(08-11-2019 04:13 PM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  

(08-11-2019 01:47 AM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote:  

(08-11-2019 12:20 AM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  

(08-10-2019 10:04 PM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote:  ????? Denver left the WAC because schools like Cal State Bakersfield, Utah Valley, and Grand Canyon didn't meet their academic standards as a conference peer. I doubt that attitude has changed since they left the WAC and joined the Summit.

So does every school meet their academic standard in the Summit? The rumor was they had a problem with GCU and their for-profit status. That was seven years ago with a different AD. GCU is not-for-profit. There are three private schools in the conference. Denver would make four. They should feel comfortable in the WAC.

Utah Valley and Cal State Bakersfield were also under scrutiny by Denver because both were not too removed from community college status when they joined the WAC. Less than 20 years ago, Utah Valley was a junior college.

I don't buy that. CSUB became part of the California State system in 1982. UVU has been a four year college since 1993. They have the largest student enrollment of any university in Utah at about 40,000 students. in 2016, UVU was ranked #634 out of 660 schools in the Forbes best colleges list. Denver has played UVU in men's basketball three times since leaving the WAC and twice in men's soccer.

The WAC is not the WCC. The WAC is a work-in-progress. Five years from now it may look different. If you are Denver, you are going nowhere in the Summit for men's basketball. If the WCC were to look at expansion down the road, western schools like GCU, CBU and Seattle are well positioned. These schools are playing in the west, recruiting in the west and all play baseball. Denver is a top 20 TV market, but the other three are in larger TV markets.

Denver needs to be good in basketball to get into the WCC. They are not getting in because they are great academically. Denver has excellent ice hockey, lacrosse and ski teams, but that means nothing to the WCC. They need to be good in basketball and joining a western conference like the WAC would be a smart move for them at this time. They need to put themselves in a position for a WCC bid if an opening or expansion comes up. In the meantime, they join three other western private schools, NMSU and UVU in what has turned out to be a solid basketball conference.

The WAC is a work in progress and may look very different in 5 years (I agree with all of this). That is why Denver should move? To an unstable conference that is in a constant state of flux? SMH...

Denver's #1 sport is hockey, we all agree on that. The WAC does nothing for them on that front. It's not about basketball, it's about hockey for them. Denver has no interest in the WAC.

On the other hand, the WAC would love Denver. It's in the west, the corporate offices are there and the WAC needs warm bodies. We could care less that their basketball teams stink. But Denver is not coming.