UNLV President and Mountain West Conference BOD Chair Neal Smatresk addressed a CBSSports.com report that said a proposed merger of the MWC and Conference USA was falling through and said, "I have no idea where that came from. We are on course and proceeding as planned. C-USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky added, "The work continues on the project. No decisions have been made and the next meeting of presidents is at the end of the month. Our timeline for a decision is early June" (HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER, 4/18). CBSSPORTS.com's Brett McMurphy cited sources as saying the proposed conference merger “probably will not happen.” The leagues had “hoped to dissolve and form a new league or merge into one league for the 2013-14 season,” but sources said that is now “unlikely” at least for the immediate future. Even though the leagues would remain separate, they are “still working together to figure out a way to share television, marketing and scheduling resources.” The two conferences in February “initially announced they would dissolve and form a new league for the 2013-14 season.” But sources said that a month later the leagues “were no longer considering dissolving, but instead would either merge or remain separate but share resources.” McMurphy noted a merger of the leagues now “appears even more unlikely.” Whatever decision the leagues officially reach, MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson and Banowsky last month said that “a decision will be made by early June.” By deciding to remain as separate entities, the two conferences “would likely pursue additional members from other leagues to replace the schools that have left or will be leaving” (CBSSPORTS.com, 4/17). In Colorado, Frank Schwab reports financial issues, “such as possibly having to return NCAA Tournament revenue to the schools if the conferences dissolved, became stumbling blocks in the plan to re-form as one conference” (Colorado Springs GAZETTE, 4/18).
