Conference USA and Mountain West merger probably will not happ

Harry · April 18, 2012

Speaking Monday in Birmingham, C-USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky said the leagues were figuring out how to collaborate. But he seemed to back off the idea of an immediate merger.

"The fundamental idea is to develop a collective marketing strategy and take assets over time -- not in the short run, but in the long run -- to build a brand and be able to market that brand," Banowsky said. "It's not just one short-run evolution of agreements but a longer-time horizon. That can take a lot of different forms.

"If you think about it in that fundamental way, that's in part what we're trying to accomplish. We want to develop enough strength and stability through numbers and then develop a brand and put quality competition out there that fans and folks get excited about."

UAB Athletics Director Brian Mackin said today that "at this point" nothing has changed and no decisions will be made until the 16 presidents make a decision when they meet at the end of this month. "At this point, I have no evidence to give me any reason to doubt (a merger)," Mackin said.

By not merging, C-USA and the Mountain West would likely expand on their own to offset departures. C-USA loses Memphis, SMU, Houston and Central Florida in 2013-14, and the Mountain West loses TCU in 2012-13 and Boise State and San Diego State next year.

Louisiana Tech, North Texas and Florida International have been mentioned as possibilities for C-USA to add. The Sun Belt has also eyed Louisiana Tech. It's also not clear if UTEP will stay in C-USA or move to the Mountain West with more geographically-aligned schools.

C-USA began an agreement with Fox in 2011 as its primary football broadcast partner through 2015-16. SportsBusiness Journal reported at the time the contract was valued at about $7 million a year, nearly double the previous agreement with ESPN. C-USA also has a secondary agreement with CBS College Sports worth about $7 million annually, according to The Orlando Sentinel. Most TV contracts have clauses that could reduce or increase the payout to a conference when its membership changes.

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