1. Why Utah will not be in the PAC-12. The PAC-10 has stated that it is comfortable at 11 teams for now. Utah may be in the PAC-12 eventually, but not in the near future. The reason is that Utah does not "own" the entire state. Agruably, the roughly 2.5 million on the Wasatch front are split down the middle. About 45 percent Utah, and 45 percent BYU. The other 10% are split between Utah State, other in-state colleges and schools from out of state. If Utah owned the Salt Lake market, it would be a slam dunk, but alas, they do not.
Now, if Utah does go to the PAC-12, then the MWC should immediately get Houston, Fresno State and someone else to keep their BCS hopes alive.
2. Reading through the blogosphere about the replacement for Boise State, I found that Weber State seems to be 2nd on a lot of lists for replacing Boise State in the WAC. Montana is the first name to come to mind, but there are several reasons why this will not happen. First, Montana is the big fish in a small pond. They like that in Montana. Move downstream to to ocean, and they are still the same size fish. Missoula is a long way from anywhere, and only has about 100,000 people. They could pair with Idaho for travel, but Moscow to Missoula is about 4 to 5 hours, depending on the weather. Finally, Montana will want to come up from the FCS with their brother Montana State, who is not ready. Bozeman is less than half the size of Missoula and much more isolated.
Cal-Davis is the school that is beginning to creep to the top of the list. The Mustangs are in the Sacramento area, and while Sacrament State has aging or undersized facilities, Cal-Davis does not. Their facilities are modern and accommodating. This would provide the WAC with another Central Valley foothold should Fresno State bolt.
If the WAC is looking to simply travel in the conference, Weber State would be an excellent choice. A visiting basketball, tennis, softball or whatever team can stay in the Ogden Marriott with a discounted rate, play Weber State on Thursday night and play Utah State on Saturday--or visa versa. Weber State's football stadium needs a facelift, but the other athletic facilities on campus are up to date, including the 12,000 seat Dee Events Center. The Ogden/Cleafield market, which includes Weber, Davis, Morgan and the south part of Box Elder Counties is home to nearly 600,000.
Sure Ogden is a subset of Salt Lake and locals stars will chose either Utah or BYU for recruiting first, but arguably Utah State is in the same boat. And it is the same in Montana. Believe me, if a kid from Missoula has a choice between Washington and staying home, he will go to Washington.
Finally, the WAC is not going to replace Boise State. They will simply expand back to 9 or to 10 or to 12. Cal Davis should be one of those schools. Weber State would be as good of a choice as any. So would Eastern Washington. Weber State has the facilities that Portland State and Sacramento State do not.
I have blogged before that more people need to attend Weber State Football games. Usually, they are entertaining. But with a chance to be in the same conference as Utah State, and with an improved football stadium, the fans should come. Here are my ten suggestions.
1. Build a new outdoor track facility south of University Villiage. (Which is south of the Dee Events Center.)
2. Remove the track and lower the field about 4 feet.
3. "Bowl off" the south end of the stadium, but leave the north end open. The view out the north end is part of what makes going to a Weber State game a nice experience.
4. Improve the restroom and concession facilities.
5. More chair seats. Perhaps the entire west side of the stadium.
6. Put an awning over the east side of the stadium. Protect some of the fans from the weather.
7. Make the new field wide enough for soccer, rugby and lacrosse as well as football. Weber State does not have a lot of flat space on campus and really needs a multi-use facility and not a one-use facility.
8. Build a parking terrace on either the south end or the west side of the stadium.
9. Build an indoor practice facility where the current soccer field is now.
10. New locker rooms.
And finally, scheduling BYU or Utah in Ogden won't hurt either. But the stadium face-lift will need to come first.
I know there are a lot of people who will scoff at the idea of Weber State being in the WAC. However, the WAC does not have a lot of better choices, perhaps only one. Everyone else is either too isolated or does not have the facilities to fit in as well as Weber State does. BTW--Weber State plays baseball at Lindquist field, downtown Ogden, which reportedly has the best view in baseball.
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