C-USA / MWC Merger

[Eric]

Well, what do you guys think?

http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefootball/story/Mountain-West-and-Conference-USA-to-merge-101411

Here's my two cents: Missouri leaves for SEC. The Big 12 responds by adding West Virginia, Cincinnati, and Louisville. Rutgers and UConn bolt for the ACC. USF is picked up by C-USA which puts them at 23 schools, and then they'll add Louisiana Tech to balance it out. Honestly though I'm not sure if they want balanced conferences or not; the new-look MWC will have 10 teams and C-USA will have 12. As of now, that gives them 22 teams and unbalanced "divisions".

This is nuts, but I kind of like this idea in theory. I think they did this as a reactionary measure against the Big East expanding. The Big East reportedly reached out to UCF, Air Force, and Boise State (AF and BSU as football-only), but then all three of these schools reportedly like the idea of merging together. These would still be difference conferences, but they would play a "championship" game at the end of the year to hope they get some BCS cred.

[WoVeU]

I like it as it increases the probability of having better championship game quality. But it won't do anything that I can see for SOS...not directly and immediately.

[WoVeU]

As I am living in South America, in the desert...I'd like WVU being in the Big 12. But if should get to go back home before the sky falls, I'd then rather see WVU independent.

And I'd rather see Boise St., USF, USAF, Cincy, Navy, ECU, Houston, and Louisville all independent as well. Then along with Army, ND, and BYU you could have a conference...that isn't. They would then have a friendly alliance and some back up in scheduling (with flexibility) good competition. And that should be enough to prevent the BCS from locking out a Top 8 or 10 ranked team regardless of conference affiliation. (And I think all would make more money and have much more freedom.)

[Brian Roastbeef]

I'd say they might as well, as likely they'll be picked off down to 16 or so in the end anyway. Just makes the raiding easier to manage. Even if assuming a dying Big East, Big 12, or whoever pulls away their best talent then that still leaves them a bunch of non-BCSers in a mega-conference to go along with the other mega-conferences. It won't get much respect, but that's only a lateral move from this point.


The dominoes have fallen... The next decade is just a matter of seeing if the WAC of the '90s was ahead of their time, or if the same infrastructural problems lead to similar collapses cascading nationwide.