UTEP to Mountain West?

UTEP should put on a "come-from-behind" blitz to become a member of the Mountain West Conference now that TCU is leaving for the Big East. That leaves a nine-school league now.

Roadblocks for UTEP:

1. Houston, and possibly SMU or Tulsa, would also be fits.

2. The Mountain West has wanted an automatic berth in the Sun Bowl. If that's a contingent on UTEP getting in, there may be a roadblock for that, too: CBS TV likely would not want a Mountain West team. The league is based in small population areas. You can't sell national TV ads, at national prices, when clients don't think the audience will be a big one.

3. A minor problem is that UTEP is hosting this year's men's and women's Conference USA basketball tournaments. There'd be some discomfort with a defetor being a host.

NOTES: The Mountain West core: Air Force, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV and Wyoming.

Boise State, Fresno State and Nevada are joining.

Utah is leaving for the Pac-10, BYU says it's going independent, at least in football, and now TCU is leaving for the Big East.

So the Mountain West is nine schools.

This may be UTEP's last big chance to catch on with a conference that will remain with the big schools in the NCAA. Other conferences are picking apart C-USA (Louisville and Cincinnati) and the WAC (Fresno, Boise, Nevada).

But if Houston wants in the Mountain West, and Houston has made no bones about looking outside C-USA, then UTEP is an underdog .

That is, unless the nine-school Mountain West chooses not to just add one team for a 10-team league. It could pick up three teams for a 12-school league.

Houston and (SMU, UTEP, Tulsa). And might as well add in Louisiana Tech?

Comments

[Eddie]

You sir are crazy!! Why would you join now with no utah, byu, and tcu? That conference looks like the Wac that we left.

[RocketScientist]

SMU/Houston/UTEP/UNM/Tulsa and SDSU or CSU rounding out the Moutain West (west/south?) would be pretty nice. I am skeptical though... the MWC has never wanted UTEP and probably never will. On a side note, I'd love to see the Big East lose its AQ status next year and the MWC to gain AQ status just to rub it in TCUs face for moving to an obviously weaker, but aq, conference.

[Baskerville]

You sir are crazy!! Why would you join now with no utah, byu, and tcu? That conference looks like the Wac that we left.

Posted by: Eddie | November 30, 2010 at 08:39 AM

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It actually the WAC that left UTEP.

The Miners are fine in CUSA. If Boise leaves, which is definitely a possibility, then the new MWC is not any better than CUSA, maybe less so.

[Toasted Whitebred]

The MWC would have to first drop their allegiance to the Mountain Network which has been a big money pit.

The MWC needs to work out a better TV deal with ESPN which could happen now that they have Boise St. and if they were to pick up a few more TV markets. UTEP, SMU, Houston and Tulsa would be great tv markets for the MWC which will also be adding Fresno.

The big drawback is this, even with the new TV markets, the football watching public resides mainly east of the Mississippi. The South is football crazy and the west, not so much. Even when the MWC had BYU, UTAH and TCU, CUSA had a better TV contract.

[here]

Muench = buffoon.

[sec fan]

what is really sad is with nebraska and colorado leaving the big 12, it would have been a great time for the big 12 to have added byu,boise,houston and tcu to the big 12 and called it the big 14. but noooooo way texas wants tcu in the big 12. texas's greed for players in the dallas area and the big 12 doesnt pay all equally is the reason for the big 12 demise. i am so happy texas is losing this season.
mack brown gets a million dollar raise and is getting his azzz kicked. texas thinks it is the notre dame of the southwest. notre dame should join the big 10, they play everyone from there anyway, but their greed, like texas stands in the way.

i agree utep should join the mountain west if they want to be in a better football conference. as long as everyone else doesnt jump off the mountain west bandwagon(byu is playing mountain west basketball and scheduling and mainly mountain west in football). im not sure it helps us in basketball. conference usa is a pretty good basketball conference.

[LCR]

Hawaii is joining the MWC as a football only which brings them to 10 for football.

