Coaches voice opinions on impending breakup

By nature, football coaches aren't politicians, which is why so few of them opt to become university presidents.

But ask them to comment about the breakup of the Western Athletic Conference and some of them could run for governor. Or at the very least, provost of a college.

The impending breakup of the WAC elicited the expected guarded responses at Tuesday's 1998 football media preview at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino.

Several of the coaches are hoping that when the WAC reverts back to an eight-team league a year from now and the new league begins operations, it doesn't impact their programs too negatively.

"I don't think it bodes well for us," Hawaii's Fred vonAppen said of the Rainbow Warriors' future, both short- and long-term. "This was a warning shot across everybody's bow. It affects everyone."

Perhaps. But Fresno State's Pat Hill, whose school was not invited to leave the WAC with the eight others, said he's happy being where he is.

"Football's a game of money," he said. "It's a game of markets. We've got Dallas, Houston, the San Joaquin Valley, the (San Francisco) Bay Area and Hawaii. Those are good markets.

"What we need to do is sell football in those markets and be passionate about it."

For some of the departing schools, the decision isn't all that easy to discuss. Frankly, no one knows at this point what the future holds for the yet-to-be-named league.

"It's so hard to comment," San Diego State coach Ted Tollner said. "As coaches, we weren't invited in the decision.

"We know what the structure is of the current league (the WAC). Let's not worry about what we can't control. But at some point, we need to have some direction where we're headed."

Utah's Ron McBride said: "I don't worry about the politics of what's going on. That's not my concern. But what I see is 16 teams is too many. Obviously, it has something to do with money, it has something to do with travel and it has something to do with television.

"It hurts a lot of people along the way, I'm sure. I feel bad for some of the schools. Fresno fought for years to get into the WAC. I have a lot of ties to Hawaii. But all we can do is move forward."

Brigham Young's LaVell Edwards said the size of the league was simply too unwieldy.

"This was just an impossible task with too many teams," he said.

But he doesn't think it will impact BYU one way or the other on the field.

"If we continue recruiting the kind of players we've been recruiting and we keep winning, I don't think it will hurt us," he said. "But who knows what's going to happen down the road? I don't think we've seen the last of the changes.

"Frankly, with the economic problems that are going on, I don't think you'll see the same divisions you see now. The NCAA may not even be the same organization."

Hawaii's vonAppen knows there may be more shifting forthcoming and his school better be prepared to move when the time comes.

"We need to be visionary about our future, " he said. "To go independent would be tantamount to disaster.

"Who knows what the future holds? We just have to be careful we don't get weaned from all conferences altogether to where we're grouped with Guam."

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