R.I.P. Mountain West Conference
by UnHoly Ram on Feb 13, 2012 1:00 PM MST
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In a move that suprises no one, the Mountain West Conference is now dead. Or more exactly, will be dead in probably 2013. The zombie of the Mountain West has agreed with the zombie of Conference USA to create a new conference as part of a new association, and not a merger of mutilated corpses.
All in all, this means that the death of the Mountain West that started with the departure of the Utes, and then aided by TCU, BYU, Boise, SDSU, and soon maybe even AFA, also jumping ship, has now finally come to pass.
Hopefully the new conference will be at least smart enough not to let the worst conference commissioner in college football, the brain dead Craig Thompson, anywhere near the new conference.
The good news of course, is this will also probably signal the death of the weight around the neck of a TV contract, and channel that is the MTN. It'll be a shame to see a channel with such great production values pass on.
In all honesty, the Mountain West wasn't all bad. After the bloated disaster of the 16 team WAC, the Mountain West gave the Utes a great opportunity to take a leap to the next level. It was only the last few years, about the time of the aforementioned tv contract, that the MWC, and Craig Thompson, became an anchor dragging Utah, and others, down. And while I still believe that an automatic qualifying conference that consisted of Utah, TCU, Boise, and BYU would have been a great conference, it was painfully obvious that the Cartel never would have allowed them in. And with the impending removal of automatic qualifiers, access to the big bowls will become even more strict than it has been since Utah first busted the BCS.
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We're well rid of that....
We ‘may’ have been the first rat off this sinking ship, but I don’t think we need feel any guilt about it going down. It has been taking on water for a long time and we just sped up the ultimate end.
Thank the football gods we were rescued by the Pac. Too bad for the suckers left in place.
What is best in life? To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women. Especially BYU. - Conan the Barbarian (ok, maybe he didn't say the BYU part)
Do you feel good or bad for these teams?
I almost feel like some of my high school buddies finally just came to their senses, cleaned themselves up, quit their jobs operating the ski lifts at the resort; just to hear them tell me they have entered a multi level marketing scheme at the ground level. Good job?
by Drum and Feathers on Feb 13, 2012 2:51 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
I feel for 'em...
It’s a tough situation. Who would’ve thought Utah bolting for the Pac-12 would have unraveled the non-BCS? I mean, that’s exactly what it did. Had Utah not bolted, BYU most certainly remains in the MWC and the MWC probably can talk BSU into staying, since the conference would have far more power at the top and who knows, maybe TCU stays, too.
Maybe not. Maybe it postponed the inevitable. Hell, maybe it’s Utah and BSU heading off to the Big East instead of SDSU – with TCU to the Big 12 and BYU going indy.
Regardless, that was the first shot in this whole mess and, well…ouch.
TCU would have left for the Big-12 faster than you can say "invite"
by Utah-UCLA alum on Feb 13, 2012 5:23 PM MST up reply actions
Maybe...but it doesn't change the dynamics...
At worst, BSU is an equal replacement for TCU – at best, they all stay and get BCS status.
have entered a multi level marketing scheme at the ground level.
All the floors of such a firm are below ground.
The floors may be below ground...
But the growth potential is unparalleled. How can this product fail? The East Carolina-Hawaii rivalry alone is a gold mine. The Big east better watch out. SDSU-UCONN has nothing on Fresno St-Marshall.
If you sign up three friends to buy subscriptions to this TV network, the conference will pay you back with a percentage of its gross revenue (with what is left after paying travel expenses, new TV rights, and law suit settlements with two previous conferences, tv networks, commissioners, and all other associated parties). For every person your friend signs up, you earn a percentage of their monthly subscription fee. You would be crazy not to buy. Ten year contract required.
by Drum and Feathers on Feb 13, 2012 8:42 PM MST via mobile up reply actions 1 recs
Does this mean that Hawaii, Fresno and Nevada stay in the WAC after all
Who would of thought the WAC would appear sable after all this
No they will be part of the new conference.
WAC still down to like 8 teams
I've read they are part of this new conference
There are currently 16 teams in the conference with supposedly another 2-8 teams to be invited by 2013. This tells me the WAC is anything but stable. If the east division grows with Temple and FIU then the west will counter with USU and SJSU.
by Drum and Feathers on Feb 14, 2012 7:32 AM MST via mobile up reply actions
It's an interesting solution
If you combine several conferences to get a 30ish team league, and then hold a two-round playoff at the end of the year to crown a champion, they would have a pretty impressive pedigree even against mediocre competition.