[REALISTIC FAN]

WHO CARES WHERE UTEP PLAYS(WHAT CONFERENCE) THERE IN!! WHAT UTEP NEEDS TO DO IS GET RID OF THAT COACH CALLED PRICE. IF YOU CHECK OUT HIS LIFETIME RECORD HE HAS A WINNING PERCENTAGE OF 50%. HIS TEAMS DO NOT PERFORM WELL UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP. PLEASE, DIANA NATALICIO GET RID OF THIS COACH. ITS THE COACH STUPID!! HE IS NOT A GOOD RECRUITER NOR A COACH. SOME ONE WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE!!

[Soggycat]

I would like to see new CUSA West:

UTEP
UNM
CSU
AFA
TULSA
SMU
HOUSTON
RICE

Send Tulane to CUSA East and add FIU or TROY for 16 team league...

AFA would be nice with CUSA's Military Bowl agreement, and travel would be much easier and cheaper. East Coast trips for football consume too much time and $$$...

[Lorenzo]

What a terrible turn of events for the Mountain West. They went from expecting to have Boise State, TCU, Utah and BYU in the same conference and possibly becoming an AQ-con to having only the top teams of the WAC in Boise, Nevada, Fresno and Hawaii. Tough luck but I can't say I feel sorry for them.

I think for the first time in a long time, C-USA is in a position of power. The Mountain West may still be a better football conference overall, but why would any school leave their conference for what is essentially a sinking ship. Also:

- C-USA has a better television deal with ESPN/CBS.
- C-USA spans bigger and wider-ranging markets (Orlando, Houston, Dallas, New Orleans, Memphis) compared to the Mountain West (Las Vegas, Reno, Boise, Fresno? c'mon)

I say if the MWest calls, let it ring. Better yet, the C-USA should just go Mortal Kombat on those suckers and FINISH 'EM. Lure away Boise State, Fresno State, Nevada and New Mexico to form a mega-C-USA that would look sorta like this:

EAST: Memphis, UCF, ECU, UAB, Marshall, So Miss, Tulsa, Tulane
WEST: Houston, UTEP, SMU, Rice, Boise, Fresno, Nevada, New Mexico

C'mon commissioner Banowski... Be aggressive and FINISH EM! Just my opinion.

[MWC fan]

Actually, Boise has no place to go. Besides it took 6 years to get into MWC and they are happy with the MWC schools even with the loss of Utah, BYU and TCU. Those losses are offset somewhat with Boise replacing Utah, Nevada #18 and Fresno replacing an unraked BYU. MWC is bringing perennial top 25 Hawaii is onboard in 2012 for football only so the travel will be offset with an extra game (13).

The MWC wants to go to 12 good teams with a playoff. That is a serious step up to a BCS/AQ conference. The Boise fans and players are pulling for UTEP and SMU to join, because we feel that both teams can field teams that are top 25 candidates and can ignite old rivalries. Besides, UTEP is a good fit being close to SDSU, UNM, UNLV, and SMU if they come onboard.

UTEP needs to forget any silly bitterness toward the MWC for a failed invite years ago. Besides, in 2005 didn't UTEP abandon BSU, Nevada, and Fresno in the WAC for CUSA? THE MWC is rebuilding a new conference with new teams. It is WHEN, not if, Houston and/or UCF bails for the BE or Big 12, or the ACC More expansions are coming. The MWC is expanding to 12 teams and still seeking to be a BCS AQ conference. I for one hope UTEP is one of the teams

[Just what I think]

We should leave C-USA and go back to the WAC... I gurantee you that we will win that conference over and over and then the people of El Paso can stop complaining about why UTEP never wins. What UTEP needs is for the fans to be 100% committed to the program and support the Team(s) even when we are having a bad year(s). The UT's and Notre Dame(s) have support during the bad times and the good..
UTEP fans are stupid because we complain to much and we are always willing to place balme on the coaches and not on us.. With our support we can influence a top recurit to come to El Paso but when our stadiums are only half full who really wants to come. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

[Miner Niner]

Lorenzo:

You took the words right off my laptop! LOL! I totatlly agree with you. Commissioner Banowski is in prime position to do a major strength upgrade for C-USA. A conference with teams like Boise St.,Nevada, Tulsa, Houston, SMU, Southern Miss, UCF, ECU, and UTEP [of course ;)] would make for an appealing conference and an even better T.V. contract with ESPN (its already pretty good, but can better ;D). Hell, with that kind of conference, it would be stronger than the Big East!!!

