(10-28-2010 09:02 PM)mjs Wrote: (10-28-2010 04:54 PM)MICHAELSPAPPY Wrote: http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketba...dition-wac
Hate to lose Denver, but it likely would be a good move for them if the WAC can survive.
I think the WAC can and will survive. The question is what will it look like. Right now, the outlook for being a strong conference, in any sport, doesn't look good. Let's look at football first, since that is what seems to drive most of the insanity in college athletics.
The WAC will consist of Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, Utah State, Idaho, San Jose State, and Hawaii. There is serious talk of the possibility that Montana will move up to the FBS level and will join the WAC, and lessor choices Texas State and UTSA will do the same. If those three are added, and Hawaii doesn't go Independent and/or San Jose State doesn't drop football altogether, that would give the WAC nine football teams, one third of which just came from a lower division, and one of which (UTSA) has yet to ever have played a football game.
In basketball, they are talking about also adding Denver and/or Seattle. Both would agree to join, and it looks like the wisdom of having a few extra teams, even if they don't play football, is playing out in the WAC's situation as we speak. (The reason I mention this is because of some of the morons on the SBC Conference Board who think ejecting UALR might be a good idea). So if they lose nobody else, they could end up with 10 or 11 schools for basketball. None of these teams except New Mexico State and Utah State has been to the NCAA tournament in forever.
The bottom line is that the WAC will survive, but it certainly won't be able to hold itself out as any sort of "major" conference. And for what it's worth, the addition of Texas State and/or UTSA, although closer to La Tech, certainly doesn't improve their situation that much. They will look to bail at the earliest opportunity. What that opportunity might be is the question.