Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

MWC ATHLETICS:

Mountain West Conference not expanding … yet

Commissioner Craig Thompson says no invite extended to Boise State, anyone else

0723Thompson

Tiffany Brown

Mountain West Conference Commissioner Craig Thompson speaks at MWC football media day at Green Valley Ranch on July 22, 2008.

The Mountain West Conference presidents met in Jackson Hole, Wyo., as planned, and when all was said and done amidst rumors of league expansion, everything is still the same.

For now, at least.

Commissioner Craig Thompson held a press conference on Monday morning to announce that the league will not be inviting anyone to join the nine-member league just yet.

"In general, our presidents and board of directors are extremely pleased with the strength of the conference and where we're at right now," he said. "The takeaway from this meeting after two days is at this time, on June 7th, they opted not to expand."

The rumor with the most steam behind it in recent weeks involved talks of the MWC potentially extending an invite to Boise State at the conclusion of the meetings.

Adding Boise State would be a bold move for the league in an effort to boost its football credentials as a whole. It would also help the MWC towards landing a potential automatic annual berth in the Bowl Championship Series.

Instead, the league is clearly wanting to wait back and see what shakes out with leagues such as the Pac-10, Big Ten and Big 12, who are in the midst of major potential shifts themselves.

The latest development on that front came this morning, just as Thompson was addressing the media. According to a Rivals.com report, Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott this week will begin extending invitations to six Big 12 schools. Among them are Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. A sixth and final invite is expected to go to either Baylor or Colorado.

"There was sentiment in the room that we're in a great place, that the league is very solid and after 11 years, we've attained many of the goals and aspirations that we had 11 years ago when we were founded," Thompson said. "The overriding question is: Is that good enough to maintain that pace or even to grow?

"After an in-depth review of our membership, we think that due to the uncertainty in the intercollegiate landscape, and the potential for significant shifts in the immediate future, the board did not make a decision to expand at the present time."

Rumors have also begun to swirl that the Mountain West could be involved down the road with schools which would be left behind if other conferences fall apart — namely the Big 12. Two names flying around quite a bit are Kansas and Kansas State, who could be left in the dust in the Pac-10's invites are accepted.

"We've kind of looked at a 10-number league, but that was expanded to a conversation about 12 members, 16 members, divisional play, and without getting specific about any institutions, basically, everything was on the table," Thompson said, summing up the meetings.

Whatever does happen is bound to happen fast. Thompson said the league will maintain a proactive approach.

That said, Thompson said the board of directors disbanded with the knowledge that if he calls again to gather them over the phone together, they should know the importance.

Also, the option of adding Boise State is far from dead. Worth noting is the July 1 deadline Boise State has to inform its current league — the Western Athletic Conference — of its intentions.

"The most appropriate action at this juncture is to wait and see how the variables unfold," Boise State president Bob Kustra said in a statement. "The opportunity has not been lost."

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy