ESPN says MWC invited Fresno St. and Nevada on Tuesday

I can guess what the conversation was:



Craig Thompson: "So, BYU is coming to the WAC in everything but football."

School President: "Yeah. Chalk up extra losses across the board."

CT: "Well, I have a proposal that will help you avoid playing BYU."

SP: *pause* then: "Tell me more."

The problem with the MWC offering any remaining WAC team to join is that All the remaining teams just signed a $5 million (I think) buyout contract with the WAC after Boise State bolted. For the two schools to leave the conference, I'm sure that the MWC would have to eat a lot of if not all the buyout amount to convince them to join. I don't see any WAC team leaving for the MWC soon.

What is clever however, is this:



If both UNR and FrSt jump to the MWC, that leaves the WAC with only 7 football schools after the departure of 3 teams. The WAC would then be forced to add a football team in order to survive as a football conference with the minimum 8 teams.



Think of it as the MWC's strategem to try and cut off BYU's departure by messing with the other side of the equation. If BYU joining in all sports but football leads to the demise of football, I'm not sure the WAC will be quite so eager to let BYU in on that limited basis.

snoscythe wrote:
What is clever however, is this:



If both UNR and FrSt jump to the MWC, that leaves the WAC with only 7 football schools after the departure of 3 teams. The WAC would then be forced to add a football team in order to survive as a football conference with the minimum 8 teams.



Think of it as the MWC's strategem to try and cut off BYU's departure by messing with the other side of the equation. If BYU joining in all sports but football leads to the demise of football, I'm not sure the WAC will be quite so eager to let BYU in on that limited basis.

It would leave them at six schools, they'd need to add two.

snoscythe wrote:
What is clever however, is this:



If both UNR and FrSt jump to the MWC, that leaves the WAC with only 7 football schools after the departure of 3 teams. The WAC would then be forced to add a football team in order to survive as a football conference with the minimum 8 teams.



Think of it as the MWC's strategem to try and cut off BYU's departure by messing with the other side of the equation. If BYU joining in all sports but football leads to the demise of football, I'm not sure the WAC will be quite so eager to let BYU in on that limited basis.

It's even worse, that leaves them with 6 football teams. The WAC has 9 teams with Boise St. So they would need to add two more schools for football. Who would that possibly be?

Schmoe wrote:
If Hair has any smarts he'll be able to pull two teams from the WAC, making it obsolete, pitching that BSU and TCU will carry the conference (TCU will NOT get an invite to the Big XII) and that there's nothing left in the WAC because football is king. You seriously don't think that the MWC could get two teams from the WAC to jump ship? Look at who's left.

Boise gains nothing if the MWC cant' field an AQ worthy conference, and without Utah and BYU, they can't.



http://frankthetank.wordpress.com/2010/08/18/byu-independence-day-and-how-it-helps-the-bcs-conferences/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Agree to disagree.

snoscythe wrote:
I can guess what the conversation was:



Craig Thompson: "So, BYU is coming to the WAC in everything but football."

School President: "Yeah. Chalk up extra losses across the board."

CT: "Well, I have a proposal that will help you avoid playing BYU."

SP: *pause* then: "Tell me more."

ask kansas, missouri and kstate what's worse...



losing to texas or losing the money the Horns generate



we see what decision they made

Schmoe wrote:
Agree to disagree.

don't forget the other big player here... ESPN (big is a huge understatement)



ESPN pays the bills in the WAC and has nothing to gain by the WAC folding and much to gain with the MWC folding.



ESPN is the glue that keeps the WAC together.



You leave the WAC, you leave ESPN. Tell that to Fresno and Nevada right now.



again, it's a non-starter; something that the Hair has concocted to save the abomination that is the MWC right now. Could they add Houston, Tulsa or Utep? Sure, but that won't amount to AQ qualification



Can Boise and TCU carry the rest of the MWC to aq qualification? Hell no; and Tom Holmoe is 100% sure of that.



Let's not assume that Holmoe and BYU haven't already crossed all of these scenarios off their list. This is our hyper-conservative "measure twice, cut once" program.



ESPN will keep the WAC together and the WAC celebrates that they added BYU to everything but football, in a time where they needed some respect badly in all sports.

Could this be a first step by BYU to completely dismantle both the WAC and MWC...then to form a new conference that would take the best of the MWC and WAC to push for an automatic bid in 2012?



