
The 2010–13 Mountain West Conference realignment refers to the
Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations ...
(formally abbreviated as MW since July 2011; also MWC) dealing with several proposed and actual conference expansion and reduction plans among various
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...
conferences and institutions from 2010 to 2013. Moves that involved the MW were part of a much larger
NCAA conference realignment
NCAA Division I conference realignment refers to changes in the alignment of college or university athletic programs from one National Collegiate Athletic Association athletic conference to another.
Announced future changes
;Notes
* The "year ...
in which the MW was one of the more impacted conferences. During this period, four schools that had been members at the beginning of the realignment cycle announced plans to join other conferences, and six schools announced plans to join the conference (five as all-sports members, and one for football only). Two schools—one a pre-2010 member, and the other joining during the cycle—had announced their upcoming departure, but later decided to stay in the MW.
Background
In
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on b ...
, the
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Texas.
Due to most of ...
(WAC) took advantage of the demise of the
Southwest Conference
The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma ...
(SWC) to expand from 10 members to 16, bringing in new members from the SWC,
Big West Conference
The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...
, and
Missouri Valley Conference
The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern United ...
.
This arrangement, however, proved to be less than satisfactory to most of the pre-1996 members, as the conference now spanned from
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...
to
Oklahoma—a distance of about and four time zones. As a result, the presidents of five of the pre-1996 members—the
United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Un ...
(Air Force),
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
(BYU),
Colorado State University, the
University of Utah
The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of D ...
, and the
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyomin ...
—met at
Denver International Airport
Denver International Airport , locally known as DIA, is an international airport in the Western United States, primarily serving metropolitan Denver, Colorado, as well as the greater Front Range Urban Corridor. At , it is the largest airport in ...
in 1998 and decided to form a new league.
[ They invited two fellow pre-1996 members, the ]University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25, ...
and San Diego State University
San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) syste ...
, plus a 1996 WAC arrival, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes th ...
(UNLV), to join them in the new Mountain West Conference, which began play in 1999.[
During another major round of realignment in 2005, ]Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciple ...
(TCU) joined, seeing the MWC as an upgrade from its then-current home of Conference USA
Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are ...
(C-USA).
The early-2010s wave of realignment began in 2010, after both the Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conferen ...
and Pacific-10 Conference
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Divis ...
(now Pac-12) announced plans to expand to 12 members. These moves triggered a cascade of conference moves, with the Mountain West as a significant center of movement.
First moves: Boise State joins, Utah leaves
The Mountain West, which had previously announced that their plans for expansion were on hold for a potential expansion including Boise State, announced on June 11, 2010, in advance of a July 1 deadline for WAC teams to withdraw from their conference, that Boise State had joined the conference, and would begin play for the 2011–2012 season. Speculation at the time indicated that the conference would continue to expand if the Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...
, then the center of realignment activity, dissolved. This development presumably would have boosted the MWC's hopes of securing an automatic bid to college football's lucrative Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of American college football, includ ...
. If Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
had left the Big 12 to join the Pac-10 (either with Texas A&M
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M Unive ...
joining them in the move, or making a separate move to the Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...
), presumably a fatal blow to the Big 12, the MWC would likely attempt to add any combination (or all) of the remaining Big 12 teams ( Baylor, Iowa State
Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...
, Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...
, Kansas State, Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
).
With the decision of the Big 12's Texas and Oklahoma public schools to stay in that conference, the Mountain West then became an expansion target itself, with the Pac-10 reportedly focusing on Utah. On June 16, 2010, ESPN announced that the Pac-10 had extended an invitation to Utah to join the conference and the Utes accepted the following day.
Departure of BYU, addition of Fresno State and Nevada
The June 2010 activity proved to be only the beginning of movement in the Mountain West. On August 18, Andy Katz of ''ESPN.com'', citing multiple sources, reported that BYU was considering leaving the MWC to become an independent in football, while its other sports would rejoin the WAC. According to Katz' sources, BYU was stunned that it did not receive an invitation during the earlier conference shuffle, and the school wanted to further differentiate itself from its archrival Utah. More to the point, some saw the school as a potential "Notre Dame
Notre Dame, French for "Our Lady", a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, most commonly refers to:
* Notre-Dame de Paris, a cathedral in Paris, France
* University of Notre Dame, a university in Indiana, United States
** Notre Dame Fighting Irish, th ...
of the West". A follow-up report from Katz later that day indicated that such a move was likely, with one source saying, "I'm not sure how it could stop now unless BYU gets nervous." On August 31, the school announced it would indeed leave the MWC in all sports, becoming independent in football, as expected, but would instead join the West Coast Conference
The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ...
in all other sports starting with the 2011–12 academic year.
