Expansion mostly just talk

Tuesday, June 3, 2003 | 9:58 a.m.

The Mountain West Conference Board of Directors meeting concludes today at The Aviara Four Seasons Hotel in Carlsbad, Calif., with conference expansion possibilites expected to be the No. 1 topic.

Although no new members are expected to be invited at this time, the conference is expected to commission a study on the pros and cons of adding as many as four teams following the 2004 season.

"I don't expect we're going to end these meetings telling who the new members or member of the MWC will be," San Diego State President Stephen Weber told the Denver Post. "Talking with colleagues you get a real sense now that it's time to think about it."

The MWC has a moratorium on expansion until after the 2004 season. However, news that the Atlantic Coast Conference may expand to 12 teams by adding Big East heavyweights such as Miami, Syracuse and Boston College has forced the MWC and other conferences to look long and hard at the possibility of adding teams by the time new TV contracts come up in 2006.

"It's all speculation about speculation," Weber said. "It's a little bit like poker. 'What do we do if she plays this card?' When it's all done, I don't think it will be as much of a realignment nationwide as people think. These are all hypotheticals."

The Board of Directors, which includes UNLV President Dr. Carol C. Harter, listened to a report from NCAA President Myles Brand on Monday and also discussed the strategic position of the conference in terms of Division I-A football.

"I suspect there can be come improvements on how the BCS operates in its cooperative activity with the NCAA," Brand said. "I think these are complicated negotiations between conferences and the networks. I know it is the concern of the presidents of this conference to the presidents of other conferences in non-BCS leagues."