I missed this news when it broke. My son turned 17 today, therefore I had a higher priority.
First of all, it has taken me a week to warm up slightly to BYU as an independent. I think it will work as a proving ground to show that BYU belongs to a BCS conference. If this does not work, BYU will be lucky to get back to a conference it 10 years. It may work well enough that they do not want to join a conference...ala Notre Dame.
This ensures that the BYU/Utah rivalry can continue.
The MWC will then stay at 10 schools. I doubt that they will ever get automatic BCS consideration unless the Cotton Bowl is added. As long as TCU and Boise State remain hot, this will not matter much.
The WAC is now waiting for Hawaii to act. Hawaii could follow BYU's lead. It will help rebuild this once intense rivalry. Those of us who remember the 80s remember how intense it used to be. It can be again. Hawaii can put it's other sports into the Big West.
If the WAC acts now and invites Texas State, they may be able to save the conference and keep Louisiana Tech. They will then need to add at least two and probably three other current FBS schools. Again, use the money that is being extorted from Fresno and Nevada to help the other FBS schools like Montana add the sports they need to move up.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
College preview for 9/4/10
Mountain West Conference:
Power Rankings:
1. Texas Christian
2. Utah
3. Brigham Young
4. Air Force
5. Wyoming
6. San Diego State
7. UNLV
8. Colorado State
9. New Mexico
Pittburgh at Utah (17-35)
Colorado at Colorado State (24-27)
New Mexico at Oregon (3-35)
Nichols State at San Diego State (17-45)
Oregon State vs TCU at Arlington, TX (22-35)
Wisconsin at UNLV (28-24)
Southern Utah at Wyoming (10-35)
Western State at Air Force (3-42)
Game of the Week:
Washington at BYU (35-29) Jake Locker is the real deal, but no one knows how to grab defeat from the jaws of victory like the Huskies did last year. This time, the two inexperienced BYU quarterbacks will come up just short of a big finish.
WAC
Power Rankings
1. Boise State
2. Nevada
3. Fresno State
4. Idaho
5. Utah State
6. Louisiana Tech
7. Hawaii
8. New Mexico State
9. San Jose State
Cincinnati at Fresno State (32-29)
USC at Hawaii (32-17)
North Dakota at Idaho (15-49)
Grambling at Louisiana Tech (13-28)
Eastern Washington at Nevada (14-42)
New Mexico State (Idle)
San Jose State at Alabama (3-52)
Utah State at Oklahoma (21-52)
Game of the Week:
Boise State vs Virginia Tech at Washington, DC (45-40) The hopes of Boise State and the rest of the Mid-Majors are riding on this game. It will be a chance for Kellen Moore to prove that he is a Heisman contender. No Statue of Liberty plays on this one, however. But there will be a lot of end-zone turf worn out.
Big Sky Conference
Power Rankings
1. Montana
2. Montana State
3. Weber State
4. Eastern Washington
5. Northern Arizona
6. Northern Colorado
7. Sacramento State
8. Portland State
9. Idaho State
Weber State at Boston College (14-35)
Western State at Montana (7-57)
Fort Lewis at Montana State (10-27)
Eastern Washington at Nevada (14-42)
Sacramento State at Stanford (3-50)
Adams State at Northern Colorado (10-28)
Portland State at Arizona State (15-46)
Western New Mexico at Northern Arizona (14-35)
Game of the Week:
Montana-Western at Idaho State (28-31) Because the rest of the games look pretty bloody to me. This one could be exciting, but sloppy. It will likely be a very uninteresting week full of money games for the Big Sky. If anyone else were playing Montana Western, it would be a blowout as well.
Big Sky Road Trip of the Week:
Silver City, NM to Flagstaff, Arizona for Western New Mexico at Northern Arizona
327 Miles, 5 hours and 45 minutes
It is a nice drive through the Gila National Forrest in Western New Mexico before crossing the border into Arizona. The trip takes you through the heart of Arizona's pioneer communities, including Show Low and Snowflake. You will get the chance to drive through the Petrified Forrest National Park and take another site trip to the Meteor Crater before arriving in Flagstaff. If you enjoy the Desert Southwest, this is one of the best road trips you can take.
Power Rankings:
1. Texas Christian
2. Utah
3. Brigham Young
4. Air Force
5. Wyoming
6. San Diego State
7. UNLV
8. Colorado State
9. New Mexico
Pittburgh at Utah (17-35)
Colorado at Colorado State (24-27)
New Mexico at Oregon (3-35)
Nichols State at San Diego State (17-45)
Oregon State vs TCU at Arlington, TX (22-35)
Wisconsin at UNLV (28-24)
Southern Utah at Wyoming (10-35)
Western State at Air Force (3-42)
Game of the Week:
Washington at BYU (35-29) Jake Locker is the real deal, but no one knows how to grab defeat from the jaws of victory like the Huskies did last year. This time, the two inexperienced BYU quarterbacks will come up just short of a big finish.
WAC
Power Rankings
1. Boise State
2. Nevada
3. Fresno State
4. Idaho
5. Utah State
6. Louisiana Tech
7. Hawaii
8. New Mexico State
9. San Jose State
Cincinnati at Fresno State (32-29)
USC at Hawaii (32-17)
North Dakota at Idaho (15-49)
Grambling at Louisiana Tech (13-28)
Eastern Washington at Nevada (14-42)
New Mexico State (Idle)
San Jose State at Alabama (3-52)
Utah State at Oklahoma (21-52)
Game of the Week:
Boise State vs Virginia Tech at Washington, DC (45-40) The hopes of Boise State and the rest of the Mid-Majors are riding on this game. It will be a chance for Kellen Moore to prove that he is a Heisman contender. No Statue of Liberty plays on this one, however. But there will be a lot of end-zone turf worn out.
Big Sky Conference
Power Rankings
1. Montana
2. Montana State
3. Weber State
4. Eastern Washington
5. Northern Arizona
6. Northern Colorado
7. Sacramento State
8. Portland State
9. Idaho State
Weber State at Boston College (14-35)
Western State at Montana (7-57)
Fort Lewis at Montana State (10-27)
Eastern Washington at Nevada (14-42)
Sacramento State at Stanford (3-50)
Adams State at Northern Colorado (10-28)
Portland State at Arizona State (15-46)
Western New Mexico at Northern Arizona (14-35)
Game of the Week:
Montana-Western at Idaho State (28-31) Because the rest of the games look pretty bloody to me. This one could be exciting, but sloppy. It will likely be a very uninteresting week full of money games for the Big Sky. If anyone else were playing Montana Western, it would be a blowout as well.
Big Sky Road Trip of the Week:
Silver City, NM to Flagstaff, Arizona for Western New Mexico at Northern Arizona
327 Miles, 5 hours and 45 minutes
It is a nice drive through the Gila National Forrest in Western New Mexico before crossing the border into Arizona. The trip takes you through the heart of Arizona's pioneer communities, including Show Low and Snowflake. You will get the chance to drive through the Petrified Forrest National Park and take another site trip to the Meteor Crater before arriving in Flagstaff. If you enjoy the Desert Southwest, this is one of the best road trips you can take.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
All is quiet on the BYU front--Updated
More WACy speculation on my part.
If BYU makes no announcement by Wednesday, they will remain in the MWC for the 2011 season. This may have been the plan all along...that BYU would remain in the conference for 2011 and that all of this planning for independence is if nothing comes from the Big XII for 2012. Word is that negotiation are still on with the WAC (not the Big XII). The WAC will need to add some schools, but not just anyone. They need add focus on programs that may make the conference a soft spot for BYU to land.
The WAC is down by 2, which means right now they have six schools for 2011. They will need to keep Fresno and Nevada in for 2011 and I suspect that the MWC will cooperate, but the schools involved may not. There will be no automatic bowl bids or NCAA tourney if the WAC is at 6 members. BYU could still join the WAC for non-football sports if that conference can get some other good basketball talent on board. If you are going to invite FCS teams, the WAC should invite a school with a good basketball program and facilities that will require little expense to upgrade. They should also invite schools that are close to sponsoring enough sports to make the move. That magic number is 16, with title IX compliance. My WAC short list has changed, considering the basketball quality.
Off the WAC short list:
Cal Poly--Football stadium needs to be expanded. They are a good fit for the WAC and would be a boost academically, but otherwise, no. Same for Cal-Davis. Portland State has a large enough football stadium that will be shared with the MLS Timbers, but the basketball arena only seats 1,200. Eastern Washington does not sponsor enough sports to make the jump to the FBS level feasible. Sacramento State has not even been a minor success--not enough in either football or basketball to be taken seriously.
