The Mountain West Conference “is making a pitch for automatic entry in college football's Bowl Championship Series the next two seasons,” according to Steve Wieberg of USA TODAY. The league can point to “four top-10 finishes and 10 top-25 finishes in the BCS team rankings in the last four years, ending with this one.” However, the Big West "has lost or is about to lose every one of its four strongest programs over that four-year period to recent conference realignment." The request “goes to the 12 university CEOs on the BCS' presidential oversight committee, with nine votes needed for approval” (USA TODAY, 12/13). In Boise, Brian Murphy notes the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee “has no meeting scheduled.” BCS Exec Dir Bill Hancock said, “I can’t speculate on when that may be.” Murphy notes the committee “does not have a chairman;” Penn State President Graham Spanier was the former chair. If the Mountain West “is successful in earning an exemption, there would be seven AQ conferences in 2012 and 2013.” The league “would not be taking any other conference’s berth” (IDAHO STATESMAN, 12/13).
FULL SPEED AHEAD: In Las Vegas, Mark Anderson cites a source as saying that Conference USA's presidents "will meet Jan. 15 in Dallas to decide if that league will merge with the Mountain West Conference." The source said that the presidents “will talk about either proceeding with the football-only merger previously agreed to or uniting in all sports.” The source described momentum toward a merger as "full speed ahead to get this thing done." A merger “could take place next year, but more likely it would be in 2013” (LAS VEGAS REVIEW–JOURNAL, 12/13).
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN': In San Diego, Brent Schrotenboer reports San Diego State Univ., which will join the Big East for football in '13, officially announced yesterday that it will “join the Big West in 14 sports in July 2013.” One important issue “was resolved with an oral agreement: SDSU men’s basketball will play only 14 league games in 2013-14, compared to the 18 league games planned for each Big West team next year.” SDSU hopes to "build a better non-conference schedule and boost their chances of postseason play." Schrotenboer notes “revenue-sharing also is an open issue” (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 12/13). Big West Commissioner Dennis Farrell said that SDSU’s addition “may have its greatest impact in negotiations with television partners ESPN and Fox Sports.” Farrell said that the deal with Fox Sports, “which televises games in Southern California, expires this coming spring, while the deal with ESPN ends in the spring of 2013” (Stockton RECORD, 12/13).
