On July 1, 2012, the Nevada Wolf Pack officially joined the Mountain West. Here is a look at how they got here.
Created by rgjsports on Jul 5, 2012
Last updated: 09/04/12 at 01:14 PM
Tags: mountain west conference western athletic conference nevada wolf pack college
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The Nevada football team beat Cal, 31-24, to win its first-ever game as a member of the Mountain West Conference.
http://www.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=J7&Dato=20120901&Kategori=SPORTS06&Lopenr=309010063&Ref=PH
Craig Thompson, the only commissioner the league has known since forming in 1999, spoke frankly about the league’s recent past and its future. He revealed his vision for the conference in the coming years.
http://bit.ly/NfEiRu
High expectations await the Wolf Pack in its debut season in the Mountain West. That was made clear Tuesday morning when Nevada was picked by the media to finish second in the conference.
http://bit.ly/NfEalc
Well, you have to at least give Sun Belt commissioner Karl Benson, the former head of the WAC, credit for trying. Benson recently left the WAC for the Sun Belt and went swinging for the fences as soon as he took office. According to emails obtained by the Murfreesboro Daily News Journal and later confirmed by Benson, the Sun Belt proposed a four-conference merger that would have included 33 teams.
http://bit.ly/N9Tode
"The Mountain West Conference is a President-run conference. Thus, the conference is led by a board of directors composed of the presidents of each member institution. The professional staff is led by the commissioner, Craig Thompson, with offices located in Colorado Springs, Colo. The board makes decisions on addition of members, TV contracts, contracted referee salaries and conference revenue distribution, and takes positions on various NCAA rules and policies. The chair of the board leads meetings of the conference and serves on the board’s executive committee where issues are defined."
http://blogs.rgj.com/packblog/2012/07/09/125/
Starting with the 2014 season, college football's national championship will be decided by two semifinals and a national championship game. The existing system, which pits the top two teams in the final BCS standings in a national title game, will remain in place for the next two seasons.
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8099725/college-football-playoff-approved-questions-remain
The Mountain West announced that San Jose State and Utah State have accepted invitations to join the conference, effective with the 2013-14 academic year. The addition of San Jose State and Utah State on July 1, 2013 will bring the full-time membership of the Mountain West to nine institutions and 10 football-playing members.
http://www.themwc.com/genrel/050412aag.html
Major-college football will have a four-team playoff following the 2014 season if conference and campus leaders approve one of the versions discussed this week by Bowl Championship Series officials. It would be the first playoff at the sport’s top level.
http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2012/04/26/college-football-bcs-bosses-want-four-team-playoff/
The cable channel created for the Mountain West Conference – the Mtn – is shutting down and will go dark May 31, sources said. The channel's 44 employees were informed of the decision late this afternoon during a meeting at their Denver HQs. Sources indicate that CBS Sports Network and the Mountain West Conference are close to finalizing a deal for the conference's rights that will wind up increasing national distribution for the Mountain West's upcoming football and basketball games. CBS Sports Network is in around 45 million homes. Jointly owned by CBS Sports Network and NBC Universal, the Mtn is in around 13 million homes.
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Closing-Bell/2012/04/05/the-mtn.aspx
The merger between Conference USA and the Mountain West Conference may have hit a bit of a speed bump according to Brett McMurphy of CBSSports.com. However, according to the an industry outsider who spoke with McMurphy, that move could cost both C-USA and the Mountain West millions of dollars. Money that would have come from their NCAA tournament appearances.
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_college/2012/03/report-c-usa-mwc-merger-hits-a-possible-snag.html
Boise State will be staying put for the 2012 season. The Broncos had considered an early move to the Big East to help that conference compete with eight football members this fall.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/campusrivalry/post/2012/02/boise-state-staying-mountain-west-2012-big-east/1#.UEZa0o1lSYk
According to Brett McMurphy of CBSSports.com, the MWC and C-USA will dissolve as separate entities and merge all sports into a single conference. The merger would take effect beginning with the 2013 season.
http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/02/13/mwc-c-usa-to-dissolve-form-one-conference/
The Mountain West Board of Directors unanimously approved the immediate submission of a request for an exemption from the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) granting the MW champion automatic qualification for the BCS bowls games following the 2012 and 2013 football seasons. The Mountain West met the threshold to request an exemption by virtue of its performance during the recently completed four-year (2008-2011) evaluation period.
http://www.themwc.com/genrel/121211aaa.html
After Boise State and the Big East announced the Broncos' football program would become part of that conference, the other sports went back to the WAC.
