Tuesday, September 20, 2011

MWC, C-USA considering football-only merger

SMU wide receiver Terrance Wilkerson runs after making a reception Saturday against Northwestern State. SMU is a former WAC rival of Nevada, along with Rice, UTEP and Tulsa
United States of America: The Mountain West Conference, which Nevada will join next summer, and Conference USA are considering a football-only merger, MWC commissioner Craig Thompson told the Idaho Statesman.
"We've resurrected ... this consolidation concept with Conference USA from a football-only standpoint," Thompson told the Statesman. "The timing is right to be proactive in that. Consolidation is, at least, worth exploring."
Thompson was referring to the turbulent state of conferences and the seemingly constant flux of realignment. The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Sunday that Syracuse and Pittsburgh would be accepted as new members, and there has been on-again, off-again talk of Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech possibly leaving the Big 12 for the Pac-12. The days of four superconferences appear closer to reality.
C-USA commissioner Britton Banowsky later issued a statement: "We find the activities involving conference realignment fascinating. We are closely watching the recent developments in other conferences, and the potential for change. At the same time, we are working on some creative consolidation strategies that have the potential for positioning our members well into the future. We are particularly intrigued by cooperative possibilities with the Mountain West." Read More...

0 comments:

Post a Comment