If BYU, Boise St., TCU, Air Force, Fresno St., Nevada, and Houston banded together to form a new conference, that would likely get AQ status, without having to rely on a waiver. You remain competitive in 1) 3 teams in the top 25 and 2) highest conference rankings the last two years at 4 and 6. The biggest improvement would be that you would cut off the fat and leave 7 teams that have all finished in the top 50 the last two years, bringing the average ranking closer to like 30 or so (ie, no New Mexico, UNLV, etc. to bring that last average team ranking way up)



Further, you could negotiate a deal with ESPN and still have 4 or 5 bowl game tie-ins. You would only need to share the BCS, ESPN, and bowl money 7 ways.....

Craig, I hear you, I understand what you're saying, it makes sense and it's totally viable, but I still think that if Hair has any tact/strategy at all, then he'll be able to pull two teams, save the MWC, and destroy the WAC. That's why I said agree to disagree, because I think that both scenarios are possible, but I think that one is more likely and you think that the other one is.

Schmoe wrote:
Craig, I hear you, I understand what you're saying, it makes sense and it's totally viable, but I still think that if Hair has any tact/strategy at all, then he'll be able to pull two teams, save the MWC, and destroy the WAC. That's why I said agree to disagree, because I think that both scenarios are possible, but I think that one is more likely and you think that the other one is.

when in doubt, follow the $$... this is why your scenario is a pipedream





and should your doomsday scenario playout... BYU still doesnt' have to do a thing til Sept 1.



Obviously these thjings are going to fly all over space, but right now ESPN holds the cards in the WAC; they've negotiated with the WAC, which means the presidents of the WAC knew about BYU... this isn't breaking news to them. Karl Benson did not simply do this without WAC approval.

craigoscarson wrote:

Craig, I hear you, I understand what you're saying, it makes sense and it's totally viable, but I still think that if Hair has any tact/strategy at all, then he'll be able to pull two teams, save the MWC, and destroy the WAC. That's why I said agree to disagree, because I think that both scenarios are possible, but I think that one is more likely and you think that the other one is.

when in doubt, follow the $$... this is why your scenario is a pipedream

You're probably right, but never having had any $$ means I don't know much about it :P

I still don't think that Nevada and Fresno bolt when they have a $5,000,000 buyout hanging over their heads. That's a lot of money to pay to join a dying conference with no exposure. I also doubt that the MWC is willing and or able to pay $10,000,000 to the WAC for those teams to join. My guess is that Boise backs out of the MWC invite and stays in the WAC, and that TCU follows and joins the WAC as well along with possibly UNLV and or SDSU. My belief is that next season there will be no MWC any more.

Ungoy wrote:
I still don't think that Nevada and Fresno bolt when they have a $5,000,000 buyout hanging over their heads. That's a lot of money to pay to join a dying conference with no exposure. I also doubt that the MWC is willing and or able to pay $10,000,000 to the WAC for those teams to join. My guess is that Boise backs out of the MWC invite and stays in the WAC, and that TCU follows and joins the WAC as well along with possibly UNLV and or SDSU. My belief is that next season there will be no MWC any more.

If the WAC is smart, they should be all over Boise State and TCU! They should also go after Houston! That would give the WAC three teams to build some strength on and to make a legitimate push to AQ status (an perhaps to convince BYU to play football, which would only solidify the push to AQ....

Dear team thinking of leaving the WAC, you wont get our checks and we'll stop talking about you, enjoy Todd Christenson and the Mountain - love ESPN

Jay Drew tweeting that Fresno will accept the offer...

Jay Drew just tweeted that the Fresno Bee says Fresno is going to join MWC. I'll believe it when I see it. Even if they leave, the WAC could always take other teams from CUSA or Big Sky or someone who is looking to move up. MWC is not going to take every team from the WAC.

Of course adding two new teams gives BYU even more reason to leave--the MWC pie is getting bigger, which means their share of the pie is getting smaller. Hair just isn't the brightest spot on the sun is he? As long as BYU can triple what they make now, they're gone. The WAC can get plenty of schools to fill in for the chance to play on ESPN.

Fresno obviously has not run the numbers and is falling for a 'grass is greener' knee jerk reaction. If they sit tight they will be better off, what bafoons.