Reports that the Big East was on the verge of adding Boise State and San Diego State for football only and SMU, Central Florida and Houston as all-sports members.
http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/06/finally-big-east-to-add-five-schools-for-2013-season/
The Mountain West Conference, seeking a bigger piece of postseason college football revenue, is proposing to dismantle the controversial Bowl Championship Series and create a 16-team playoff to determine a national champion.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/colleges/articles/2011/10/19/20111019mountain-west-conference-16-team-college-football-playoff.html
The Mountain West Conference, Nevada’s conference beginning next summer, and Conference USA reacted to the constant flux of realignment by merging into a 22-team, football-only conference that will blanket the country, spanning from the Carolinas to Hawaii.
http://on.rgj.com/NXkt2A
CBSsports.com's Brett McMurphy is reporting that the Big East is united in wanting to extend Boise State, Air Force, Navy and Central Florida an invitation to the conference, with a move potentially coming next week.
http://on.rgj.com/PiX8cI
The New York Post is reporting that the Big East is prepared to offer membership to Boise State and Temple in an effort to maintain its BCS status.
http://on.rgj.com/MUhCJv
The Mountain West Conference, which Nevada will join next summer, and Conference USA are considering a football-only merger, MWC commissioner Craig Thompson has told the Idaho Statesman.
http://on.rgj.com/LDXwDD
The WAC announced that an invitation for affiliate membership has been issued to and accepted by CSU Bakersfield and Dallas Baptist to join the conference in baseball starting with the 2012-13 academic year.
http://on.rgj.com/MWQo4s
Had the Wolf Pack been left behind in the WAC, there was no chance it would become a BCS school in the near future. But the move to the Mountain West Conference in 2012-13 leaves open the opportunity the Wolf Pack will become a BCS school over the next couple of years.
http://on.rgj.com/L4Q5z8
Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News posted an interesting string of tweets this morning on the Mountain West Conference and possible expansion.
http://on.rgj.com/NX4fT9
Although it never changes the past, it's always fun to play the "what if" game. What if Nevada and Fresno State had agreed to stay in the WAC and carried out "The Project" instead of bolting to the Mountain West Conference?
http://on.rgj.com/LKvEsT
The Mountain West Conference has already ravished the WAC, taking its top programs in Boise State, Nevada, Fresno State and Hawaii. Now, it's the Big Sky that trying to steal some schools from the WAC.
http://on.rgj.com/N8LHUk
The addition of Seattle University in 2012 will still leave the Western Athletic Conference with only seven football-playing members — a situation Commissioner Karl Benson said he hopes will be remedied within a year.
http://on.rgj.com/NdioPh
Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune is reporting that the WAC will invite Seattle University to join the conference.
http://on.rgj.com/NdhBxC
The conference implemented a new buyout penalty for teams that depart the league. The league will use an eight-game football scheduling format from the 2012 season and beyond.
http://on.rgj.com/MPIYR1
The Mountain West Conference is shuffling its membership. It’s also getting a new logo and brand.
http://on.rgj.com/L2YwLj
With the WAC trying to regroup after losing Boise State, Fresno State, Nevada and Hawaii, the conference has turned an eye to potentially adding Utah Valley as a non-football member. But that decision apparently hasn't gone over well with Utah State.
http://on.rgj.com/MPIryz
The Mountain West Conference, which had been rumored to be considering inviting Utah State and San Jose State, announced today that expansion in the immediate future is unlikely.
http://on.rgj.com/LI0UIX
Jared Eborn of AOL Fanhouse is reporting that Utah State will be part of a new-look, 12-team Mountain West Conference. Various other reports via twitter and online point to San Jose State being the other team to join the conference that has recently poached Nevada, Fresno State, Boise State and Hawaii (football only) from the WAC.
