Quote:SF Husky Posted on May 2 2005, 03:01 PM
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Quote: (TexanMark @ May 2 2005, 02:32 PM)
MWC considering expansion......MWC Commish says expansion possible in a few years
If MWC wants to look good in front of the BCS, they should add 3 more schools and go to 12. I think adding Boise, Fresno and Hawaii would do the trick. That would be a pretty decent lineup.
Agreed. And Boise and Fresno should definitely be two of the three schools. I suspect either UTEP or Houston would be the other. That would give the MW some decent, if not the greatest, travel partners:
Utah-BYU
Colorado State-Air Force
Fresno State-San Diego State
Boise State-Wyoming
UNLV-New Mexico
TCU-UTEP/Houston
Houston gives them the potential larger market share (#11) to add to #7 Dallas-Ft. Worth, #18 Denver, #26 San Diego, #36 Salt Lake City, and #51 Las Vegas, but it doesn't give them enough of a boost in overall conference strength that including UTEP's #37 finish last year (with Boise's #9 and Fresno's #33) would do. Taking UTEP, Boise, and Fresno gets the MW up to an overall BCS average of 53.8. And also gives them two Top 10 finishers. Of course those two Top 10 finishes are also their only Top 25 teams (out of 12, which is only 16.6%), but I bet they could make a case for an auto-berth with that 12 team configuration.
I suspect that is why Weiberg said the new criteria could result in anywhere from 5-7 auto-berth conferences. The 5 super-conferences will definitely meet the criteria, and both the BE and MW have the ability to attain it. The BE as currently constituted and the MW with expansion including Boise and Fresno.
Quote: As for the BE, there just aren't many programs that have good FB teams like Fresno and Boise left as candidates from expansion. If ECU, UCF and Memphis improve their FB schools in a big way, things might change.
Actually, Memphis and their #34 ranking would actually improve the 2004 numbers of the Big East. They also add the #44 market, have great basketball and bring with them a nice Bowl tie-in.
Still there is resistence to taking the Tigers that I don't quite understand. ECU's or UCF's numbers would kill us, but I'm sure the #20 Orlando-Daytona market is appealing for some. That plus a possible travel partner for USF, seems to make them a front-runner for #9.
In any case, all of the potential new members need to aim for doing well in 2006 and 2007 because I believe those years will determine who gets a BABE invite or not for 2010. And if none of them do well, expect a renewal of the 16-team confederation for another 5 years after 2010.
Cheers,
Neil