New Short List
Montana--7 NCAA appearances, 3 NIT appearances. Good facilities and good fan support. Good fit geographically. Need to add two more sports to make the jump. Collect the 5 million from Nevada and Fresno and help Montana make the move.
Montana State--Their tradition in basketball is as good as any. Recent success has been fleeting. The men's basketball team plays in a venerable old arena, but a good one. The main drawback, IMHO, is that the weather in late October and November can be as bad as Laramie, Wyoming, if not worse. It is colder than Laramie. For those not familiar with Montana, Bozeman is the county seat of Gallatin County, the same county includes a little hamlet known as West Yellowstone which is often the coldest spot in the continental US. A football stadium expansion is underway. The stadium will seat 22,000 when finished. Only need to add 1 more Woman's sport to make the move. (They have an NCAA rodeo team.) How about some gymnastics in Bozeman?!
Weber State--2012 may be about 8 years too early to make the jump, but opportunity is still knocking now. In basketball, the Wildcats have 14 NCAA appearances under their belt. (That is one more than New Mexico's 13.) And they have made some noise in the tournament as well, they have 5 wins. You can ask fans of Michigan State and North Carolina about looking past Weber State in the NCAA tourney. They have a nice 12,000 seat basketball arena. They have been known to draw more fans to basketball games than football games--but at the FBS level, that will need to change. Their football stadium does not need to be expanded, only updated--it holds 17,000. They could expand the stadium to 20,000+ easily if the stands on both the east and west sides were to be extended all the way to the endlines. Right now, they only extend to the goal lines. They could add some bleachers to the south end zone that can be removed for track season. The view from the football stadium rivals BYU's view. They have experienced consistent success under coach Ron McBride. Academically, they might be a weak addition because they offer no doctorate degrees. That will also change sometime soon. WSU only needs one more sport to make the jump, and that should be baseball or ice hockey because there are nice facilities already in place for those sports.
Texas State--This invitation may already be in the works, depending on the move BYU makes. They have some work to do to improve their basketball program, however. The Bobcats are 0-2 in the big dance.
Lamar--10 NCAA appearances for the Cardinal Men's Hoops Program in recent history. But the football program was just re-instated. They had some minor successes before it was dropped in the mid-80s. The were the first D-IAA team to beat a D-IA team when they shocked Baylor in 1981. Baylor was ranked 20th at the time. They could do well or they could end up being a bottom feeder on the gridiron.
Northern Arizona--They have shown up in the NCAA tournament, but there are some drawbacks. First is that their football facility is an indoor facility that seats 15,000, which would give them the same problem that you have with Idaho. The stadium can not be easily expanded. Second is that they are separated from Maricopa County, the Phoenix Metro, by 140 miles. The program would have to be special to make that trip worth the trouble and out-shadow the Arizona State program.
Basketball only members
BYU--Independence is still an option. If the WAC will focus on getting good basketball programs, this move will still work.
Denver--The WAC is headquartered in Denver.
Seattle--Yes, the Red Hawks compete with the Huskies for fans, but not with the NBA right now.
Other options:
The WAC could also benefit from talking a school like Pacific or Long Beach State into re-instating their football programs.
What the WAC could look like? I think that Hawaii will follow BYU's lead and go independent in Football and join the Big West for other sports. The reason is it would save the program a ton of money on travel, as they would never need to travel east of California for a conference basketball game. Independence will work in football because they will have little trouble in getting other programs to travel to Hawaii in the late season. If you are Minnesota, for example, wouldn't you like to go to Hawaii for a November game instead of playing outside in Minneapolis? The Hawaii tourism council was willing to subsidize travel for the PAC-10 should they invite Hawaii. I think that if Hawaii goes indy, that some of that tourism money could help them fill the schedule. Another bonus is that any team that visits Hawaii would get an extra home game.
La Tech also needs to go. They have never been a good fit for the WAC. They would be better off in either Conference USA or the Sun Belt Conference. When all of the dust settles, I have no doubt that they will be more geographically aligned with their conference competition.
If this happens, the WAC also losing Hawaii and La Tech due to travel and geography, all of the teams listed on the short list could become WAC invitees in the near future, they will have room for all but one. Likely Northern Arizona, due to the stadium issue, will be left on the outside.
WAC for 2012?
Football--9 members
Idaho
Lamar
Montana
Montana State
New Mexico State
San Jose State
Texas State
Utah State
Weber State
Basketball and other sports--12 members
Add:
BYU
Denver
Seattle
If BYU makes no announcement by Wednesday, they will remain in the MWC for the 2011 season. This may have been the plan all along...that BYU would remain in the conference for 2011 and that all of this planning for independence is if nothing comes from the Big XII for 2012. Word is that negotiation are still on with the WAC (not the Big XII). The WAC will need to add some schools, but not just anyone. They need add focus on programs that may make the conference a soft spot for BYU to land.
The WAC is down by 2, which means right now they have six schools for 2011. They will need to keep Fresno and Nevada in for 2011 and I suspect that the MWC will cooperate, but the schools involved may not. There will be no automatic bowl bids or NCAA tourney if the WAC is at 6 members. BYU could still join the WAC for non-football sports if that conference can get some other good basketball talent on board. If you are going to invite FCS teams, the WAC should invite a school with a good basketball program and facilities that will require little expense to upgrade. They should also invite schools that are close to sponsoring enough sports to make the move. That magic number is 16, with title IX compliance. My WAC short list has changed, considering the basketball quality.
Off the WAC short list:
Cal Poly--Football stadium needs to be expanded. They are a good fit for the WAC and would be a boost academically, but otherwise, no. Same for Cal-Davis. Portland State has a large enough football stadium that will be shared with the MLS Timbers, but the basketball arena only seats 1,200. Eastern Washington does not sponsor enough sports to make the jump to the FBS level feasible. Sacramento State has not even been a minor success--not enough in either football or basketball to be taken seriously.
New Short List
Montana--7 NCAA appearances, 3 NIT appearances. Good facilities and good fan support. Good fit geographically. Need to add two more sports to make the jump. Collect the 5 million from Nevada and Fresno and help Montana make the move.
Montana State--Their tradition in basketball is as good as any. Recent success has been fleeting. The men's basketball team plays in a venerable old arena, but a good one. The main drawback, IMHO, is that the weather in late October and November can be as bad as Laramie, Wyoming, if not worse. It is colder than Laramie. For those not familiar with Montana, Bozeman is the county seat of Gallatin County, the same county includes a little hamlet known as West Yellowstone which is often the coldest spot in the continental US. A football stadium expansion is underway. The stadium will seat 22,000 when finished. Only need to add 1 more Woman's sport to make the move. (They have an NCAA rodeo team.) How about some gymnastics in Bozeman?!
Weber State--2012 may be about 8 years too early to make the jump, but opportunity is still knocking now. In basketball, the Wildcats have 14 NCAA appearances under their belt. (That is one more than New Mexico's 13.) And they have made some noise in the tournament as well, they have 5 wins. You can ask fans of Michigan State and North Carolina about looking past Weber State in the NCAA tourney. They have a nice 12,000 seat basketball arena. They have been known to draw more fans to basketball games than football games--but at the FBS level, that will need to change. Their football stadium does not need to be expanded, only updated--it holds 17,000. They could expand the stadium to 20,000+ easily if the stands on both the east and west sides were to be extended all the way to the endlines. Right now, they only extend to the goal lines. They could add some bleachers to the south end zone that can be removed for track season. The view from the football stadium rivals BYU's view. They have experienced consistent success under coach Ron McBride. Academically, they might be a weak addition because they offer no doctorate degrees. That will also change sometime soon. WSU only needs one more sport to make the jump, and that should be baseball or ice hockey because there are nice facilities already in place for those sports.
Texas State--This invitation may already be in the works, depending on the move BYU makes. They have some work to do to improve their basketball program, however. The Bobcats are 0-2 in the big dance.
Lamar--10 NCAA appearances for the Cardinal Men's Hoops Program in recent history. But the football program was just re-instated. They had some minor successes before it was dropped in the mid-80s. The were the first D-IAA team to beat a D-IA team when they shocked Baylor in 1981. Baylor was ranked 20th at the time. They could do well or they could end up being a bottom feeder on the gridiron.
Northern Arizona--They have shown up in the NCAA tournament, but there are some drawbacks. First is that their football facility is an indoor facility that seats 15,000, which would give them the same problem that you have with Idaho. The stadium can not be easily expanded. Second is that they are separated from Maricopa County, the Phoenix Metro, by 140 miles. The program would have to be special to make that trip worth the trouble and out-shadow the Arizona State program.
