New-look Conference USA hopes for stability

[Harry]

Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby was introduced as the Big 12's new commissioner on Friday and many believe it signals a new era of stability for the reconstructed conference.

At the same time the Big 12 was putting its hope for a new quieter period in Bowlsby, C-USA was announcing five new members in a continuing makeover of its membership.

Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are hoping a frantic two-year scramble, that included at least two near-moves to the Pac-12, may finally be in the past.

On the other hand, Tulsa is hoping this bold move by Conference USA will bring about a similar spirit of unity in its league.

"This is the first step in a process," said outgoing Tulsa President Steadman Upham. "We are re-populating our league in an effort to stabilize."

Then, said Upham, C-USA can continue an effort to get some type of agreement/association/merger with the Mountain West.

"We had a teleconference with the 16 presidents in our two leagues that will be going forward and we are definitely going to continue to work through some legal issues," said Upham. "Those plans have not ended."

That's great news. TU would greatly benefit athletically from an association with Mountain West schools.

However, the reality is the Big 12 is far more likely to enjoy a new-found stability than Conference USA.

The new-look C-USA would appear to be banking on the future with new football schools like UTSA and Charlotte. In the present, it would appear C-USA will struggle as a football league.

"The possibilities of this league 3-4 years down the road are tremendously exciting," said TU athletic director Ross Parmley. "For Tulsa, this provides us even more stability within a league."

That more than anything should encourage TU. They are in a league with other like-minded schools trying to remain relevant in college football.

Tulsa's conference odyssey has been a wild ride since it left the Missouri Valley Conference for the Western Athletic Conference in 1995.

This latest shift in conference rivals would appear to be nothing more than a grab by C-USA to preserve its shaky future. But, it also gives league members like Tulsa, weary of the constant rumors and shifting allegiances, a new chance for hope.

Certainly, the addition of five teams has great potential. North Texas, Texas-San Antonio and Louisiana Tech gives Tulsa three natural geographic rivals.

The addition of Florida International and Charlotte (with Old Dominion a possible add in the future) gives C-USA some balance between the east and west divisions.

It will take C-USA from a 12-team to 13-team league, but does little to fix the geographic challenges that have been somewhat of an obstacle to league rivalries and cooperation.

In addition, none of the new members really fills the loss of SMU, Houston, Central Florida and Memphis.

But there is potential.

Read more: http://www.tulsaworl...B1_TheBig855824

[Mark Gommesen]

The MWC commissioner Craig Thompson said Friday was the first phase. Now the two leagues will work on television deals and scheduling. It appears that some negotiations on television deals have been on going,

http://www.abqjournal.com/sports/2012/03/28/mwc-cusa-alliance-faces-many-hurdles.html

MWC, C-USA Alliance Faces Many Hurdles

By Rick Wright / Journal Staff Writer on Mar. 28, 2012

Potholes Surface For MWC, C-USA

What’s the price tag for stability?

That, University of New Mexico President David Schmidly says, is the fundamental question facing the Mountain West Conference and Conference USA as they determine how to shape their future relationship.

The two leagues, in the wake of predations from their memberships by other conferences, have been working to unite in forming a bigger, stronger, more stable entity that would begin play in the fall 2013.

But the two conferences’ initial plans to dissolve and form a new league has hit some financial potholes, as reported in the past few days by CBSsports.com and by the San Jose Mercury. A merger — folding one league into the other, rather than dissolving both — also has drawbacks.

A third alternative is a less formal alliance. Both conferences would keep their identities but meet in postseason play and work together in negotiating TV contracts.

All three, Schmidly said Tuesday in an interview with the Journal, are still in play.

But he said that until more is known about the value of the new conference/alliance in the TV market, and until it’s known whether increased TV revenue can offset financial losses elsewhere, the right path can’t be determined.

“We have to know that whole (TV) package,” Schmidly said, “before we can make a final call.”

When news of an all-sports alliance between the Mountain West and C-USA first surfaced in January — the two leagues had announced a football-only alliance last fall — it was reported that each conference would have to be dissolved. Because of each league’s existing TV contracts, a merger was deemed too complicated.

In the past few days, though, the Mercury and CBSsports.com reported that dissolution would cause both leagues to lose huge amounts of money in the form of shares from NCAA basketball tournament revenue. Each league, as well, would forfeit healthy exit fees from departing members such as Boise State and San Diego State from the MWC, and Memphis and Central Florida from C-USA — all four headed for the Big East.

Also, Schmidly noted, “If we were to dissolve totally and form a new conference, brand new, then we would lose votes at the NCAA level and at the (Bowl Championship Series) level.”

A merger — one league absorbing the other — might moderate but would not solve those problems. If Conference USA were to be folded into the Mountain West, C-USA could not collect NCAA Tournament money or exit fees. The reverse is also true.

An alliance, each conference retaining its identity, would solve those two problems but probably would not generate as much TV revenue.

Schmidly announced last April that he will retire when his contract expires this June. But he’s heavily involved in the Mountain West-Conference USA discussions and is a member of that initiative’s TV committee.

Negotiations with CBS, Schmidly said, are the linchpin. Both leagues have TV contracts in place with that network.

“They’re the first domino that has to be resolved,” he said. “There’s still some separation between where we believe we ought to be and where CBS wants to be, so we’re continuing those negotiations.”

Once a deal with CBS is reached, Schmidly said, other networks can be approached.

There should be plenty of games to televise. The Mountain West will have eight schools for football, seven for other sports, in 2013-14. Conference USA will have eight for all sports. And there’s talk of expanding to 20 schools, or even 24.

There is, of course, another option: Walking away as if these discussions never began.

Schmidly said he sees that possibility as neither likely nor desirable.

“We’ve all suffered by having (conference members) leaving us,” he said. “We would now have 16 members. We could expand to 20 or 24, so that’s a nice, stable environment.

“I’m still excited about it. I feel like we’ve got to do something to bring some stability to college athletics.”

— This article appeared on page D1 of the Albuquerque Journal