(03-01-2018 04:29 AM)joeben69 Wrote:  Rice, UTEP being mentioned as Mountain West discusses expansion
https://www.cbssports.com/college-footba...expansion/

That article is from 2015.

(03-01-2018 09:00 AM)esayem Wrote:  Gonzaga will be the only school invited from the WCC. The Mountain West is not going to invite three schools that don't play their main sport. If football schools are invited, I wouldn't be surprised if Rice and North Texas were the two*. As far as UTEP/NMSU, I would think they both have an equal shot so long as UNM supports NMSU. If UTEP could bring the Sun Bowl to the conference bowl slate, that would be a significant addition.

In the end, maybe only Gonzaga gets the invite–that would be the conservative move.

*MWC football programs are attracted to the Texas exposure for recruiting.

Probably Gonzaga only. Although if BYU does come crawling back, then UTEP makes much more sense than NMSU as filler to get to 14. Although I imagine the MWC would prefer Rice over both, I don't think the feeling is mutual. For Rice, athletics are not of prime importance. North Texas is a stretch, but if the MWC did actually go all in with Texas, then they certainly would be a likely add. Regarding such a significant eastward expansion, however, I would guess that there is some hesitation for fear of repeating the mistakes of the WAC.