Illustration by Michael Uribes / The Collegian
A new BCS conference could give hope to mid-majors and provide better travel
Jim: It̢۪s time for a change and no, we̢۪re not talking about Pat Hill.
With the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) stretching across five time zones, it has become a daunting task when it comes to traveling for WAC teams.
Teams like Hawaii and Louisiana Tech have to travel across several time zones just to play one game.
Logistically, WAC teams are spread way too far apart and something needs to be done.
Logan: Louisiana Tech and Hawaii are over 6,400 miles apart – the longest distances between two conference opponents in the NCAA.
The rigorous travel schedule for WAC teams wears on the student athletes and keeps them from what they are really supposed to be doing, spending time in class.
A rearrangement of western college sports conferences would benefit every school that is currently in the WAC.
Jim: So, here̢۪s a modest proposal.
Combine teams from the WAC and the Mountain West Conference to form a new Bowl Championship Series (BCS) conference.
This new conference would have 12 teams, a conference title game and a guaranteed spot in a BCS bowl.
It would be the perfect opportunity to give mid-major schools a chance to compete with coalition programs and save everyone tons of travel time.
Logan: The new conference would benefit both the WAC and MWC and help to get some of that BCS money out to the west.
Traditional powers of the Mountain West: TCU, Utah, BYU and Air Force, would combine with respected WAC programs: Boise State, Fresno State, Hawaii and Nevada.
Four other current MWC teams: Colorado State, UNLV, New Mexico and Wyoming would remain with the Mountain West teams and be invited to the new power conference.
Jim: This would not only be beneficial for football programs, but for the athletic programs at these universities in general.
Most of the aforementioned schools have solid athletic programs and this new conference would benefit other sports as well.
In this new conference the farthest teams would have to travel is out to Hawaii. Besides that, the two opponents that are farthest away from each other are Fresno State and Colorado State.
Hawaii̢۪s farthest flight would be to Colorado as well, a lot better than the 11-hour journey to Ruston, Lou.
But, what about those teams left out of the new conference from the WAC and Mountain West? We̢۪ve already taken care of it.
Logan: The Great West is an up-and-coming conference in the western United States and would be a perfect fit for some current WAC teams.
The conference is currently in the Football Championship Series (FCS), but would be able to bump up to the Football Bowl Series (FBS) division, formerly called Division I-A.
The new Great West Conference would include WAC schools: Utah State, San Jose State and New Mexico State. The move would also include San Diego State of the MWC, which would create some rivalries especially in the state of California.
The final two teams in the current WAC, Louisiana Tech and Idaho, would be moving to different conferences. Louisiana Tech could easily move to the Sun Belt, a southern conference and Idaho could drop to the Big Sky, an FCS conference.
The moves would benefit every school involved, not just the new Mountain West universities.
Jim: Think about the matchups that the new Mountain West would bring.
UNLV and Nevada would be in the same conference, BYU and Utah would get to keep the Battle of the Beehive intact and Fresno State would still get to play Boise State every season.
More fans would come out to games to see their team play against these new conference opponents, which would lead to higher ticket sales for the universities.
Every season the new Mountain West would receive payouts from the BCS and have chances to knock off the big schools.
While there would still be complaints about not having a playoff system, the new Mountain West would have the perfect opportunity to show that they can hang with the likes of the Pac-10 and Big XII.
Logan: And other schools, like Louisiana Tech and Utah State would benefit from in-state rivalries that their current conferences do not provide.
Louisiana Tech would benefit from playing in-state opponents Louisiana-Monroe and Louisiana-Lafayette each season and Utah State would get to play Southern Utah every year.
It may be beyond far fetched, but it seems like the moves make sense for every team involved.
Jim: Instead of busting the BCS, why not become a part of it?
Logan: If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
kemajic • Jul 26, 2009 at 12:50 am
The current “up and coming” Great West Conf. members average about 7 or 8 thousand attendance and have done nothing in FCS. So you have half the new conference that cannot draw and is half weak sisters. It does not make for a good FBS conference. Yet you have Montana that averages 25 thousand and Montana St. that draws 13 thousand and they are left in the BSC which FCS. Montana, Montana St. and Idaho would be far stronger members for the new FBS conference (all have won FCS National Championships) than the likes of So. Utah, N. Dakota, and S. Dakota.
kemajic • Jul 26, 2009 at 7:50 am
The current “up and coming” Great West Conf. members average about 7 or 8 thousand attendance and have done nothing in FCS. So you have half the new conference that cannot draw and is half weak sisters. It does not make for a good FBS conference. Yet you have Montana that averages 25 thousand and Montana St. that draws 13 thousand and they are left in the BSC which FCS. Montana, Montana St. and Idaho would be far stronger members for the new FBS conference (all have won FCS National Championships) than the likes of So. Utah, N. Dakota, and S. Dakota.
