Mountain West Conference Expansion Possibilities

Apparently the Big Ten is very close to adding atleast five new schools, including: Notre Dame, Nebraska, Missouri, Pitt, and Rutgers.  Nothing is official yet, but something should happen within the next few weeks.  This expansion talk is really exciting to me, but not to see who joins the Big Ten, but for the dominoes that fall after the initial schools realign.  Those dominoes that fall could hurt a couple big name conferences like the Big East and Big 12, but what does it do for a conference like the Mountain West?  If the MWC is proactive, it could really set itself up nicely for the future.  The Mountain West is sitting at 9 teams right now, so a three team addition makes the most sense.  They could then have a conference championship, which means more money and exposure  for the conference.

I have targeted a few teams for my expansion.  The first team is a great possibility, atleast according to ESPN’s Joe Schad and the guys over at www.MWCconnection.com, Boise St will supposedly receive an invite to join the league in June.  This addition makes the most sense, and it gets the league to 10 teams.  Boise St. has nothing more to prove in the WAC, and the step up in opponents will only help their BCS chances.  The second team I would contact would be the Southern Methodist Mustangs.  The Mustangs are headed in the right direction with HC June Jones, and the media market of Dallas would be a huge addition to the MTN TV network.  My final addition is a little bit further south in the state of Texas, but the University of Houston would be a nice way to round out the newly expanded Mountain West.  The Houston addition adds more to the media market in Texas, and opens the door even more to the MWC recruiting the state of Texas.  The other teams I considered were: Nevada, Fresno St., and long shots Colorado and Texas Tech.

The new conference would have two divisions, called the North and South.  Here is how the divisions would break down:

The two divisions, if set up in this manor, would keep the league pretty balanced during the football season.  Each division would play the other 5 opponents every year, and a rotating home/away schedule with 3 opponents from the other dvision.  I took this from the Big 12 in how they work their division schedules.  The MWC will never be considered as one of the power conferences, but these additions will surely help them survive during this crazy realignment season.

-jcmadson also works for Integrity Sports Broadcasting Network out of Kansas City, MO.  Listen Live at http://www.isbnteam.com/