(09-05-2019 02:23 PM)MidWestMidMajor Wrote:  When I hear news like Moccia's comments, I wonder, "Why now?" NMSU wants a home for FBS football. That's not new. We've known that. So what's new? Dixie State. I wonder if their addition adds impetus to NMSU wanting off the WAC island? Does the chancellor of NMSU (a land grant university) want his university to be perceived as on the same level as Dixie State? Does that add drive to find a group of schools more similar to NMSU's institutional aspirations?

And I am not knocking Dixie State. It provides a great service to its 10,000 students and community. But perception matters in the higher ed business. If I had to rank the public universities of Utah based on prestige, I'm guessing DSU would come last. Does the addition of DSU become a tipping point for NMSU & the WAC? And with other schools (like Metro-Denver, Colo-Mesa) turning down the WAC, is the future for the WAC more DSU-type schools?

This article may help in your understanding of where Moccia is coming from:

https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/sports/...709829001/

"Nobody wants to be in that situation but that is why the commissioner (Jeff Hurd) is striving to get new members," Moccia said. "You would like one day for everyone to say that this (the WAC) is our home for good. We are an outlier in that we have football, so our goal is to get everyone under one conference."

So how does Moccia go about negotiating a conference move?

"We need to speak with people in the industry who can take a look at this to tell us if we have missed anything and how to approach it," Moccia said.

Relationships built in college athletics through Moccia, President John Floros and Chancellor Dan Arvizu can only do so much.

"I think you need someone who can tell us when things are going to change with TV contracts, which commissioners may be for expansion or against it, Et Cetera," Moccia said. "I think there will be a time when at least another small earthquake takes place."

I don't think NMSU has a problem with Dixie State. They scheduled a football game with Dixie State in 2021. This is more about an all-sports home that includes FBS football. The NMSU search for an all-sports FBS conference has been going on now for seven years. NMSU needs to position themselves if an opportunity comes up in the future in a G5 conference.