With the scent of a basketball style 4 team playoff in the air, a 32 team league with a single champion might have enough clout to sneak in, at 14-0 or 13-1.
by Joseph Silverzweig on Feb 14, 2012 11:34 AM MST up reply actions
Do the rules allow this?
I thought the NCAA forbade teams from playing more than 12 games in a regular season and 2 in postseason. The exception being the Hawaii rule that allows 13 regular season games if one is to the islands; to help pay for travel costs.
I’m not sure how they are going to pull this off. If they simply have a conference championship game, the participants would not have played everyone in their 12 team division, creating a strange dynamic where the candidates will likely be put to a vote. I thought the BCS was bad enough.
These teams will never see the other teams in the other division, and will take 4 years before they even host all the teams within their division.
by Drum and Feathers on Feb 14, 2012 8:21 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
Hawaii
Is part of my calculation, and I’m figuring two post-season games.
It’s similar to the model I had for a 16-team Pac-12(16), where teams simply don’t play each other across divisions until they get to the playoffs.
As far as I can tell, there is nothing stopping a conference from organizing its own short playoff series either after the regular season or by rescheduling the last game of the season and then having a conference championship.
Instead of two 12 team divisions, think of a professional sports model: 4 8 team divisions which play each other round robin to determine who gets the playoff spot for that division. Then you either have a playoff game or use the last ‘regular season’ game to determine who gets to play int he championship between the four division winners.
I think with the teams that this new conference is going to put together, a model like this one is the only way to create enough interest and hype at the end of the season that the best team in that superconference will at least be in the discussion for who gets one the 4 ‘BCS playoff’ spots (or if nothing changes, an at-large bid).
by Joseph Silverzweig on Feb 15, 2012 9:44 AM MST up reply actions
And regarding 14-0
I was throwing that number out there as a best-case, a team travels to Hawaii, schedules an extra game because of it, and then wins the championship in the conference.
by Joseph Silverzweig on Feb 15, 2012 9:45 AM MST up reply actions
5 teams
I can’t see any scenario that has any more than 5 teams from this new conference traveling to Hawaii each year. How are the other 18 + teams going to get that extra game?
If they are going to have four divisions they will have to use their championship game as their bowl. I guess that’s fine, but it would be conceding any BCS participants.
by Drum and Feathers on Feb 15, 2012 10:03 AM MST via mobile up reply actions
They don't
Best case scenario is a 14-0 team, with a 13-0 team being more likely.
by Joseph Silverzweig on Feb 15, 2012 2:37 PM MST up reply actions
Maybe I'm not being clear...
So you have 32 teams, 4 divisions of 8, who play round-robin. 7 games.
Now the teams are allowed to schedule 4 more games as they see fit, unless they happen to have traveled to Hawaii, in which case they are allowed to schedule 5 more games. Now each team has played one less ‘regular season’ game than the NCAA allows them to play, and each team has played every team in their division.
Using standard tie-breakers, at this point the conference determines its division rankings, 1-8. At least one division winner, in the best case scenario, is 12-0 with one more game left to play (since they played @ Hawaii).
At this point, the conference schedules the last week of games, which has been left unscheduled. No. 1 from Div. A plays No. 1 from Div. B, No. 1 from Div. C plays No. 1 from Div. D, in what we will call the ‘divisional championship round’. The remaining 28 teams are paired up according to how they finished in their divisions. This allows teams with strong records to play another team with a strong record and bolster their bowl and national ranking.
Keep in mind, this ‘divisional championship round’ is not taking place after a 12 game regular season, but is instead taking up the last regular season spot. It would probably be best to schedule these games at a neutral (or rotating) site at the beginning of the year.
After this round, the regular season will be over and there will be the champion of division A/B and the champion of C/D. The superconference then schedules a conference championship game that takes place outside the regular season, just like the P12 CG or the B1G CG.
The key to this is leaving the last week of the regular season open, so that the conference can schedule the very best teams to square off, thereby improving the odds of being a BCS selection.
Does that make sense? I have never seen a rule that says this kind of last-minute scheduling wouldn’t be allowed, so long as it doesn’t increase the total number of games played by the teams.
by Joseph Silverzweig on Feb 15, 2012 2:47 PM MST up reply actions
That sounds like an awesome idea!