JLF • Dec 7, 2008 at 11:18 am
The WAC-MWC marriage is an excellent idea. I don’t think the MWC can shed itself of the underperforming schools though. As I understand it, schools can not be booted without their permission and they would be dumb if they did. Maybe a better idea is to demand a minimum attendance at each school over and above the 15K D1 requires. Bump it to 25000 average for the regular season and require a minimum stadium capacity of 45,000. Programs without support (Idaho, Wyoming, SDSU, Utah State et al) would have to leave of their own accord. The cost of adding another 10k or 15k seating capacity is beyond what these programs supporters are willing to pony up. Afterall, the reason these schools are underperformers is because of lack of support. It may be somewhat of a moot question anyway. Obama says he is in favor of a playoff. If he gets involved, as he says he is likley to do, the whole idea of which conference a school belongs dimininshes.
JLF • Dec 7, 2008 at 6:18 pm
The WAC-MWC marriage is an excellent idea. I don’t think the MWC can shed itself of the underperforming schools though. As I understand it, schools can not be booted without their permission and they would be dumb if they did. Maybe a better idea is to demand a minimum attendance at each school over and above the 15K D1 requires. Bump it to 25000 average for the regular season and require a minimum stadium capacity of 45,000. Programs without support (Idaho, Wyoming, SDSU, Utah State et al) would have to leave of their own accord. The cost of adding another 10k or 15k seating capacity is beyond what these programs supporters are willing to pony up. Afterall, the reason these schools are underperformers is because of lack of support. It may be somewhat of a moot question anyway. Obama says he is in favor of a playoff. If he gets involved, as he says he is likley to do, the whole idea of which conference a school belongs dimininshes.
Oppenhiemer • Dec 4, 2008 at 8:19 am
“Louisiana Tech would benefit from playing in-state opponents Louisiana-Monroe and Louisiana-Lafayette each season”
Yeah right…I can’t imagine why LaTech would have any reservations against joining the worst conference in Div. I athletics. There is a reason they jumped to the far-flung WAC.
Oppenhiemer • Dec 4, 2008 at 3:19 pm
“Louisiana Tech would benefit from playing in-state opponents Louisiana-Monroe and Louisiana-Lafayette each season”
Yeah right…I can’t imagine why LaTech would have any reservations against joining the worst conference in Div. I athletics. There is a reason they jumped to the far-flung WAC.
Will • Dec 3, 2008 at 11:45 am
Um…………………..TCU is in Fort Worth, Texas. I did not major in geography, but I believe its farther from Fresno St. to TCU than it is from Fresno St. to Colorado State.
Wow.
Will • Dec 3, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Um…………………..TCU is in Fort Worth, Texas. I did not major in geography, but I believe its farther from Fresno St. to TCU than it is from Fresno St. to Colorado State.
Wow.
Igor • Dec 3, 2008 at 8:38 am
12 team conferences are a bad idea—–just look at the current alignment in the Big-12. Log jams. 9 or 10 team conferences allow each team to play all others—I propose Utah, BYU, Boise, UNLV, Fresno, Hawaii, TCU, Houston, Tulsa, and Nevada (assuming a service academy –Air Force–would want to remain mid-major because of competetive balance and their inability to create on ‘o’ or ‘d’ line of suitable size.
San Diego State is probably done with D-1A football in two or three years.
All this is so speculative and has been heard over and over again—-realignment is not gonna happen.
LA Tech needs to be persueded to C-USA in favor of Houston or another team. Allowing UTEP, SMU, and Tulsa to leave was a bad idea. College athletics are constantly in financial turmoil. Having Idaho and Hawaii based teams travel to Louisiana makes no sense.
Igor • Dec 3, 2008 at 3:38 pm
12 team conferences are a bad idea—–just look at the current alignment in the Big-12. Log jams. 9 or 10 team conferences allow each team to play all others—I propose Utah, BYU, Boise, UNLV, Fresno, Hawaii, TCU, Houston, Tulsa, and Nevada (assuming a service academy –Air Force–would want to remain mid-major because of competetive balance and their inability to create on ‘o’ or ‘d’ line of suitable size.
San Diego State is probably done with D-1A football in two or three years.
All this is so speculative and has been heard over and over again—-realignment is not gonna happen.
LA Tech needs to be persueded to C-USA in favor of Houston or another team. Allowing UTEP, SMU, and Tulsa to leave was a bad idea. College athletics are constantly in financial turmoil. Having Idaho and Hawaii based teams travel to Louisiana makes no sense.
TacoNoodleDinner • Dec 3, 2008 at 7:13 am
Hi Guys,
I love your humble suggestion. What a great idea. Saves time, saves money, adds interest, breathes new life into a dying league(s). Love it. I think it would draw better athletes to Fresno (and the rest)…better recruiting. You’re so smart.
TacoNoodleDinner • Dec 3, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Hi Guys,
I love your humble suggestion. What a great idea. Saves time, saves money, adds interest, breathes new life into a dying league(s). Love it. I think it would draw better athletes to Fresno (and the rest)…better recruiting. You’re so smart.