BCS leagues expanding - yeah?

I hope they make up the biggest, gaudiest conference title trophy ever, bigger than the Indy 500 trophy, and have a big ceremony after they play their conference title game. a/k/a their conference schedule.

 

Some kind of merger, reverse or otherwise, is the only logical step. Solid competition against teams from similar universities in adjoining states. Affordable travel, unlike what's ahead for the new Big Ten and ACC schools. A true West Coast/Rocky Mountain league to sell to regional recruits (and their parents) who don't want to travel halfway or completely across the country every other weekend to play. Taking a year or two to set it up is the smart move instead of jumping in head-first with little or no planning time.

A Pac-2/MWC hybrid would be at worst the No. 5 FB conference in the country and pretty much assure itself of an annual bid in the 12-team playoffs. It has the hardware for a regional TV network in place. It wouldn't get Big Ten money but I expect the TV rights fees would be well beyond the $4 million each MWC team presently gets. Plus, possible streaming deal with someone.

Lots of Beaver fans are getting all bent out of shape about "dropping down" to the MWC level, predicting a transfer-portal tsunami by kids "who want to play at the highest level." Me, I'd have no trouble with it at all. I'm not sure there would be that much of a dropoff in competition, and if most kids are happy where they are, they don't leave.

 

This feels like an extraordinary amount of effort just to make sure weak sisters like New Mexico or San Jose State aren’t in the pledge class.

 

Wouldn't the Pac-2 lose its automatic NCAA postseason bids because of a conference membership minimum?

 

Yes, they would have to qualify on an at-large basis.

I think the MWC will insist on an all-or-nothing inclusion. SJSU is in the second-largest largest TV market on the West Coast, even if no one watches them. Albuquerque is a decent-sized market too and UNM generally has good basketball so I can't see them getting axed.

I certainly could live without Hawaii for football, it's an expensive trip to play at a high school stadium for no reward and they're in the Big West for all their other sports.

 

The Mountain West had a television network they closed years ago and the Pac 12 Network flamed out. I don't think in a time when cable subscriptions are declining that a new conference cable network would work.

As for happy kids staying put I do think that is true, as long as they don't get a better NIL offer from a school with more money.

 

Once the Pac-2 sorts things out, I wouldn't be surprised if the NCAA men's basketball tournament cuts an auto berth. They bumped from 64 to 65 originally in 2003 because of the split of the MWC from the WAC.

 

Mountain West has a strong commitment to streaming on its web page and app.

 

The conference networks that succeeded all had Fox or ESPN behind them. Heck the ACC Network debuted during prime core cutting and they still seemed to do ok. There was a report out there once upon a time that ESPN offered to take on the Pac-12 Network if the conference would extend the TV deal. Larry Scott, like he did with almost everything else, fucked it up.

 

All true. But cord cutting has not stopped. Look at the demise of some of the old regional sports networks because of the Diamond bankruptcy.

 

Harbaugh to the Raiders feels like a sure thing. Sure, Mark Davis went big with Gruden & McDaniels, whose flameouts are arguably the biggest and third-biggest of the century (Urban Meyer nestled in between). But Mark Davis is nothing if not dumb, so I can certainly see him thinking the third time would be the charm when it comes to giving the keys to the kingdom to a guy with a terrible rep for interpersonal skills.