Future of the WAC

Brian Murphy of the Idaho Statesman reported today that the WAC would be adding Seattle University as another non-football playing member. To set the record straight, I believe that Karl Benson is a phenomenal commissioner. I think that he has done a great job for the WAC and shown his fighting spirit. With that said, the WAC is in big trouble, but its not really Benson's fault.

While the WAC was able secure a bowl tie-in with the H-Bowl for another year, this is really not anything to be too proud of. Yes, the H-Bowl is fun for those of us in Boise, but it isn't really a destination bowl. The recent H-Bowl games have been very competitive and exciting games, but there isn't any guarantee that'll continue. Point is, H-Bowl ain't gonna save the WAC.

With so few football playing schools in the WAC (post-2012) you have to start wonder about the viability of the conference from a football perspective. I have no doubt that it could continue to operate and have a degree of success as football-less conference, especially given the strength of Utah State and others in men's basketball. However, the role of the football-less western-US conference is being pretty well occupied by the Big West and West Coast Conferences.

Add to this the fact that LA Tech will continue to be even more pressured to move to a more regionally appropriate conference with the economic realities facing state budgets, including in Louisiana. The Sun Belt or Conference USA would be a much better fit and I don't think that is debatable.

I don't think it is unreasonable to foresee a future where the MWC poaches the last couple above average programs from WAC (namely USU and maybe San Jose State) and the reality starts to set in even more deeply. If that happens, it probably isn't unreasonable to see the remaining western schools (assuming that LA Tech has bailed, which they will) to merge with the Big West and form a super basketball conference.

Where does that leave the remaining football playing schools? Well, the U of I will be in a tough spot. The experiment in the Sun Belt a few years ago was a disaster and not going to be repeated. Vandal alums are very reluctant to return to the Big Sky, despite the fact it may be the best post-WAC alternative. NMSU and the Texas schools will likely find a new home someplace more regionally appropriate as well.

This is all speculation, but the fact is that the WAC, as it will be comprised in 2012, won't be viable or financially solvent for very long. Unless something else happens (like the MWC getting raided by a new PAC-16), there isn't much likelihood that the future will be as bright as the once bright past of the WAC.

MWC Logo Redesign and BSU's Real Goal

Today the Mountain West Conference revealed a redesign to it's logo. Apparently the new logo has earned plenty of criticism. I for one think it is okay. Not really an upgrade from the old one, but not a downgrade either. It is probably appropriate to have a new one considering the amount of change in membership the conference is going to experience in the next few years.

BSU President Bob Kustra seemed to be tickled to be finally realizing his goal of getting BSU into the MWC when asked for comments today. He kept saying it was his goal all along and he couldn't be happier. I don't think that is true. I think President Kustra could be much happier. While the MWC is an upgrade for BSU athletically and academically, it isn't where BSU hopes to live out the rest of its days. While BSU would likely be more enthusiastic about the future of the MWC if Utah, BYU, and TCU (in 2012) hadn't decided to bail the fact is that BSU never planned to stay forever.

With the MWC, BSU gets the benefit of better regional competition and a better perceived visibility. I actually think that as long as the MWC has the awful TV deal it has, BSU is going to have lost on that part. That said, the WAC will likely have to renegotiate its TV contract soon with the departure of BSU and then Nevada, Hawaii, and Fresno State (more on the future of the WAC in a future post). If Craig Thompson, MWC Commish, is smart, which he is, he'll try to his best get the MWC in the same sort of spot in the ESPN lineup as the very capable Commish Karl Benson did for the WAC. Some people are calling the MWC, WAC 2.0. They may be right, but WAC 1.0 was good for BSU and there is little doubt the new version will be any worse.

Now, as I've been saying the MWC or WAC 2.0, whatever you wanna call it is an upgrade, but its not the destination. It is like stopping in Prosser on your drive to Seattle from Boise. Yeah, it has lots of nice things to offer, but you wouldn't want to be stuck there. BSU wants to make it to Seattle as a conference member of the PAC 12 (16). Becoming a member of the PAC 12 is the real goal. Doing so achieves many things that BSU desires. It gives them more credibility than any success in the MWC could ever earn. Most importantly, it finally puts BSU as the indisputable leader of the State of Idaho's public post-secondary institutions. The Vandals will never be PAC 12 caliber. This would be the final step and it can't come soon enough to those of us BSU alums that had to grow up listening to our U of I neighbors and friends put down little BJC. If BSU gets invited to PAC 12, and at some point it will, BSU will not just be the little engine that could, but it'll become the little engine that did.