[jorge]

No way! They should join cusa cause they have a good tv contract with cbs sports where mwc doesn't! They were in bad shape when they started he conference due to no tv package. No a days these conferences. Are all ran by how tv contracts and stuff. Cusa is getting better just give more time.

[Rob]

NO, NO ,NO. Some people are just determined to undermine the Miners and El Paso. UTEP needs to stay in CUSA. It has better TV coverage in the East which is needed for recruiting.

I know a small minority of people here want the BYU rivalry and to revisit old rivalries from the old WAC. But some of those programs are spinning their wheels right now. The Mountain West ditched UTEP. I believe UTEP is building rivalries with new teams.

As for Louisville and Cincinnati, those schools left CUSA before UTEP arrived. Obviously CUSA wanted UTEP. THE MWC did not.

Think this through, dude. CUSA is a better fit for UTEP than the MWC. I think most of the bloggers here agree and I think most Miner fans agree. Move forward. Quit trying to relive the past. Don Haskins is gone and neither Danny Ainge nor Steve Young is at BYU anymore

[Mike]

More like UTEP needs to move to Division 1AA since they cannot hang with the big boys.

[Beach Miner]

Joining the MWC would be a step-up for UTEP, teams in the same geographical area provide better rivalries. Except, for a couple of rivals in Texas, UTEP does not enjoy strong rivalries in CUSA and it shows in both football and basketball attendance. Strong western rivalries IMO would produce greater athletic revenues and greater interest for UTEP fans.

[Heck]

How quickly you forget Joe Utopia. The old wac excluded UTEP. We weren't good enough now you want to go to that conference. Why don't you do us all a favor and go join them yourselves. C-USA has treated UTEP like royalty.

[JAT]

The MWC currently has an awful TV contract. Lorenzo's plan keeps UTEP alumni active and interested by retaining the Houston, Dallas, and Albuquerque base. It also makes an extremely difficult but compelling football schedule.

Unfortunately, the commish and his cronies (other execs) will do what makes business sense which may or may not include UTEPs wishes.

UTEP holds few cards in this decision and will have to wait it out until one or two bigger schools make a move.

Sidenote: I've always wanted UTEP/UNLV to be conference foes.

[JS]

Switching topics to the Sun Bowl. Why not invite Texas to play an ACC team if they can't get a PAC-10 Team? Would be a much better draw than a Temple or someone like that even at 5-7...

[joejohn]

To REALISTIC FAN, sure let's get rid of price and with a big budget football program letshire Mike Leach former Texas Tech or better yet let's hire Bobb Bowden of former Florida St.?, Miss Natalicio wih a 29 mill athletic budget for all sports, well your going to get what you pay for, so REALISTIC FAN do a complete research and besides when Price first got here you problably were all happy, you remind me of a bandwagon fan,lol- atleast UTEP football has a chance to atleast win, and Mike Price didn't leave like Bob Stull?!, remember that!?

[joejohn]

To Just What I Think-two thumbs up, you really read my mind, that's what I have said for over 23 years! =0)

[joejohn]

To Just What I Think-two thumbs up, you really read my mind, that's what I have said for over 23 years! =0). Go Miners & C-USA!

[joejohn]

To Just What I Think-two thumbs up, you really read my mind, that's what I have said for over 23 years! =0). Go Miners & C-USA!

[Hector]

Here's the thing with this conference realignment issue. We have all these fans who keep supporting mediocrity efforts from Utep football. Yes we're not losing 10 games a year like we used to, but we're still not making much of an impact as we should. And this is not just for bragging rights, my fear is that with Utep not winning more and the effortless attitude by the administration, Utep does not come across as favorable to other would be conferences. Whether anyone thinks CUSA or the Mountain West is a better conference, Utep needs to be ready for the next move should one arise out of necessity. El Paso needs to think like winners and not settle for what should of or could of! Utep needs to think "marketable" over and over. If not, God only knows where we'll end up, and I don't think many of u fans are going to like it.