I like the fact that you have the intimacy of a small subdivision, which allows you to build rivalries with the other schools within your division, while also offering the national draw and reputability of a super-conference.
To be perfectly honest, I’m not really following the division realignments, but your idea sounds like a great one. Down to the “The remaining 28 teams are paired up according to how they finished in their divisions. This allows teams with strong records to play another team with a strong record and bolster their bowl and national ranking.”
I’d love if we could pull something like this off!
The Intimidator
Interesting
I guess the one thing I am having a hard time with is the 12th game. What a logistical nightmare. I like it from a purely competitive stand point. But college football has never given a rat’s A before about competition, so this would be a new frontier indeed.
The problems I see are mostly financial. You have to tell these teams that half of them lose a guaranteed home game each year in hopes that they can earn a favorable neutral site game or, if they play these in higher seeded conference stadiums, they can earn that sixth home game back.
Then, who watches these games? Unless the games determine who goes to the CCG they will be worthless games played on rivalry week.
Also, who broadcasts this conference, let alone these games? 18+ mediocre to bad games a week can’t even be appealing to Versus. My bet is that 80% of these games are only regionally covered.
Lastly, these “quarter final” games will send teams outside their 8 team region. How are teams going to budget for an unknown, unprofitable game? There would be some big hurdles for sure.
by Drum and Feathers on Feb 17, 2012 8:54 AM MST via mobile up reply actions
I think you would share profits
Among all the teams for the playoff round. That would help lessen the sting for far-travelling and under performing teams. I also think this format would get you into a BCS bid 3 or 4 out of every 5 years, and that money would cheer up the other teams.
As far as broadcasting… does anyone broadcast these games anyway?
by Joseph Silverzweig on Feb 21, 2012 11:13 AM MST up reply actions
All I know is....
I’m glad the Utes aren’t in such a conference. What a nonsensical mess.
by Drum and Feathers on Feb 21, 2012 9:49 PM MST via mobile up reply actions 1 recs
I think you overstate the BCS
If anything this year proved that the BCS will not give away a bid if it doesn’t have to.
Unless a team went undefeated through this convuluted mess, they wouldn’t have any better chance at getting a BCS bid, than they do now. All you’ve done is actually make the chances for a loss that much greater.
Just look at Houston. Undefeated through 12 games, and even then they had just Barely reached that top 12 gateway that was required.
Plus No More access to big time bowls
From the various stories I have read, it sounds like this conference (and all the other non-AQ’s, thank goodness for the Rose Bowl) are going to be shut out of the ‘BCS’ bowls in the future even if a playoff of some sort comes about.
Glad we dipped our pail in that stream when we did and that we are on the gravy train now!!!!
What is best in life? To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women. Especially BYU. - Conan the Barbarian (ok, maybe he didn't say the BYU part)
I agree
Here is a hypothetical breakdown of these divisions:
West: Hawaii, Fresno St, SJSU, UNLV, Nevada, Idaho, Utah St, and New Mexico.
Central: Air Force, Colorado St, Wyoming, UTEP, Rice, North Texas, UTSA, Texas st, NM st
South: So Miss, Tulsa, Tulane, Memphis, La Tech, La Laf, La Mon, Arkansas St
East: Marshall, ECU, FIU, Troy, FAU, W Kentucky, Mid Tenn, UAB
Last year your “playoff” representatives would have been Utah State, Wyoming, Southern Miss, and FIU. The winner of this bracket will never, ever be a top four team, and the likelihood of making a BCS game is dramatically reduced. This would be a horrific conference.
Also, the one downside to this playoff is that in this conference the 5 best teams in the entire conference would have been in the same division last year. (So Miss, Tulsa, La Tech, La Laffayette and Arky St.)
by Drum and Feathers on Feb 22, 2012 9:26 AM MST reply actions
Will the New Conference then
be called the walking dead????
"Gentlemen, it is better to have died as a small boy than to fumble this football."--John Heisman
"I'm not upset about the U allegations," tweeted Cleveland Indians closer Chris Perez, who pitched at Miami. "I'm mad we didn't win anything while we were cheating."
No the Conference Shall Henceforth Be Known As....
…. 16 possible November BYU Opponents
I like "The Big Rest"
It works on a couple levels. It is basically what is left of FBS after all conference re-alignment. These teams will also be scheduled by the BCS conferences for warm-up games or as an alternative to bye weeks.
by Drum and Feathers on Feb 22, 2012 11:01 AM MST reply actions 1 recs
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