Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Ron Kantowski lists nine reasons Craig Thompson, the Mountain West Conference commissioner, has been doing his job right

A recent column suggesting the Mountain West Conference presidents share in the blame for this mess of a TV contract that Craig Thompson, the league commissioner, has orchestrated touched a nerve with readers. The one they use to e-mail.

Judging from their tone, I would conclude many of the irate not-so-few I have heard from are either distant relatives of MWC presidents or satellite TV subscribers frustrated by not being able to watch Brigham Young play football on Saturday afternoon.

Normally, I would answer them in our letters section, but, as you will read, this is one e-mail that can't be answered in a sentence or two.

I was waiting for you to tell me nine of the 10 good things Craig Thompson has done for the Mountain West, but I did not see a single thing listed in your article. Thompson has not stepped up and delivered a single thing for the MWC. The presidents need to step up and find a new Mountain West commissioner.

The only person worse than Craig Thompson would be you, since you think the blame does not fall on his plate.

Rodney Davis

Somewhere in the Mountain West

Rodney: First of all, that reference to nine of 10 was just an expression, a figure of speech.

You know, like "four out of five dentists prefer Trident for their patients who chew gum."

But if you insist, here are nine good things Craig Thompson has done for the Mountain West that should be considered along with the one bad one that may (or may not) have been his doing, considering that at the end of the day, he does the presidents' bidding.

1 He navigated the newest NCAA Division I conference through the ever-changing landscape of intercollegiate athletics. And navigated around Rick Majerus.

2 In January 2004 he brought Texas Christian University on board as the league's ninth member, thereby improving the MWC's Pop Warner image in football.

3 He has strengthened the position of the Mountain West in negotiations for increased access to the Bowl Championship Series despite the fact that New Mexico can't beat San Jose State on the Lobos' home field.

4 In 2004 the first step for BCS access for all Mountain West teams was accomplished when Utah finished the regular season with an 11-0 record. The Utes became the first team from a nonautomatic-qualifying conference to play in a BCS game, defeating Big East champion Pittsburgh (35-7) in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Although I do not know whether Thompson drew up that hook-and-lateral play, I can now say with certainty the offense Utah ran was more Urban Meyer's than Mike Sanford's.

5 Through its first seven years the MWC has participated in 26 bowl games, with eight of the conference's nine teams having made bowl appearances. You don't think getting eight MWC teams into bowl games took some fast talking?

6 Ditto for the MWC basketball teams and the NCAA tournament. You can't make chicken salad out of chicken feathers - except in the Big East - but give Thompson credit for trying. You'd need the audacity of Mr, Haney from Green Acres to sell somebody on San Diego State football.

7 In June 1995 Thompson was selected to serve on the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee and was appointed chair man of the committee in July 1999, thereby giving the MWC credibility when the back East committee members meet to decide where Syracuse should be seeded. Although the Rebels were still way too low as a No. 7.

8 Since the inception of the Mountain West in 1999, Thompson has been instrumental in negotiating nearly $230 million in television revenue. OK, so you can't watch the games if you own a satellite dish. That's still a lot of money that has probably precluded San Diego State from dropping a couple of minor sports.

9 Last but not least, I saw Craig Thompson drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic's. His hair was perfect.

I confess I made the last one up. But even his staunch est critics would concede that Craig Thompson has done things that have aided and abetted the Mountain West, too.

And that his hair still looks perfect.

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