(05-21-2017 02:20 PM)Stugray2 Wrote:  The primary reason the MWC added San Jose State was to have better regular access to Bay Area recruiting, especially in the South Bay (where SJSU is located) and East Bay (which is nearby). EBAL and WCAL are the primary HS conferences recruited, which are rich with talent. When you hear of kids coming from Riordon, Serra (Tom Brady's school), Mitty, St. Francis, Bellarmine, De La Salle, Valley Christian, Palo Alto, American (in Fremont), Oakland Tech, McLymonds, Berkeley High, etc, these are are Bay Area kids. Only Texas and the Los Angeles basin produce more pro athletes in the west.

A second reason, the Bay Area, especially the South Bay, is a rich deposit of MWC alumni drawn into Silicon Valley. Important for fund raising and even viewership (in theory anyway ... in reality I don't think beyond Boise St and SDSU, a little UNLV, that anyone watches MWC games, even if you went to an MWC school)

Thanks for adding this. I remember reading an article that was saying the MW could be in danger of losing FBS status because it would not have enough baseball and men's XC teams when Boise State and San Diego State were leaving to drop the number of conference men's sports below the minimum. Wasn't SJSU the last MW addition?