2010–2013 Mountain West Conference Realignment
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The 2010–13 Mountain West Conference realignment refers to the
Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...
(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 College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
conferences and institutions from 2010 to 2013. Moves that involved the MW were part of a much larger NCAA conference realignment 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 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
, 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, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...
(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 also included schools from Oklaho ...
(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 List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's NCAA Division I, Division I. The conference was origina ...
, and
Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...
. This arrangement, however, proved to be less than satisfactory to most of the pre-1996 members, as the conference now spanned from
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
to
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
—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 academies, United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. I ...
(Air Force),
Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...
(BYU),
Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...
, the
University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...
, and the
University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...
—met at
Denver International Airport Denver International Airport , often referred to by locals 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 , Effective Ju ...
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; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...
and
San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...
, plus a 1996 WAC arrival, the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the ...
(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 university, private research university in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison Clark, Addison and Randolph Clark as the AddRan Male & Female College. It i ...
(TCU) joined, seeing the MWC as an upgrade from its then-current home of
Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...
(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, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...
and
Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...
(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 collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...
, 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 College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
's lucrative
Bowl Championship Series The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a college football post-season 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 America ...
. If
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, Texas Tech,
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
, and
Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...
had left the Big 12 to join the Pac-10 (either with
Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
joining them in the move, or making a separate move to the
Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...
), 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,
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
, Kansas State,
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') 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 border ...
). 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 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 o ...
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 Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
(LDS Church), and Notre Dame with the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. 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 commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
. 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 (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...
(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 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, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
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 ...
'' 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 and
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
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 the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
and UTEP, then in
Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...
. 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 (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, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. ...
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 List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's NCAA Division I, Division I. The conference was origina ...
. As such, this move made the Battle for the Fremont Cannon 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 is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Hawaiʻi system and houses the main offic ...
(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 List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's NCAA Division I, Division I. The conference was origina ...
—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 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 ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
schools, travel costs became an increasing concern for Hawaii. The MWC football move would enable the
Warriors A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have been p ...
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 U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
and either in or near the
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
and
Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...
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 Ba ...
and
UC San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Sc ...
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 TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...
would receive an invitation to the
Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...
, which ultimately came on November 29. Following TCU's impending departure, several current
Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...
members in Texas, especially
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
alongside either UTEP 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 collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...
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 also included schools from Oklaho ...
rivals. The Big 12 added TCU in part because
Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
had announced a move to the
Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...
. Additionally, TCU's
Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...
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, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...
emerged as a possible candidate. The MWC's board of directors met in
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
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 (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...
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, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...
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. Reynold ...
'', 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, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...
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 collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...
, and
Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...
. 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 ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...
to the Big Ten, and within days would lose
Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
to the
Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...
. 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-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...
and UTEP. 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 digital cable and satellite 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 ...
. As a part of the deal, any MW member (not just Boise State) that appears on
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
,
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, or broadcast networks ABC,
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, or
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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 single-elimination tournament, knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, D ...
), 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, 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 The 2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment was a set of extensive changes in conference membership at all three levels of NCAA competition— Division I, Division II, and Division III—beginning in the 2010–11 academic year. Most of these ...
* 2005 NCAA conference realignment * 1996 NCAA conference realignment


References


External links


CollegeSportsInfo.com Conference realignment news and updates
{{DEFAULTSORT:2010-13 Mountain West Conference realignment Mountain West Mountain West Conference