their own league.

The yet-to-be-named league, which includes UNLV, Air Force, Colorado State, Brigham Young, San Diego State, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, is looking for someone to act in the role of an interim commissioner, to help guide the eight-member transition committee in the right direction.

The committee met for the first time Tuesday via conference call. Neinas' name, along with that of former BYU athletic director Glenn Tuckett, came up as possible candidates.

Neinas, who runs a sports consulting firm in Boulder, Colo., said no offer has come but that he would be interested in such a task if asked. However, he wouldn't want to be considered a commissioner.

"I see the role more as a consultant, a convener rather than a commissioner," he said. "But I enjoy being involved in this type of situation. It was a vicarious thrill to see Conference USA grow."

Neinas said the first order of business for any new league is to make sure its goals and objectives are clearly stated.

"You need to lay a solid foundation," he said. "You want to have established guidelines for how you want your league to be run. Your bylaws are very important.

"You want to know how you will handle revenue distribution, what kind of schedule you're going to play. Once you have decided on all that, you can start looking into other matters such as television contracts."

He said the process, no matter who oversees it, should be a smooth one.

"I think if they put their minds to it, they can get it done in six months," he said. "You have seven of the eight schools, UNLV being the exception, that have worked together for years. The group's compatible and they share the same goals.

"I'm sure they can proceed in an orderly fashion with or without my help."