Basketball only members
BYU--Independence is still an option. If the WAC will focus on getting good basketball programs, this move will still work.
Denver--The WAC is headquartered in Denver.
Seattle--Yes, the Red Hawks compete with the Huskies for fans, but not with the NBA right now.
Other options:
The WAC could also benefit from talking a school like Pacific or Long Beach State into re-instating their football programs.
What the WAC could look like? I think that Hawaii will follow BYU's lead and go independent in Football and join the Big West for other sports. The reason is it would save the program a ton of money on travel, as they would never need to travel east of California for a conference basketball game. Independence will work in football because they will have little trouble in getting other programs to travel to Hawaii in the late season. If you are Minnesota, for example, wouldn't you like to go to Hawaii for a November game instead of playing outside in Minneapolis? The Hawaii tourism council was willing to subsidize travel for the PAC-10 should they invite Hawaii. I think that if Hawaii goes indy, that some of that tourism money could help them fill the schedule. Another bonus is that any team that visits Hawaii would get an extra home game.
La Tech also needs to go. They have never been a good fit for the WAC. They would be better off in either Conference USA or the Sun Belt Conference. When all of the dust settles, I have no doubt that they will be more geographically aligned with their conference competition.
If this happens, the WAC also losing Hawaii and La Tech due to travel and geography, all of the teams listed on the short list could become WAC invitees in the near future, they will have room for all but one. Likely Northern Arizona, due to the stadium issue, will be left on the outside.
WAC for 2012?
Football--9 members
Idaho
Lamar
Montana
Montana State
New Mexico State
San Jose State
Texas State
Utah State
Weber State
Basketball and other sports--12 members
Add:
BYU
Denver
Seattle
High School Report Week 2--Davis Rocks, Northridge Rolls while Region 5 powers Reel.
Region 1:
Week 1 featured four shutouts, week 2 featured blowouts. This, two shutout victors met in Kaysville. While both teams played well, clearly Davis showed why they rank as one of the best in the state year in and year out. Meanwhile Brock Johnson ran for 148 yards and 2 touchdowns as Northridge ran all over Syracuse. There is a shift in the power structure in the north. Roy was predicted by the Deseret News to win more than 1 game this year. So far, the Royals have yet to score.
Offensive Player of the week: Northridge RB Brock Johnson
Defensive Team of the week: Northridge
Game of the Week: None chosen this week. All were lopsided.
Power Rankings.
1. Davis
2. Northridge
3. Weber
4. Syracuse
5. Fremont
6. Clearfield
7. Layton
8. Viewmont
9. Roy
Region 5:
The drama that was missing from all of region 1 this week landed in Logan, where the Grizzlies outlasted the Bruins from Mountain View in a real bear fight that took two overtimes to settle. Elsewhere, Box Elder's Britton Gunter accounted for four touchdowns, 2 passing and 2 running, as the Bees were all over Copper Hills. Mountain Crest took an early-season bye. Everyone not for Logan or Brigham City lost.
Offensive Player of the week: Box Elder QB Britton Gunter
Defensive Team of the week: Logan
Game of the Week: Logan 30 Mountain View 24 2OT
Power Rankings:
1. Mountain Crest
2. Logan
3. Box Elder
4. Ogden
5. Bonneville
6. Sky View
Region 11
Grantsville is getting the job done so far this season. Their defense has been solid and they score every way conceivable. This week the scoring began with a coast to coast interception return by Lincoln Kelley. Meanwhile, Morgan got by Snow Canyon, but do not blame Lawson Toomer for not doing his part...140 yards of of 7 carries and with receiving TD. Juan Diego bounced back to the win column.
Offensive Player of the Week: Morgan RB Lawson Toomer
Defensive Team of the Week: Grantsville
Game of the Week:
Power Rankings:
1. Morgan
2. Juan Diego
3. Grantsville
4. Judge
5. Bear River
6. Ben Lomond
Week 1 featured four shutouts, week 2 featured blowouts. This, two shutout victors met in Kaysville. While both teams played well, clearly Davis showed why they rank as one of the best in the state year in and year out. Meanwhile Brock Johnson ran for 148 yards and 2 touchdowns as Northridge ran all over Syracuse. There is a shift in the power structure in the north. Roy was predicted by the Deseret News to win more than 1 game this year. So far, the Royals have yet to score.
Offensive Player of the week: Northridge RB Brock Johnson
Defensive Team of the week: Northridge
Game of the Week: None chosen this week. All were lopsided.
Power Rankings.
1. Davis
2. Northridge
3. Weber
4. Syracuse
5. Fremont
6. Clearfield
7. Layton
8. Viewmont
9. Roy
Region 5:
The drama that was missing from all of region 1 this week landed in Logan, where the Grizzlies outlasted the Bruins from Mountain View in a real bear fight that took two overtimes to settle. Elsewhere, Box Elder's Britton Gunter accounted for four touchdowns, 2 passing and 2 running, as the Bees were all over Copper Hills. Mountain Crest took an early-season bye. Everyone not for Logan or Brigham City lost.
Offensive Player of the week: Box Elder QB Britton Gunter
Defensive Team of the week: Logan
Game of the Week: Logan 30 Mountain View 24 2OT
Power Rankings:
1. Mountain Crest
2. Logan
3. Box Elder
4. Ogden
5. Bonneville
6. Sky View
Region 11
Grantsville is getting the job done so far this season. Their defense has been solid and they score every way conceivable. This week the scoring began with a coast to coast interception return by Lincoln Kelley. Meanwhile, Morgan got by Snow Canyon, but do not blame Lawson Toomer for not doing his part...140 yards of of 7 carries and with receiving TD. Juan Diego bounced back to the win column.
Offensive Player of the Week: Morgan RB Lawson Toomer
Defensive Team of the Week: Grantsville
Game of the Week:
Power Rankings:
1. Morgan
2. Juan Diego
3. Grantsville
4. Judge
5. Bear River
6. Ben Lomond
Thursday, August 26, 2010
No High School Preview This Week
To my loyal readers. My commitments to my doctoral program took precedence. I will not have a high school preview, but I will have a wrap-up.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
News about BYU
I am passing on what I heard on KALL 700 while out and about this evening. And it makes sense. Today, Thursday, is the last meeting of the quorum of the 12 before September 1st. The answer to the BYU question will likely come tomorrow. There is no news conference scheduled. This is likely a sign that BYU will be in the MWC for 2011. No word on concessions.
The latest rumor is the BYU is speaking with rivals in the MWC, WAC and C-USA to form a new conference. This is, after all, how we got the MWC. It is possible that the only legal way for BYU to get out of the MWC TV contract is to form a new conference under a new charter. That is something that will not come together in a week.
The latest rumor is the BYU is speaking with rivals in the MWC, WAC and C-USA to form a new conference. This is, after all, how we got the MWC. It is possible that the only legal way for BYU to get out of the MWC TV contract is to form a new conference under a new charter. That is something that will not come together in a week.
Monday, August 23, 2010
A possible end-game for the WAC
The WAC will have 6 schools to play football with in 2012, the MWC, as it currently stands will have 11 and C-USA will have 12. The WAC now has all of the charm of a race horse with three legs. It is time to put that race horse out of it's misery and have both the MWC and C-USA absorb what is left. If both the MWC and C-USA go to 14 members, and one member of either conference take themselves out of the picture, then the WAC can rest in peace.
One school in the fray needs to drop from picture. Judging by attendance, it could be Tulane. If Tulane drops football and leaves Conference USA, and someone from the MWC moves to C-USA then both conferences can be geographically aligned. Either New Mexico or TCU could switch. If it is New Mexico, and C-USA also takes NM-State and La-Tech, then the Lobos will be with their regional, natural rivals NM-State and UTEP. TCU could bounce over to C-USA instead, where there were once before. They would be in the same conference as Tulsa, Houston, Rice and SMU, their natural, regional rivals.
Of course the same end can be accomplished if either BYU or Hawaii become independent or if San Jose State drops football instead. It could also be accomplished if Utah State or Idaho reclassifies as an FCS school. Someone needs to go. Between the three conferences there are currently 29 schools. There needs to be needs to be 28. It matters little how that number is reduced. Eventually, the Big XII or Big East will come calling and both conferences could be reduced to 12 schools each.
How does a 14-team conference work in scheduling? There are several ways is can be accomplished. One way is to play every team in your division each season--that is six games. One team from the other division every season. Plus every other team in the other division once every six seasons. That adds up to eight conference games each season and leaves room for four non-conference games. If UNLV and Nevada end up in different divisions, UNLV plays every team in their division every season, plays Nevada every season, and one of the other six in Nevada's division and four non-conference games.