BYU and Notre Dame share some key similarities. Both are religiously affiliated schools—BYU with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ...
(LDS Church), and Notre Dame with the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. Both also have their own television affiliations, with BYU owning a cable channel and Notre Dame having its own network deal with NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...
. With BYU's move to football independence, its arrangement with the WCC was similar to Notre Dame's then-current status as a non-football member of the Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...
(although unlike the Big East, the WCC does not sponsor football). Katz reported that BYU was in discussions with ESPN for its football rights.
These reports were not the first to involve a possible affiliation change by BYU; local media in Utah had reported in 2007 that BYU had long considered going independent in all sports, but ultimately decided against it. Rumors regarding a potential BYU conference change returned in July 2010, when BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe
Thomas Allen Holmoe (born March 7, 1960) is an American college athletics administrator and former football player and coach. He has been the athletic director at Brigham Young University (BYU) since 2005. Holmoe played college football at BY ...
said that the school would consider going independent in football in the wake of not being invited in the earlier conference shuffle. He told reporters at that time, "We have a national base. We can go all over the country and people can see that. That is a very important thing to us right now — exposure." The story, bubbling under the surface for several weeks, erupted when hackers reportedly broke into the Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account of the athletic department of another MWC member, Colorado State, and said that an announcement of BYU's plans was imminent, leading the ''Salt Lake Tribune
''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871."
History
A ...
'' to publish Holmoe's remarks on August 18.
While Katz' first report indicated that such a move by BYU was unlikely unless it gets access to the BCS similar to that of Notre Dame, his follow-up report noted that this was not a major concern for the school, and that BYU was well aware that it would not likely receive a similar arrangement to Notre Dame from the BCS. BYU had to receive approval for its move from the leadership of the LDS Church, which presumably occurred.
In the wake of BYU's potential move, the MWC responded the same day by inviting WAC members Utah State, Fresno State
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...
and Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...
to move to the MWC. The MWC also reportedly studied the feasibility of inviting Houston
Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...
and UTEP
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stude ...
, then in Conference USA
Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are ...
. By the end of the day, Utah State declined while Fresno State and Nevada accepted the MWC's invitations.
The one stumbling block to the departures of Nevada and Fresno State was a buyout provision agreed to by the remaining WAC schools after Boise State's departure. Under its terms, any school leaving the conference in the next five years must pay a $5 million buyout. All reports indicated that Fresno State had signed the agreement, but reports varied as to whether Nevada had done so. Reports also began to surface that BYU might reconsider leaving the MWC, and ESPN also reported that the West Coast Conference had shown interest in inviting BYU's non-football sports.
The WAC buyout agreement, however, included a number of provisions that were initially considered likely to spark legal action.
* The agreement specifically states, "In the event that no written agreement o join the WACis executed by BYU on or before Sept. 1, 2010 ... then this resolution is terminated."
* The agreement reportedly called for only the first school that left the WAC to be penalized. Since Fresno State and Nevada announced their departures at essentially the same time, Fresno State claimed it owed at most half of the $5 million. Nevada claimed it owed nothing.
Although not at issue in the context of Fresno State and Nevada, it is also of note that the agreement also allowed any WAC school to leave for a conference that has an automatic BCS berth without penalty, and the WAC had long said that Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activi ...
(at that time the WAC's geographically easternmost member) would be free to leave the conference if it received an invitation from C-USA (where it would be closer to many of its similarly situated rivals).
Ultimately, the two schools and the WAC came to a settlement, with Fresno State and Nevada agreeing to remain in the conference through the 2011–12 academic year in exchange for a reduced exit fee.
Nevada's move also put them in the same conference as their in-state rivals, the UNLV
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the ...
Rebels, for the first time since the 1995–96 academic year, in which they were both part of the Big West Conference
The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...
