Athletic directors pledge to stick together after UTEP defection, favor a nine-team conference.
By David White
The Fresno Bee
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Lock the door, hide the parachutes and use handcuffs if necessary.
Anything to keep another Western Athletic Conference team from bailing.
Commissioner Karl Benson and the six Western Athletic Conference athletic directors who aren't leaving in 2005 did their best to steady a ship riddled with four defectors since October, including Friday's announcement Texas-El Paso will move to Conference USA.
"We've got to stick together," Fresno State athletic director Scott Johnson said Monday at the WAC's annual spring meeting, which concludes today.
"We've been dealt a deck of cards without a lot of options and we keep getting defections. We're trying to stabilize and move forward. I feel better about our solidarity after today."
With all hands apparently on deck, the WAC looks to replace UTEP, which is going to C-USA with Tulsa, Rice and Southern Methodist after the 2004-05 season.
The oft-raided WAC expects to loot the Sun Belt Conference for the second time in seven months. Benson confirmed Idaho, Louisiana-Lafayette and North Texas are the initial candidates.
The majority of athletic directors said they are leaning toward a nine-team conference, which gives each football team four home and four away games. Benson, in his 10th year as WAC commissioner, said a nine- or 10-team conference is most likely.
Almost all agree an eight-school outfit is not acceptable. Ask the athletic directors which of the three should be invited, and their unity begins to crumble.
Idaho would be the travel choice for the Western schools. North Texas has an ongoing rivalry with incoming member New Mexico State, which lost neighboring UTEP. Louisiana-Lafayette would give isolated Louisiana Tech a regional partner, as would North Texas.
"I'm the Lone Ranger in that I haven't made up my mind," Hawaii athletic director Herman Frazier said. "I want the institution that's going to make the conference better, period. We've got to find the best fit for everybody."
The athletic directors will send a recommendation to the university presidents by June. Monday's focus was mostly on rallying the troops behind the WAC banner.
It isn't the first time. During meetings at the WAC basketball tournament in Fresno in early March, all agreed C-USA likely would snatch one of their peers.
But, the consensus feeling was it would be Louisiana Tech instead of UTEP. Three days after C-USA's announcement, the shock had not fully subsided.
"It surprised us and put us on our heels a little bit," Benson said. "After the others announced they were leaving, we accepted that, made some great choices to replace them and had a lot of momentum going forward. It's been a little awkward."
Everything about these meetings has been, from dinner receptions to conference meetings.
On one side sits the remaining WAC members -- Fresno State, Hawaii, Boise State, Nevada and Louisiana Tech, along with 2005 newcomers New Mexico State and Utah State.
On the other side is outgoing UTEP, Southern Methodist, Tulsa and Rice, all of whom's chief crime was finding a taker in C-USA. When Monday's discussions turned toward conference expansion, officials from those schools were excused for the day.
At least Benson is a seasoned veteran in such predivorce get-togethers. He presided over WAC meetings shortly after eight of 16 members left to form the Mountain West Conference in 1998 and again when Texas Christian left for C-USA in 2001.
"Unfortunately, I've had to go through a few lame-duck situations," Benson said. "It doesn't get any easier, but we're going to move on."
One school that seems to be off the hot seat is Louisiana Tech, which repeatedly affirmed its commitment to staying in the WAC on Monday.
One idea that circled before the meetings was dropping Louisiana Tech from the conference because it was a travel liability. Several officials emerged from Monday's meetings with strong support for Louisiana Tech.
"Schools have left conferences, but no one's been kicked out that I know of, and that's a good thing," Boise State athletic director Gene Bleymaier said. "La. Tech is a committed member of the WAC and I don't see them leaving."
Frazier, whose school travels about 4,000 miles to Ruston, La., said, "They're a member of this conference in good standing and we have to take care of them, whatever the cost. This is the core of the WAC and we need to stand together. This has brought us closer, I think."
The reporter can be reached at dwhite@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6617.
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