If the WAC is out of the picture, then no-one will have to pay the 5 million dollar fine to the rest of the conference, because there will be no one left to collect it. It will save everyone that is in the WAC in 2011 a lot of money and save a lot of hurt feelings. There will not have to be anyone from the FCS worrying about rushing to the FBS before they are ready or can afford it.
If the two conferences can get an agreement to get to the BCS together, then it will matter little what conference everyone is in, as long as there is one school from either that gets to the BCS every season.
Here is one scenario. It has TCU switching to C-USA with NM-State and La-Tech joining C-USA. It has Hawaii, San Jose State, Idaho and Utah State in the MWC. Here is how the divisions could stack up. Notice that UNLV and Nevada end up in different divisions, but could play against each other every season as discussed.
MWC West
Hawaii
San Jose State
San Diego State
Fresno State
Boise State
Idaho
Nevada
MWC East
Air Force
BYU
Colorado Sate
UNLV
New Mexico
Utah State
Wyoming
C-USA West
Houston
Rice
TCU
SMU
Tulsa
NM-State
UTEP
C-USA East
East Carolina
Southern Miss
Memphis
Marshall
UAB
UCF
La-Tech
In other news: Put up your hair girls! Elizabeth Lambert has returned from her suspension. Remember her?
One school in the fray needs to drop from picture. Judging by attendance, it could be Tulane. If Tulane drops football and leaves Conference USA, and someone from the MWC moves to C-USA then both conferences can be geographically aligned. Either New Mexico or TCU could switch. If it is New Mexico, and C-USA also takes NM-State and La-Tech, then the Lobos will be with their regional, natural rivals NM-State and UTEP. TCU could bounce over to C-USA instead, where there were once before. They would be in the same conference as Tulsa, Houston, Rice and SMU, their natural, regional rivals.
Of course the same end can be accomplished if either BYU or Hawaii become independent or if San Jose State drops football instead. It could also be accomplished if Utah State or Idaho reclassifies as an FCS school. Someone needs to go. Between the three conferences there are currently 29 schools. There needs to be needs to be 28. It matters little how that number is reduced. Eventually, the Big XII or Big East will come calling and both conferences could be reduced to 12 schools each.
How does a 14-team conference work in scheduling? There are several ways is can be accomplished. One way is to play every team in your division each season--that is six games. One team from the other division every season. Plus every other team in the other division once every six seasons. That adds up to eight conference games each season and leaves room for four non-conference games. If UNLV and Nevada end up in different divisions, UNLV plays every team in their division every season, plays Nevada every season, and one of the other six in Nevada's division and four non-conference games.
If the WAC is out of the picture, then no-one will have to pay the 5 million dollar fine to the rest of the conference, because there will be no one left to collect it. It will save everyone that is in the WAC in 2011 a lot of money and save a lot of hurt feelings. There will not have to be anyone from the FCS worrying about rushing to the FBS before they are ready or can afford it.
If the two conferences can get an agreement to get to the BCS together, then it will matter little what conference everyone is in, as long as there is one school from either that gets to the BCS every season.
Here is one scenario. It has TCU switching to C-USA with NM-State and La-Tech joining C-USA. It has Hawaii, San Jose State, Idaho and Utah State in the MWC. Here is how the divisions could stack up. Notice that UNLV and Nevada end up in different divisions, but could play against each other every season as discussed.
MWC West
Hawaii
San Jose State
San Diego State
Fresno State
Boise State
Idaho
Nevada
MWC East
Air Force
BYU
Colorado Sate
UNLV
New Mexico
Utah State
Wyoming
C-USA West
Houston
Rice
TCU
SMU
Tulsa
NM-State
UTEP
C-USA East
East Carolina
Southern Miss
Memphis
Marshall
UAB
UCF
La-Tech
In other news: Put up your hair girls! Elizabeth Lambert has returned from her suspension. Remember her?
No Action on the BYU/MWC front today.
There has been a lot of commentary about the prospect all over the internet.
Rivals
Fox Sports
KSL
Here is a good collection of stuff from the Salt Lake Tribune.
There are many more with a simple Bing or Google search. It changes hourly.
Rivals
Fox Sports
KSL
Here is a good collection of stuff from the Salt Lake Tribune.
There are many more with a simple Bing or Google search. It changes hourly.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
High School Report
For those new to this blog, I look for a defensive team performance that wins the game. I do not look for an outstanding individual performance on defense. If his teammates play lousy, it will all be for naught. This is a hobby of mine and I am not passing my reports on to any college recruiters. I will name a special teams performer when I hear about one or witness one. If there is no special teams player mentioned, it is because I had neither. I do not see film of all the games nor can I attend all of them. I try to make one game per week.
Region 1
There were 4 shut-outs in region 1 this last week. The bad news is that region 1 teams were on the short end of two of them. There were a lot of good offensive performances this week, so it is hard to nail one of them down. There will be co-awards for week 1. And hey, didn't get the chance to give Clearfield High a lot of love last year, but they get all this love this week.
Co-Offensive Players of the week: Clearfield RB Braxton Patterson and Northridge QB Trent Buckley
Co-Defensive Teams of the week: Davis and Clearfield for the clean sheet.
Special teams player of the week: Weber PK Tommy Stewart for being cool late in the game.
Game of the week: Weber 19 Box Elder 18
Scores
Bingham 51 at Viewmont 0
Brighton 0 Davis 35
Jordan 21 Fremont 17
Layton 28 Bonneville 7
Northridge 34 Skyview 17
Roy 0 Woods Cross 42
Syracuse 34 Copper Hills 13
Taylorsville 0 Clearfield 40
Weber 19 Box Elder 18
New Power Rankings (LW)
1. Davis (1)
2. Syracuse (2)
3. Northridge (4)
4. Weber (5)
5. Layton (6)
6. Clearfield (8)
7. Fremont (3)
8. Viewmont (7)
9. Roy (9)
Region 5
We are going to see a lot of future BYU Cougar Alex Kuresa this year. He was the difference in Mountain Crest's easier than expected win over Highland on Friday. There were not a lot of winners among region 5 teams this week. Unexpected for such a strong region.
Offensive Player of the week: Mountain Crest QB Alex Kuresa
Defensive Team of the week: Logan
Game of the week: Weber 19 Box Elder 18
Scores
Layton 28 Bonneville 7
Northridge 34 Skyview 17
Logan 31 Bear River 6
Ogden 10 Murray 28
Highland 14 Mountain Crest 28
Weber 19 Box Elder 18
New power rankings
1. Mountain Crest (1)
2. Logan (3)
3. Skyview (2)
4. Bonneville (4)
5. Ogden (5)
6. Box Elder (6)
Region 11:
I hope that you were laughing when saw that I predicted that Juan Diego could hang with 5-A power West. It did turn out to be a heck of a game. The Panthers had to score 3 touchdowns in the 4th quarter to force the game into OT.
Offensive Player of the week: Morgan RB Lawson Toomer
Defensive Team of the week: Morgan
Special Teams player of the week: Grantsville KR/PR Lincoln Kelly
Game of the week: Juan Diego 28 West 35 (ot)
Power Rankings
1. Morgan (2)
2. Juan Diego (1)
3. Judge (3)
4. Grantsville (4)
5. Ben Lomond (5)
6. Bear River (6)
Ben Lomond 7 Union 22
Tooele 14 Judge 17
Logan 31 Bear River 6
Morgan 21 Juab 6
Wasatch 12 Grantsville 15
Juan Diego 21 West 28
Region 1
There were 4 shut-outs in region 1 this last week. The bad news is that region 1 teams were on the short end of two of them. There were a lot of good offensive performances this week, so it is hard to nail one of them down. There will be co-awards for week 1. And hey, didn't get the chance to give Clearfield High a lot of love last year, but they get all this love this week.
Co-Offensive Players of the week: Clearfield RB Braxton Patterson and Northridge QB Trent Buckley
Co-Defensive Teams of the week: Davis and Clearfield for the clean sheet.
Special teams player of the week: Weber PK Tommy Stewart for being cool late in the game.
Game of the week: Weber 19 Box Elder 18
Scores
Bingham 51 at Viewmont 0
Brighton 0 Davis 35
Jordan 21 Fremont 17
Layton 28 Bonneville 7
Northridge 34 Skyview 17
Roy 0 Woods Cross 42
Syracuse 34 Copper Hills 13
Taylorsville 0 Clearfield 40
Weber 19 Box Elder 18
New Power Rankings (LW)
1. Davis (1)
2. Syracuse (2)
3. Northridge (4)
4. Weber (5)
5. Layton (6)
6. Clearfield (8)
7. Fremont (3)
8. Viewmont (7)
9. Roy (9)
Region 5
We are going to see a lot of future BYU Cougar Alex Kuresa this year. He was the difference in Mountain Crest's easier than expected win over Highland on Friday. There were not a lot of winners among region 5 teams this week. Unexpected for such a strong region.