. As such, this move made the Battle for the Fremont Cannon
The Fremont Cannon is the trophy awarded to the winner of the Battle for Nevada (also known as the Nevada–UNLV football rivalry), an American college football rivalry game played annually by the Nevada Wolf Pack football team of the University ...
all the more significant.
At that time, Utah State had been rumored to have changed its mind since originally declining its invitation, and once again actively sought acceptance into the Mountain West. The Aggies featured solid programs in both men's and women's basketball, and also fit in well with the MWC's geographic footprint. Had BYU stayed in the MWC, Utah State's presence would have given the Cougars a new in-conference local rival to supplement their historic rivalry with Utah. With BYU's departure confirmed, Utah State would secure the state's media market for the MWC.
Hawaiʻi joins for football, TCU leaves
On November 19, media reports indicated that the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
The University of Hawaii at Mānoa (University of Hawaii—Mānoa, UH Mānoa, Hawai'i, or simply UH) is a public land-grant research university in Mānoa, a neighborhood in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is the flagship campus of the University of Hawa ...
(Hawaiʻi or UH) was nearing a deal to join the MWC for football only, with the remainder of its sports joining the Big West Conference
The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...
—a league which was once home to the school's women's sports. With respect to the MWC, UH system president M. R. C. Greenwood
Mary Rita Cooke Greenwood (born April 11, 1943) is a nationally recognized leader in higher education, nutrition, and health sciences. Additionally, her research has been extensively published, internationally recognized, and has earned awards.
...
stated in a news conference, "We have a handshake but we have yet to agree on the details." On December 10, Hawaiʻi accepted football-only membership in the MWC, beginning with the 2012 season. It placed the bulk of its other sports in the Big West.
Hawaii began seriously looking at its options, including going independent, once Fresno State and Nevada left the WAC. With two schools on or near the West Coast leaving the conference, ultimately being replaced by two Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
schools, travel costs became an increasing concern for Hawaii. The MWC football move would enable the Warriors to maintain a number of existing regional rivalries. The school's other sports, and its athletic budget, were seen as likely to benefit from a move to the Big West; because all of the then-current BWC members were in California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
and either in or near the Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
and Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
s (with the exception of Cal Poly), Hawaiʻi could reach all of its conference opponents by flying only to those two metropolitan areas. The application of CSU Bakersfield
California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB, Cal State Bakersfield, or CSU Bakersfield) is a public university in Bakersfield, California. It was established in 1965 as Kern State College and officially in 1968 as California State College Bak ...
and UC San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is th ...
for BWC membership alongside Hawaiʻi did not significantly change the equation, with only the San Diego area added as a potential flight destination. Neither of the latter two schools were invited (they would eventually join in 2020). As a part of the agreement that brought Hawaiʻi into the Big West, the school would provide an annual total of about $500,000 in travel subsidies to other conference members. However, Hawaiʻi was not required to provide any subsidy to schools that joined the Big West after 2012.
The overtures toward Hawaiʻi were at least partially driven by the prospect that TCU would receive an invitation to the Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...
, which ultimately came on November 29. Following TCU's impending departure, several current Conference USA
Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are ...
members in Texas, especially Houston
Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...
alongside either UTEP
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stude ...
or SMU, as well as WAC member Utah State, were seen as potential MWC targets. In the end, TCU never joined the Big East, instead accepting an invitation from the Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...
in October 2011. The latter conference is home to several of the Horned Frogs' former Southwest Conference
The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma ...
rivals. The Big 12 added TCU in part because Texas A&M
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M Unive ...
had announced a move to the Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...
. Additionally, TCU's Fort Worth campus is also in the same metropolitan area as the Big 12 headquarters.
In January 2011, rumors spread that the MWC was considering further expansion. In addition to Utah State (for the second time) and the aforementioned C-USA schools in Texas, San Jose State
San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...
emerged as a possible candidate. The MWC's board of directors met in Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...
on January 23 with expansion on the agenda, although no invitations were expected to be issued. On January 25, the board issued a statement unequivocally denying any interest in further expansion.
Attempted alliance with Conference USA and two new members
On October 14, 2011, Conference USA
Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are ...
and the MW announced they would enter into a football-only alliance, forming a 22-team league. The league would span 15 states and 5 time zones.