http://on.rgj.com/NewTmu
Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury is reporting that the Mountain West Conference has discussed adding San Jose State to the conference if its decides to shift to a 12-team conference.
http://on.rgj.com/LaoP76
After weeks of speculation, the University of Hawaii announced that it is joining the Mountain West Conference for football and the Big West in its remaining sports. Hawaii was the most-tenured current member of the WAC, but will leave the conference after a 32-year affiliation with the conference.
http://on.rgj.com/New25k
Since Nevada agreed to join the Mountain West Conference for the 2012-13 season, the league has undergone some changes. The biggest is the loss of TCU to the Big East and BYU to independent status. The MWC also has flirted with Hawaii and Utah State, and the Warriors appear poised to join the league as a football-only member.
http://on.rgj.com/M8V1Dc
The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that the Mountain West Conference and Conference USA are still talking about a potential merger between the teams to gain more access to the BCS system.
http://on.rgj.com/MTSVfO
AOL Fanhouse is reporting that officials from Utah State are meeting with the Mountain West Conference to discuss a potential move into the league. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser also reported that Hawaii officials sat down face-to-face with the MWC to discuss a potential move to the conference.
http://on.rgj.com/L2IWQ1
A look at the football expenses, football revenues and net difference for the 2008 and 2009 seasons for the 10 teams expected to be in the Mountain West Conference for the 2012-13 season. Nevada ranks last in expenses and sixth out of 10 teams in net revenue.
http://on.rgj.com/RJu2ms
AOL Fanhouse is reporting that TCU will leave the Mountain West Conference and join the Big East in all sports starting in the 2012-13 season. That would be a big blow to the MWC's bid for an automatic qualifying spot in the BCS and weaken the conference Nevada will be joining in 2012-13.
http://on.rgj.com/LABJNe
The Denton Record-Chronicle is reporting that North Texas has turned down an offer to join the WAC, which is the latest blow to the conference that is trying to cope with the likely departures of its top-four football programs.
http://on.rgj.com/PCzLNF
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser, citing unnamed sources, reported that the University of Hawaii is expected to join the Mountain West Conference in football and join the Big West in all other sports as early as the 2012-13 season.
http://on.rgj.com/PCztGt
ESPN.com is reporting that Denver, Texas State and Texas-San Antonio will join the WAC for the 2012-13 season, replacing Boise State, Fresno State and Nevada. Texas State and Texas-San Antonio will join as full members, while Denver will join but not participate in football.
http://on.rgj.com/LAzBjN
The Big East Conference has unanimously agreed to expand its number of football-playing schools from eight to 10.
http://on.rgj.com/M7NTYB
The New York Post is reporting that the Big East presidents and athletic directors will meet to discuss potential expansion plans and that adding TCU, currently in the Mountain West Conference, is a possibility.
http://on.rgj.com/LrLa1t
The Western Athletic Conference, Fresno State and Nevada have reached an agreement resolving their disputes regarding the departure of Nevada and Fresno State from the WAC to the Mountain West Conference. Fresno State and Nevada will remain members of the WAC in all sports through June 30, 2012.
http://on.rgj.com/LAuFLT
WAC commissioner Karl Benson confirmed that the lawsuit the conference has filed against Nevada, Fresno State and the Mountain West Conference is being handled by a mediator.
http://on.rgj.com/RlNGoo
Texas State, Texas San-Antonio, Seattle, Denver and Montana are the five schools being considered for WAC expansion, commissioner Karl Benson said during a teleconference call.
http://on.rgj.com/LRJi03
WAC commissioner Karl Benson and the league’s membership committee, comprised of the six athletic directors from the remaining schools, will hear formal presentations from five schools.
http://on.rgj.com/LArHHh
WAC commissioner Karl Benson was asked during Monday's weekly teleconference about which teams the league is considering adding with the upcoming losses of Boise State, Nevada and Fresno State. Idaho Statesman reporter Brian Murphy has the scoop on two of the teams the league is looking at (both in Texas).
http://on.rgj.com/N1IMeE
The suit is in response to the two schools’ revelations that they plan to leave the conference for the Mountain West in 2011.
http://on.rgj.com/LRIfNy
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