Offensive Player of the week: Mountain Crest QB Alex Kuresa
Defensive Team of the week: Logan
Game of the week: Weber 19 Box Elder 18
Scores
Layton 28 Bonneville 7
Northridge 34 Skyview 17
Logan 31 Bear River 6
Ogden 10 Murray 28
Highland 14 Mountain Crest 28
Weber 19 Box Elder 18
New power rankings
1. Mountain Crest (1)
2. Logan (3)
3. Skyview (2)
4. Bonneville (4)
5. Ogden (5)
6. Box Elder (6)
Region 11:
I hope that you were laughing when saw that I predicted that Juan Diego could hang with 5-A power West. It did turn out to be a heck of a game. The Panthers had to score 3 touchdowns in the 4th quarter to force the game into OT.
Offensive Player of the week: Morgan RB Lawson Toomer
Defensive Team of the week: Morgan
Special Teams player of the week: Grantsville KR/PR Lincoln Kelly
Game of the week: Juan Diego 28 West 35 (ot)
Power Rankings
1. Morgan (2)
2. Juan Diego (1)
3. Judge (3)
4. Grantsville (4)
5. Ben Lomond (5)
6. Bear River (6)
Ben Lomond 7 Union 22
Tooele 14 Judge 17
Logan 31 Bear River 6
Morgan 21 Juab 6
Wasatch 12 Grantsville 15
Juan Diego 21 West 28
Friday, August 20, 2010
The truth comes out....
The Idaho Statesmen had an interesting account of how things really went down this week. Getting Fresno and Nevada was not about sticking it to BYU, but about keeping Boise State from going back to the WAC.
My take is that BYU made their point...not to the MWC but to the other big conferences. That they have something to bring to the table. It was like getting a new job, when the real point is getting a raise at the current job. I also think that going independent is still unwise for BYU. They would only have ESPN brokering games for them as long as it works for ESPN. One poor season and the gig is up. BYU is not Notre Dame. Eventually, the relationship between BYU and the MWC will heal. The MWC is needs BYU to get to the BCS.
BYU and the other MWC schools and their fans can not live the next two to three years as if nothing has happened. The MWC knows that sooner or later they will have to live without BYU. The question is, will they be able to keep Boise State? There is talk of BYU/Boise State in the Big 12.
There is now a story on the Houston Rivals.com page that UH has been invited to join the MWC. But Houston is not acting on the invitation just yet. The assumption is that they are waiting on BYU. They may be wishing to have a say in who will replace BYU--read not Utah State. There are also rumors, however, that SMU has also been invited to the MWC. Maybe the 14-team MWC is still in the plans and there is still hope for Utah State.
That could be the final blow to the WAC. Louisiana Tech is certainly bound to be the replacement for Houston. There is also a report that Hawaii will be the team going independent and joining the Big West for other sports. It is the best travel scenario for Hawaii.
This would leave the WAC with just four schools or worse, who would not have the ability or clout to hold the conference together. Utah State, Idaho, San Jose State and New Mexico State need to make a move sooner rather than later. Going after BYU was a bold move, but it backfired on them big time. Utah State, the biggest stunner of them all.
But if the MWC can go to 14, so can C-USA and the rest of the WAC, save Hawaii can be absorbed by the MWC and C-USA. The MWC takes on Houston, SMU and Utah State. C-USA takes La-Tech, NM-State and Idaho, while Hawaii goes indy and San Jose State drops football. This is all speculation on my part, however. But I think that the MWC owes something to the remainder of the WAC schools. And Nevada, Fresno State and other will not have to pay any money to a conference that no longer exists.
My take is that BYU made their point...not to the MWC but to the other big conferences. That they have something to bring to the table. It was like getting a new job, when the real point is getting a raise at the current job. I also think that going independent is still unwise for BYU. They would only have ESPN brokering games for them as long as it works for ESPN. One poor season and the gig is up. BYU is not Notre Dame. Eventually, the relationship between BYU and the MWC will heal. The MWC is needs BYU to get to the BCS.
BYU and the other MWC schools and their fans can not live the next two to three years as if nothing has happened. The MWC knows that sooner or later they will have to live without BYU. The question is, will they be able to keep Boise State? There is talk of BYU/Boise State in the Big 12.
There is now a story on the Houston Rivals.com page that UH has been invited to join the MWC. But Houston is not acting on the invitation just yet. The assumption is that they are waiting on BYU. They may be wishing to have a say in who will replace BYU--read not Utah State. There are also rumors, however, that SMU has also been invited to the MWC. Maybe the 14-team MWC is still in the plans and there is still hope for Utah State.
That could be the final blow to the WAC. Louisiana Tech is certainly bound to be the replacement for Houston. There is also a report that Hawaii will be the team going independent and joining the Big West for other sports. It is the best travel scenario for Hawaii.
This would leave the WAC with just four schools or worse, who would not have the ability or clout to hold the conference together. Utah State, Idaho, San Jose State and New Mexico State need to make a move sooner rather than later. Going after BYU was a bold move, but it backfired on them big time. Utah State, the biggest stunner of them all.
But if the MWC can go to 14, so can C-USA and the rest of the WAC, save Hawaii can be absorbed by the MWC and C-USA. The MWC takes on Houston, SMU and Utah State. C-USA takes La-Tech, NM-State and Idaho, while Hawaii goes indy and San Jose State drops football. This is all speculation on my part, however. But I think that the MWC owes something to the remainder of the WAC schools. And Nevada, Fresno State and other will not have to pay any money to a conference that no longer exists.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
The Day After the Stuff Hit the Fan
This morning the Deseret Morning News retracted somewhat from the "BYU as an Independent Done Deal" stance. They report that BYU has been involved with Fresno State and Nevada being invited to the MWC. They also report that this is part of a deal being worked out with CBS and Comcast. I doubt that this will happen if the MWC is a BYU-less 10-team conference. There is an editorial in the Ft. Worth Star Telegram stating that TCU will be invited to the Big-12. But this is an opinion piece. The next step has to be an invitation to another Texas school to help keep TCU in the fold and to make the MWC a 12-team conference. IMHO-Houston, SMU and UTEP, in that order. Either should placate CBS.
I do not know the details of the CBS deal. No one does. Again, my opinion is that it will involve moving the SEC games to prime-time and broadcasting MWC games on the Tiffany Network during the afternoon. ESPN/ABC has prime time college football games. It may happen with NBC if they get the PAC-12 deal. It could involve Air Force taking on their sister academies and the championship game plus a heavy dose of BYU, Boise State and TCU. It should include the BYU/Utah game when it is played in Provo.
Meanwhile, the WAC is now a 6-team football school. I expect an invitation to Texas State (San Marcos) and Montana at any time. They need at least 8 for 2011. There will be a third school invited as well, but who that will be I can only guess, and my guess is Montana State or Cal Poly. The WAC will get 10 million from the departure of Fresno and Nevada. A large portion of that money can go directly to Cal Poly for their stadium expansion. Therefore, Cal-Poly could get an invite instead of one of the other three. Eastern Washington or Weber State or Sacramento State or Portland State or Cal Davis could also get an invite, but they are down the list. There are other options for Texas, but UTSA will not be ready until 2014. Lamar and Stephen F. Austin do not have facilities.
For you who are Big Sky fans, it is time to think about replacements. Montana to the WAC now seems inevitable and chances are very good another school from the Sky will join them. Who ever is left out between Cal Poly and Cal Davis should be at the top of the list. Also look for Southern Utah, Dixie State and Central Washington to get a serious look. I like the Southern Utah/Dixie State pair, myself.
The WAC is going to need an emergency transition approval from the NCAA to get Montana to move up. I expect little problem with that because the Missoula school already has the facilities in place. The deadline for the 2011 season was June 1st. Texas State has already applied for the transition and is waiting for approval.
Now back to BYU as an independent in football and part of the WAC. There is little for the WAC to offer BYU in Basketball now that Nevada and Fresno are not there. BYU would give up playing in Las Vegas, Albuquerque, San Diego, Fresno and Reno. Playing in Logan and Las Cruces would be good, and La Tech did give us the Mailman. San Jose State, Hawaii and Idaho are no basketball powers. In basketball, only USU of the remaining six could consistently win in the MWC. But otherwise, the WAC is a terrible basketball conference which would likely only produce 1 NCAA bid even with the Cougars. Finish second and not winning the conference tournament would mean an NIT bid, even with a 25-win season. Montana and Texas State will add little to that profile.