The two conferences entered into talks on a full merger, and media reports in February 2012 indicated that a merger was imminent. However, financial issues resulting from provisions of NCAA rules scuttled the proposed merger, and the two conferences were reported to have entered into the originally planned football alliance (which in the end never materialized after both conferences added several new members). In May of that year, WAC members San Jose State
San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...
and Utah State announced that they would join the MW in 2013.
Boise State reconsiders
At about the same time that San Jose State and Utah State were announced as the MW's newest members, CBS Sports reported that Boise State was reconsidering its decision to join Big East football. The school had not yet formally withdrawn from the MW; under league bylaws, it was only required to give one year's notice. According to the report, possible concerns for Boise State were:
* The uncertain future of the WAC, where the school planned to place its non-football sports. Boise State's concerns about the WAC were serious enough that Idaho's main daily newspaper, the ''Idaho Statesman
The ''Idaho Statesman'' is the daily newspaper of Boise, Idaho, in the western United States. It is owned by The McClatchy Company.
History
The paper was first published as the ''Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman'' on July 26, 1864, by James S. Reynolds ...
'', reported that the school asked the Big East for help in placing its non-football sports.
* The Big East's status in the BCS setup was in flux due to the elimination of automatic qualification for BCS bowls starting in 2014. Specifically, it was unknown whether the conference would receive revenue at the level of a current AQ conference, or at a lower level.
* Because almost $8 billion had been spent on recent college football TV deals, industry sources believed that the next Big East TV deal, to be renegotiated starting September 1, would be worth substantially less than the $155 million per year that the conference turned down in April 2012.
Because Boise State signed a contract to join Big East football, it would have been required to pay an exit fee of $5 million if it decided to stay in the MW. The school waited until the last possible date of June 30 to officially notify the MW of its departure. It paid an exit fee of $2.5 million, which would have risen to $7.5 million had it waited any longer. At the same time, Boise State announced that they were in discussions to place their other sports (except wrestling) into the Big West Conference rather than the WAC, and expected a vote by the Big West presidents by the start of the 2012 academic year. Like Hawaii, they would be required to help the other schools defray their extra travel costs, and the Big East was expected to contribute some of this money.
Boise State remains in MW
As the Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conferen ...
was in the midst of its November 2012 wave of expansion, ESPN reported that Boise State, BYU, and San Diego State were all in talks to rejoin the Mountain West. The trigger for these talks was the decision of the BCS commissioners to award an automatic BCS bowl berth, beginning in 2014, to the highest-ranked champion of the so-called "Group of Five" conferences—the MW, Big East, C-USA, Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twe ...
, and Sun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams partici ...
.
The Big Ten expansion, and its effect on the Big East, gave these talks even greater significance. At the time of the ESPN report, the Big East was confirmed to be losing Rutgers
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and w ...
to the Big Ten, and within days would lose Louisville
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...
to the Atlantic Coast Conference. Boise State and San Diego State had planned to join the Big East for football because of the promise of more TV money, but the loss of two members was seen as likely to cause a significant revenue loss.
When the MW announced earlier in the year that it would add San Jose State and Utah State, it explicitly said that it did not expand beyond 10 football schools in hopes that Boise State and San Diego State would return. However, all three potential returnees faced significant financial obstacles to a MW return. Boise State and San Diego State each reportedly faced a $10 million Big East exit fee — although Boise State's buyout was subject to reduction if the Big East's new TV contract did not meet certain revenue goals, a scenario that became more likely with the announced exit of the seven Big East schools that do not play Division I FBS football. As for BYU, it would have needed to get out of a TV contract with ESPN that was worth about $4 million annually through 2018. BYU would also not be assured of the same level of revenue in the MW (or Big East), although it would get better bowl game access.
On December 22, 2012, after the Big East's non-FBS schools announced their departure, ESPN reported that Boise State was playing off the Big East and MW in an attempt to retain TV rights to its home football games. At the time (and now), no school in an FBS conference retained its home TV rights. One TV industry source indicated that at least one of the conferences might allow this arrangement, but both conferences and several other industry sources disagreed. Another source said that Boise State was the "lynchpin" (''sic'') as to whether the Big East or MW would survive.
The December ESPN report indicated that if Boise State opted to stay in the MW, the conference would then seek to add a 12th football member for 2014. As San Diego State then appeared to be committed to Big East football, the likeliest candidates for that slot were seen as incoming Big East members Houston and SMU and C-USA members Tulsa
Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...
and UTEP
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stude ...
