A welcome reunion

Saturday, Aug. 21, 2010 | 2:01 a.m.

The announcement this week that UNR will play in the same athletic conference as in-state rival UNLV for the first time since 1995 is a winning proposition for both schools. UNR plans to join the Mountain West Conference, UNLV’s home since 1999, as early as fall 2011. The reunion is certain to elevate fan interest in this rivalry, and the Nevada universities will benefit if wavering BYU decides to stay in the conference.

These developments come at a time of great upheaval in college sports caused by the big money that television networks and cable stations throw at universities for the privilege of broadcasting their football games. Major collegiate conferences throughout the country have adopted the philosophy that if they add members, they have a greater chance of grabbing more TV revenue, which is then divided among the schools.

One perspective is that the universities cannot be blamed because most are suffering budget shortfalls in this battered economy, and the money football generates is used to pay for other collegiate sports programs. Another perspective is that this is all about greed and that long-standing rivalries are being ripped apart as conferences poach one another’s membership as though they were piranhas in a household aquarium.

The Mountain West, which is losing the University of Utah to the Pac-10 Conference but gaining Boise State University, got caught up in this feeding frenzy. The Mountain West extended an invitation to UNR, and we’re glad the university accepted. Many UNR graduates live in Las Vegas and plenty of UNLV alumni reside in Northern Nevada.

Having both schools in the same conference will make it easier for their respective fans to compare their athletic accomplishments and allow UNLV and UNR to compete for the same league championships.

The schools face each other in football once every year, alternating home field advantage in their bid for the prized Fremont Cannon. But conference competition will also allow the schools to play each other twice a year in basketball — with each team having a home game — rather than the once-a-year contests they have now.

It will be even better for the Mountain West if perennial football power BYU retains its membership. BYU is considering competing as an independent in football, same as Notre Dame, and joining the Western Athletic Conference in other sports. But if BYU takes its football program elsewhere, it would be a blow in the Mountain West’s quest to obtain an automatic bid to one of the financially lucrative, season-ending Bowl Championship Series games.

The BCS is justly criticized for offering automatic bowl game bids to the winners of six major conferences elsewhere in the country, even though the Mountain West or other conferences may have better teams than the fortunate six. By retaining BYU, the Mountain West will have a much better chance of securing an automatic BCS bid for the winner of its conference. At the very least, we can be thankful that the frenzied competition among conferences will bring the Rebels and Wolf Pack together again.