Also, the "confirmation" that BYU indy is a done deal came for Logan. No one from Provo or the LDS church has confirmed the deal.
To summarize, here is the evidence BYU will NOT go independent.
-Pending MWC deal with CBS and Comcast.
-Need to placate TCU and keep them in the fold.
-Both Nevada AND Fresno joining the MWC.
-MWC discussions with Houston, SMU and UTEP.
-The WAC left with only one real basketball power: USU. Two others with a luke-warm reputation, NMSU and LATech and three who are not known as basketball powers at all, Hawaii, SJSU and Idaho.
-Who the WAC will call on to replace Fresno and Nevada: Montana and Texas State are no basketball powers either.
-The "confirmation" of independence not coming from BYU or the LDS church.
New Information:
-According to the Fresno Bee, the invitations to Fresno State and Nevada went out on Tuesday. The day before BYU independence rumors went viral.
Conclusion...at most, the independence rumors were a negotiating ploy to the rest of the MWC to take action. The information was false, or BYU is leaving their options open.
WAC options at this time:
-Texas State and Montana are likely. Other possibilities are Montana State, Cal Poly and UT San Antonio. Outside possibilities include other Big Sky schools, Cal Davis and FBS schools from Texas.
Time for the Big Sky to look at replacements for Montana and possibly someone else.
12:00 Noon Update--
Interesting blog from Block U...I quote the best part, "But from the developments we've seen over the last 24 hours, much of what is being reported is either wrong or the Cougars have no f'n idea what they're doing."
4:30 PM update
1. In Karl Benson's afternoon conference, he was asked specifically about Texas State, Cal Poly and Montana. He did not say so in so many words, but seemed to confirm that these three are under consideration for WAC membership. The WAC also intends to hold Fresno and Nevada in the WAC for 2011 and expect the money within 60 days. The Fresno Bee said that the Bulldog sports endowment can and is willing to pay.
2. Heard some interesting things listening to KALL 700 on the way home from work. First, ESPN's deal with BYU says that they will broker 3 to 5 games for BYU each season. That the Texas series is expanding to three games with the rubber match at a neutral site. And Gary Patterson confirming what has been said in the Ft Worth Star Telegram, that the last domino has yet to fall. There is even suspicion that an MWC Super Conference is in the works. But I doubt that there are any additional WAC Schools are under consideration. If this is true, the five could be Houston, SMU, UTEP, Tulsa and Memphis--my guess. The Big XII does not want TCU.
8:30 Update
The Deseret News is reporting that Utah State has been offered an MWC membership. I am surprised by this. Two reasons they are not able to accept. They do not have the 5 million for the buy-out...but who will be left to collect? Second is they were chiefly the ones brokering the BYU independence deal. That is not likely to happen. Either the MWC is going to expand to 14...which will work with a 12-game schedule or they will be staying at 12. Yes, USU struggles on the gridiron, but they have an awesome basketball program with the best coach in the West and their academics programs are without peer.
This has to be another insult to the Hawaii program, perhaps the final insult. They are hemorrhaging money. But for Hawaii, being independent in football and joining the WCC for other sports makes better sense for them than it would for BYU. They would only travel to the West Coast for conference games. And for football, they could play 8 home games and fill their schedule. I suspect that if USU changes their mind, that San Jose State will drop football, Idaho will return to the FCS and New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech will join the Sun Belt Conference again, or they could fill empty slots in Conference USA. The WAC will be finished. They will not be a football conference until they can get at least 6 members.
My belief is, that if USU does join the MWC, that 14 will be the number. And two schools from Texas will join. If they stay at 12, then BYU and USU could end up in different divisions, but play each-other every season. The SEC works this way.
IF 12
West Divsion East Divsion Every Season Opponent
Boise State----->TCU
Nevada---------->Colorado State
UNLV------------>Air Force
Fresno State---->Wyoming
San Diego State->New Mexico
Utah State------>BYU
IF 14 assuming Utah State, SMU and UTEP
West Division
Boise State
BYU
Fresno State
Nevada
UNLV
San Diego State
Utah State
East Division
Air Force
Colorado State
New Mexico
TCU
UTEP
SMU
Wyoming
Disposition of the remaining WAC members, if the WAC breaks up:
Hawaii--Independent in Football, part of the WCC in other sports.
La Tech/NM-State--Sun belt or C-USA
Idaho--Reclassified to FCS, Return to Big Sky or Join Great West.
San Jose State--Drop football, Big West in other sports.
I do not know the details of the CBS deal. No one does. Again, my opinion is that it will involve moving the SEC games to prime-time and broadcasting MWC games on the Tiffany Network during the afternoon. ESPN/ABC has prime time college football games. It may happen with NBC if they get the PAC-12 deal. It could involve Air Force taking on their sister academies and the championship game plus a heavy dose of BYU, Boise State and TCU. It should include the BYU/Utah game when it is played in Provo.
Meanwhile, the WAC is now a 6-team football school. I expect an invitation to Texas State (San Marcos) and Montana at any time. They need at least 8 for 2011. There will be a third school invited as well, but who that will be I can only guess, and my guess is Montana State or Cal Poly. The WAC will get 10 million from the departure of Fresno and Nevada. A large portion of that money can go directly to Cal Poly for their stadium expansion. Therefore, Cal-Poly could get an invite instead of one of the other three. Eastern Washington or Weber State or Sacramento State or Portland State or Cal Davis could also get an invite, but they are down the list. There are other options for Texas, but UTSA will not be ready until 2014. Lamar and Stephen F. Austin do not have facilities.
For you who are Big Sky fans, it is time to think about replacements. Montana to the WAC now seems inevitable and chances are very good another school from the Sky will join them. Who ever is left out between Cal Poly and Cal Davis should be at the top of the list. Also look for Southern Utah, Dixie State and Central Washington to get a serious look. I like the Southern Utah/Dixie State pair, myself.
The WAC is going to need an emergency transition approval from the NCAA to get Montana to move up. I expect little problem with that because the Missoula school already has the facilities in place. The deadline for the 2011 season was June 1st. Texas State has already applied for the transition and is waiting for approval.
Now back to BYU as an independent in football and part of the WAC. There is little for the WAC to offer BYU in Basketball now that Nevada and Fresno are not there. BYU would give up playing in Las Vegas, Albuquerque, San Diego, Fresno and Reno. Playing in Logan and Las Cruces would be good, and La Tech did give us the Mailman. San Jose State, Hawaii and Idaho are no basketball powers. In basketball, only USU of the remaining six could consistently win in the MWC. But otherwise, the WAC is a terrible basketball conference which would likely only produce 1 NCAA bid even with the Cougars. Finish second and not winning the conference tournament would mean an NIT bid, even with a 25-win season. Montana and Texas State will add little to that profile.
Also, the "confirmation" that BYU indy is a done deal came for Logan. No one from Provo or the LDS church has confirmed the deal.
To summarize, here is the evidence BYU will NOT go independent.
-Pending MWC deal with CBS and Comcast.
-Need to placate TCU and keep them in the fold.
-Both Nevada AND Fresno joining the MWC.
-MWC discussions with Houston, SMU and UTEP.
-The WAC left with only one real basketball power: USU. Two others with a luke-warm reputation, NMSU and LATech and three who are not known as basketball powers at all, Hawaii, SJSU and Idaho.
-Who the WAC will call on to replace Fresno and Nevada: Montana and Texas State are no basketball powers either.
-The "confirmation" of independence not coming from BYU or the LDS church.
New Information:
-According to the Fresno Bee, the invitations to Fresno State and Nevada went out on Tuesday. The day before BYU independence rumors went viral.
Conclusion...at most, the independence rumors were a negotiating ploy to the rest of the MWC to take action. The information was false, or BYU is leaving their options open.
WAC options at this time:
-Texas State and Montana are likely. Other possibilities are Montana State, Cal Poly and UT San Antonio. Outside possibilities include other Big Sky schools, Cal Davis and FBS schools from Texas.
Time for the Big Sky to look at replacements for Montana and possibly someone else.
12:00 Noon Update--
Interesting blog from Block U...I quote the best part, "But from the developments we've seen over the last 24 hours, much of what is being reported is either wrong or the Cougars have no f'n idea what they're doing."
4:30 PM update
1. In Karl Benson's afternoon conference, he was asked specifically about Texas State, Cal Poly and Montana. He did not say so in so many words, but seemed to confirm that these three are under consideration for WAC membership. The WAC also intends to hold Fresno and Nevada in the WAC for 2011 and expect the money within 60 days. The Fresno Bee said that the Bulldog sports endowment can and is willing to pay.