. For its part, the Big East had reached out to four schools as potential football members—MW members Air Force, Fresno State, and UNLV, plus football independent BYU. However, Air Force and BYU were said to be content with their current situations, and the other two schools reportedly had no interest in a Big East without Boise State.
On December 31, Boise State announced it had decided to stay in the MW, leaving the Big East, much like TCU, without ever playing a game in it. Boise State decided to remain in the MW because of that conference's geographic proximity and the Big East's continued instability. While the school's attempted TV rights power play was not successful, it did gain several concessions from the MW. Rights to the Broncos' home games would be sold in a separate package from the league's primary contract with CBS Sports Network
CBS Sports Network (a.k.a. CBSSN) is an American pay television network owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. When it launched in 2002 as the National College Sports Network (later College Sports Television also known a ...
. As a part of the deal, any MW member (not just Boise State) that appears on ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
, ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%).
ESPN2 was initially ...
, or broadcast networks ABC, CBS, or NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...
could receive a bonus of $300,000, with an extra $200,000 for a Saturday game. Also, beginning in 2014, if an MW team appeared in a BCS-sponsored bowl game—either the four-team national playoff expected to begin at that time (ultimately known as the College Football Playoff
The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual postseason knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level ...
), or one of the so-called "access bowls" (one of which has a guaranteed spot for a "Group of Five" team)—the revenue from that game would be split 50-50 between the participating school and the conference. Finally, the MW removed its previous uniform restrictions on Boise State, allowing it to once again wear its standard home blue uniforms in conference games at Bronco Stadium
Albertsons Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in the western United States, located on the campus of Boise State University in Boise, Idaho. It is the home field of the Boise State Broncos of the Mountain West Conference. Known as Bronco S ...
, famous for its blue playing surface.
San Diego State follows suit
With Boise State staying in the Mountain West, it was reported that San Diego State would indeed try to rejoin the Mountain West as well. San Diego State's contract with the Big East allowed that school to leave without penalty if there were no other member schools west of the Rockies. The Mountain West was also looking at potentially adding Houston or SMU, both of which stated they would join the Big East in 2013, as its 12th football member. The ''Idaho Statesman'' obtained a copy of Boise State's MW offer sheet through an open records request; according to the sheet, if the MW extended an invitation to any school on or before January 31, 2013, the first offer had to be made to San Diego State.
On January 16, 2013, veteran sportswriter Mark Blaudschun reported on his blog, ''A Jersey Guy'', that San Diego State and the Big East were working on a joint release announcing that the Aztecs would not join the Big East, and would stay in the MW. ESPN and CBS Sports quickly picked up the story. The MW presidents voted that day to readmit SDSU.
SDSU was not subject to a Big East exit fee (as noted earlier), but had to pay a $1.5 million exit fee to the Big West. The main concession SDSU received from the MW was that the school received its 2012–13 year-end distribution of $2.5 million from the MW, a sum that it had forfeited when it announced its departure.
SDSU athletic director Jim Sterk reportedly tried to make the Big East move work even after Boise State's decision to stay in the MW. While the Big East had one more football season under its current TV deal, which likely would have meant more money for SDSU in the 2013 season, further turnover in the Big East membership meant that the Big East could not guarantee or even solidly project future revenue. In addition, the decisions of Boise State and SDSU to stay in the MW gave the conference 12 football members in 2013; as a result, the MW was expected to (and ultimately did) split into divisions and launch a football championship game.
Membership changes
See also
* NCAA Division I conference realignment
* 2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...
* 2005 NCAA conference realignment
The 2005 NCAA conference realignment was initiated by the movement of three Big East Conference teams (Boston College, University of Miami, and Virginia Tech) to the Atlantic Coast Conference, which set events into motion that created a realignm ...
* 1996 NCAA conference realignment
The 1996 NCAA conference realignment was initiated by the dissolution of the Southwest Conference (SWC), the formation of the Big 12 Conference and Conference USA (C-USA), and the expansion of the Western Athletic Conference to 16 teams. This "new ...
References
External links
CollegeSportsInfo.com Conference realignment news and updates
{{DEFAULTSORT:2010-13 Mountain West Conference realignment
Mountain West
Mountain West Conference