I've been struggling with this since Utah St has joined the WAC. Here's what it comes down to for Utah St. We've lobbied the WAC for almost 40 years and now in 2005 we're members of the WAC. But, now, Utah St fans and admins must ask themselves how committed teams like Boise St and Fresno St really are to the WAC. Quite frankly, if Boise St and Fresno St jump ship for another conference, I'd rather that Utah St drop all sponsored sports and let the Utah legislature lead them on their academic way. In other words, I really love this conference as it is, but if any major changes take place I'd rather it didn't exist at all and that sports at Utah St were dropped all together. Watching Utah St drop to D1AA would be too humiliating and wouldn't be worth my money and time.

So, I ask, how committed to the WAC are we? How serious are we about the success of this conference. The latest news about tv exposure has me very concerned about our future. Basketball was on track to be the leader in getting this conference some revenue and national exposure, but now I'm wondering whether we'll get any exposure. Secondly, I think the WAC has a legitimate shot at being the best conference without an autobid this year in football. Despite that, we simply aren't getting much time on national tv. Thus, I don't see hope in our revenues increasing, unless we can prove it on the court and field and build a larger name for ourselves. But how difficult is that without the national tv exposure? It seems like a very daunting task to me.

If we are really committed to being in the WAC and the success of the WAC, then we should stop drooling on the ground that the MWC walks on. I'm convinced, for example, that the pool of drool surrounding the MWC in Boise has gotten larger since Utah St has joined this conference. Curiously, Utah St has had just one year to meet any expectations before fans give up on the WAC's, what would seem to be, promising future. Thankfully, it seems that the pool of drool surrounding the MWC has gotten smaller in Fresno. None of us can afford to see the WAC lose a team at this point, IMO. The only team that we can afford to lose is La Tech and that is only when there is a viable candidate ready to be D1A in the future. That may take QUITE a while! I know Bow fans have talked about independence if the WAC fell apart. Trust me, that won't work in the long run for Hawaii. You'd see your programs lose even more competitiveness over time as a result.

So, again, I ask, "How committed are YOU? And how committed should ALL OF US be?"