2. Heard some interesting things listening to KALL 700 on the way home from work. First, ESPN's deal with BYU says that they will broker 3 to 5 games for BYU each season. That the Texas series is expanding to three games with the rubber match at a neutral site. And Gary Patterson confirming what has been said in the Ft Worth Star Telegram, that the last domino has yet to fall. There is even suspicion that an MWC Super Conference is in the works. But I doubt that there are any additional WAC Schools are under consideration. If this is true, the five could be Houston, SMU, UTEP, Tulsa and Memphis--my guess. The Big XII does not want TCU.
8:30 Update
The Deseret News is reporting that Utah State has been offered an MWC membership. I am surprised by this. Two reasons they are not able to accept. They do not have the 5 million for the buy-out...but who will be left to collect? Second is they were chiefly the ones brokering the BYU independence deal. That is not likely to happen. Either the MWC is going to expand to 14...which will work with a 12-game schedule or they will be staying at 12. Yes, USU struggles on the gridiron, but they have an awesome basketball program with the best coach in the West and their academics programs are without peer.
This has to be another insult to the Hawaii program, perhaps the final insult. They are hemorrhaging money. But for Hawaii, being independent in football and joining the WCC for other sports makes better sense for them than it would for BYU. They would only travel to the West Coast for conference games. And for football, they could play 8 home games and fill their schedule. I suspect that if USU changes their mind, that San Jose State will drop football, Idaho will return to the FCS and New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech will join the Sun Belt Conference again, or they could fill empty slots in Conference USA. The WAC will be finished. They will not be a football conference until they can get at least 6 members.
My belief is, that if USU does join the MWC, that 14 will be the number. And two schools from Texas will join. If they stay at 12, then BYU and USU could end up in different divisions, but play each-other every season. The SEC works this way.
IF 12
West Divsion East Divsion Every Season Opponent
Boise State----->TCU
Nevada---------->Colorado State
UNLV------------>Air Force
Fresno State---->Wyoming
San Diego State->New Mexico
Utah State------>BYU
IF 14 assuming Utah State, SMU and UTEP
West Division
Boise State
BYU
Fresno State
Nevada
UNLV
San Diego State
Utah State
East Division
Air Force
Colorado State
New Mexico
TCU
UTEP
SMU
Wyoming
Disposition of the remaining WAC members, if the WAC breaks up:
Hawaii--Independent in Football, part of the WCC in other sports.
La Tech/NM-State--Sun belt or C-USA
Idaho--Reclassified to FCS, Return to Big Sky or Join Great West.
San Jose State--Drop football, Big West in other sports.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Northern Utah High School Week 1 -- Region 1, 5 and 11
Region 1
Adjusted Power Rankings after reading through all of the previews.
1. Davis
2. Syracuse
3. Fremont
4. Northridge
5. Weber
6. Layton
7. Viewmont
8. Clearfield
9. Roy
Scheduled Games and (Prediction)
Bingham at Viewmont (38-10)
Brighton at Davis (10-24)
Jordan at Fremont (14-24)
Layton at Bonneville (20-21)
Northridge vs Skyview (20-28) (At Romney Stadium)
Roy at Woods Cross (7-13)
Syracuse at Copper Hills (20-10)
Taylorsville at Clearfield (17-15)
Game of the Week:
Weber at Box Elder (24-21)
Region 5
1. Mountain Crest
2. Sky View
3. Bonneville
4. Logan
5. Ogden
6. Box Elder
Layton at Bonneville (20-21)
Northridge vs Skyview (20-28) (At Romney Stadium)
Weber at Box Elder (24-21)
Logan at Bear River (35-7)
Ogden at Murray (24-21)
Game of the Week:
Highland at Mountain Crest (17-21)
Region 11:
Power Rankings
1. Juan Diego
2. Morgan
3. Judge
4. Grantsville
5. Ben Lomond
6. Bear River
Ben Lomond at Union (7-10)
Tooele at Judge (14-24)
Logan at Bear River (35-7)
Morgan at Juab (34-10)
Wasatch at Grantsville (21-7)
Game of the Week:
Juan Diego at West (28-24)
Adjusted Power Rankings after reading through all of the previews.
1. Davis
2. Syracuse
3. Fremont
4. Northridge
5. Weber
6. Layton
7. Viewmont
8. Clearfield
9. Roy
Scheduled Games and (Prediction)
Bingham at Viewmont (38-10)
Brighton at Davis (10-24)
Jordan at Fremont (14-24)
Layton at Bonneville (20-21)
Northridge vs Skyview (20-28) (At Romney Stadium)
Roy at Woods Cross (7-13)
Syracuse at Copper Hills (20-10)
Taylorsville at Clearfield (17-15)
Game of the Week:
Weber at Box Elder (24-21)
Region 5
1. Mountain Crest
2. Sky View
3. Bonneville
4. Logan
5. Ogden
6. Box Elder
Layton at Bonneville (20-21)
Northridge vs Skyview (20-28) (At Romney Stadium)
Weber at Box Elder (24-21)
Logan at Bear River (35-7)
Ogden at Murray (24-21)
Game of the Week:
Highland at Mountain Crest (17-21)
Region 11:
Power Rankings
1. Juan Diego
2. Morgan
3. Judge
4. Grantsville
5. Ben Lomond
6. Bear River
Ben Lomond at Union (7-10)
Tooele at Judge (14-24)
Logan at Bear River (35-7)
Morgan at Juab (34-10)
Wasatch at Grantsville (21-7)
Game of the Week:
Juan Diego at West (28-24)
BYU's exit will end the Mountain West -- Updated
Reports are all over the internet on legitimate sites like ESPN and USA Today that BYU will go independent in football and re-join the WAC in other sports. This will break up and end the Mountain West Conference. May it rest in peace.
12:47PM update...According to the Des-news, the 12 apostles of the LDS church has the BYU Independence question on the agenda for their weekly Thursday meeting in the Salt Lake Temple. The governing body of the LDS church also serves as the board of directors for BYU.
The SLTrib says it's a done deal.
7:09 Update--Fresno State, according to the Fresno Bee, has accepted an invitation to join the MWC. Could this mean that the MWC has brokered a deal to keep the Cougars? There has also been an invitation to Nevada. This means divisions and a conference championship game. If the MWC allows BYU to broadcast their own games, it could be worth more money than BYU would get as an independent.
9:00 PM Update
Nevada is also leaving the WAC for the MWC. This will likely keep Boise state coming to the MWC and could very part of a deal to keep BYU. Chances are that there is one more to join to make the MWC a 12-team conference with BYU.
10:00 Update
WCC has said they would accept BYU for non-football sports. Gonzaga, Loyola Marymount, San Francisco, Portland U. Not a good fit for the Cougars.
My analysis before bedtime:
BYU must have brokered a deal to split the MWC into divisions and broadcast their own games. The WAC does not look as good for BYU without Fresno and Nevada. It will make the travel problem worse as the WAC add more Texas schools. BYU's independent deal is NOT THAT LUCRATIVE. BYU should stay in the MWC and the MWC should add a Texas school to break into two divisions.
Also, where would Fresno and Nevada come up with the 5 million each to join the MWC? There has to be a deal on the table.
Stay tuned.
Here is BYU's rumored deal with the WAC:
-Independent in Football, but ensure at least 4 and as many a 6 WAC schools will be available to play BYU in football each season to fill holes in the schedule. Utah State and Hawaii will be on the schedule every season. BYU will get an extra home game when they travel to Hawaii.
-BYU will use their own TV network to broadcast games not carried by ESPN.
-Most football games will be on Saturday, except for the first Friday in October.
Unanswered Questions?
Will BYU have a slot in one of the WAC Bowls, like the Hawaii Bowl, opposite a WAC opponent should they be bowl eligible and not qualify for the BCS? This should be part of the deal.
Will ESPN have access to BYU's equipment should they broadcast a game from LaVell Edwards Stadium?
Will the WAC move their basketball championship to Energy Solutions Arena? Baseball championship to Miller Field? What other goodies did the WAC give BYU to get this deal?
12:47PM update...According to the Des-news, the 12 apostles of the LDS church has the BYU Independence question on the agenda for their weekly Thursday meeting in the Salt Lake Temple. The governing body of the LDS church also serves as the board of directors for BYU.
The SLTrib says it's a done deal.
7:09 Update--Fresno State, according to the Fresno Bee, has accepted an invitation to join the MWC. Could this mean that the MWC has brokered a deal to keep the Cougars? There has also been an invitation to Nevada. This means divisions and a conference championship game. If the MWC allows BYU to broadcast their own games, it could be worth more money than BYU would get as an independent.
9:00 PM Update
Nevada is also leaving the WAC for the MWC. This will likely keep Boise state coming to the MWC and could very part of a deal to keep BYU. Chances are that there is one more to join to make the MWC a 12-team conference with BYU.
10:00 Update
WCC has said they would accept BYU for non-football sports. Gonzaga, Loyola Marymount, San Francisco, Portland U. Not a good fit for the Cougars.
My analysis before bedtime:
BYU must have brokered a deal to split the MWC into divisions and broadcast their own games. The WAC does not look as good for BYU without Fresno and Nevada. It will make the travel problem worse as the WAC add more Texas schools. BYU's independent deal is NOT THAT LUCRATIVE. BYU should stay in the MWC and the MWC should add a Texas school to break into two divisions.
Also, where would Fresno and Nevada come up with the 5 million each to join the MWC? There has to be a deal on the table.
Stay tuned.
Here is BYU's rumored deal with the WAC:
-Independent in Football, but ensure at least 4 and as many a 6 WAC schools will be available to play BYU in football each season to fill holes in the schedule. Utah State and Hawaii will be on the schedule every season. BYU will get an extra home game when they travel to Hawaii.
-BYU will use their own TV network to broadcast games not carried by ESPN.
-Most football games will be on Saturday, except for the first Friday in October.
Unanswered Questions?
Will BYU have a slot in one of the WAC Bowls, like the Hawaii Bowl, opposite a WAC opponent should they be bowl eligible and not qualify for the BCS? This should be part of the deal.
Will ESPN have access to BYU's equipment should they broadcast a game from LaVell Edwards Stadium?
Will the WAC move their basketball championship to Energy Solutions Arena? Baseball championship to Miller Field? What other goodies did the WAC give BYU to get this deal?
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Isn't this rich?
CBS and the Mountain West Conference are negotiating to have games broadcast on the Tiffany network beginning in 2011. While the Pac-12 is in negotiations with Comcast, soon to be owned by NBC-Universal.
Could KUTV become the local home of BYU while KSL-TV becomes the local home of the Utes?
Stay tuned.
Now, for those of you born before 1980...Once upon a time, KSL was the CBS affiliate, where the head sports anchor was also the voice of BYU on the radio, Paul James. KUTV was the NBC affiliate where the head sports anchor was Bill Marcroft, the voice of the Utes on the radio. KSL is also part of the media arm of the LDS church the owner of BYU.
Could KUTV become the local home of BYU while KSL-TV becomes the local home of the Utes?
Stay tuned.
Now, for those of you born before 1980...Once upon a time, KSL was the CBS affiliate, where the head sports anchor was also the voice of BYU on the radio, Paul James. KUTV was the NBC affiliate where the head sports anchor was Bill Marcroft, the voice of the Utes on the radio. KSL is also part of the media arm of the LDS church the owner of BYU.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Add another two to the WAC Short List...
I now have the WAC short list at 5.
I am adding the University of Texas San Antonio to the short list, but they will not join the WAC until 2015 at the earliest. Since there may be a time line involved, I will add Montana State. But the addition of these two could be later down the road. Therefore, here is the current short list...then a time-line.
Short list:
Cal Poly
Montana
Montana State
Texas San Antonio
Texas State
Time line.
2011--8 Schools
2012 and 2013--9 Schools, add Texas State
2014--10 Schools, add Montana
2015--12 Schools, split into divisions, add Montana State and UTSA.
Divisions in 2015
South
Fresno State
Louisiana Tech
Nevada
New Mexico State
Texas San Antonio
Texas State
(Travel Partners--UNV-FSU, NMSU-TXST, LAT-UTSA)
North
Idaho
Hawaii
Montana
Montana State
Utah State
San Jose State
(Travel Partners--MTST-USU, UMT-UID, UHI-SJSU--Reason, Logan to Moscow is not a bus trip. Logan to Bozeman is a bus trip. Missoula to Moscow is a bus trip.)
I am adding the University of Texas San Antonio to the short list, but they will not join the WAC until 2015 at the earliest. Since there may be a time line involved, I will add Montana State. But the addition of these two could be later down the road. Therefore, here is the current short list...then a time-line.
Short list:
Cal Poly
Montana
Montana State
Texas San Antonio
Texas State
Time line.
2011--8 Schools
2012 and 2013--9 Schools, add Texas State
2014--10 Schools, add Montana
2015--12 Schools, split into divisions, add Montana State and UTSA.
Divisions in 2015
South
Fresno State
Louisiana Tech
Nevada
New Mexico State
Texas San Antonio
Texas State
(Travel Partners--UNV-FSU, NMSU-TXST, LAT-UTSA)
North
Idaho
Hawaii
Montana
Montana State
Utah State
San Jose State
(Travel Partners--MTST-USU, UMT-UID, UHI-SJSU--Reason, Logan to Moscow is not a bus trip. Logan to Bozeman is a bus trip. Missoula to Moscow is a bus trip.)
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Revisitng WAC Options for replacing Boise State
Now that we are heading into the College Football Season and conference expansion has taken a back seat, I decided to take another look at potential replacements for Boise State in the WAC. Here is what I have been able to find:
My Short List is currently at 3. These are the only three schools that I can verify with an internet search.
Montana (Missoula, Montana)--Comes to the top of just about everyone's list as a replacement, but same questions remain. Will Montana State have to move up as well? Can Missoula support an FBS program? How Many 3-9 seasons will it take to zap the enthusiasm of the Grizzly faithful? Can you recruit at the FBS level in Missoula? Robb Akey (Idaho Head Coach) has wieghed in, seemingly in favor of adding the Grizzlies as a new rival for Idaho. It seems like the Idaho/BSU rivalry will die once BSU joins the MWC.
Texas State (San Marcos, TX)--Has an active drive to raise funds to expand their stadium and move up to the FBS. You can read all about it here. I see Texas State as better fit with a 12-team Sun Belt conference or as a replacement for UNT, but the WAC would be better than independent for this team. Closest potential WAC rival--New Mexico State
Cal Poly (San Louis Obispo, CA)--Fans have weighed in and at least one other blogger seems to indicate that the administration in SLO wants to see it happen. I suspect that this program is at or near the top of the WAC short list. The preception is that with the recession still strong, the stadium expansion and other costs associated with the move would make this a politically unwise move at this time. They would need to have the funds for the stadium expansion raised privately. But hey, John Madden, yes that John Madden is an alum! Hit the guy up for a legacy donation. Read about this here.
Closest WAC rival--San Jose State
Note: due to the economic conditions, and that California still is suffering the worst in this recession, I will not have Sacramento State nor Cal Davis on the short list.
Basketball only options:
The WAC commissioner is open to playing with eight schools for football, but expanding in basketball and other sports. But I can not verify any specific schools being mentioned, other than the obvious trio which is Denver, Seattle and Utah Valley.
My Short List is currently at 3. These are the only three schools that I can verify with an internet search.
Montana (Missoula, Montana)--Comes to the top of just about everyone's list as a replacement, but same questions remain. Will Montana State have to move up as well? Can Missoula support an FBS program? How Many 3-9 seasons will it take to zap the enthusiasm of the Grizzly faithful? Can you recruit at the FBS level in Missoula? Robb Akey (Idaho Head Coach) has wieghed in, seemingly in favor of adding the Grizzlies as a new rival for Idaho. It seems like the Idaho/BSU rivalry will die once BSU joins the MWC.
Texas State (San Marcos, TX)--Has an active drive to raise funds to expand their stadium and move up to the FBS. You can read all about it here. I see Texas State as better fit with a 12-team Sun Belt conference or as a replacement for UNT, but the WAC would be better than independent for this team. Closest potential WAC rival--New Mexico State
Cal Poly (San Louis Obispo, CA)--Fans have weighed in and at least one other blogger seems to indicate that the administration in SLO wants to see it happen. I suspect that this program is at or near the top of the WAC short list. The preception is that with the recession still strong, the stadium expansion and other costs associated with the move would make this a politically unwise move at this time. They would need to have the funds for the stadium expansion raised privately. But hey, John Madden, yes that John Madden is an alum! Hit the guy up for a legacy donation. Read about this here.
Closest WAC rival--San Jose State
Note: due to the economic conditions, and that California still is suffering the worst in this recession, I will not have Sacramento State nor Cal Davis on the short list.
Basketball only options:
The WAC commissioner is open to playing with eight schools for football, but expanding in basketball and other sports. But I can not verify any specific schools being mentioned, other than the obvious trio which is Denver, Seattle and Utah Valley.
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