Planned Merger of MWC and CUSA to take longer than expected

[dml7007]

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/155768085.html

Plans for the Mountain West Conference and Conference USA to form an association or merge are being further pushed back, officials said.

In March officials from both conferences said an "early June" date was targeted.

But Neal Smatresk, Nevada-Las Vegas president and chair of the MWC Board of Directors told the Star-Advertiser in an email, "At this point we are revising our timelines."

He did not indicate what a new timeline might be.

[UNTFan23]

In other words, "We aren't seriously considering a merger or loose association any time soon, so quit asking about it."

[VideoEagle]

A joint marketing agreement, scheduling cooperation and sharing some office functions get the benefits with out losing two conferences worth of autoqualifiers. Why merge?

[Harry]

A joint marketing agreement, scheduling cooperation and sharing some office functions get the benefits with out losing two conferences worth of autoqualifiers. Why merge?

That's sort of where I am too. If the Alliance can bring more bowls or more TV money so be it. I personally like the C-USA configuration especially in terms of geographic rivals. Have gone out West in the Big West and it's just not to our advantage. Let's let B East be the 2-coast conference and see how that plays out for them. I was impressed with the C-USA additions (ODU, UTSA, Charlotte, La. Tech, FIU) and think this is a conference that can be good for us for a long time. My only fear is that we cannot afford to be complacent. If you look at the programs in C-USA they are all putting big resources into athletics. Tulane= NFL coach, New Stadium, UAB=new stadium, Marshall= new practice facility, UTSA=facility plan, Tulsa= bball improvements, Rice= stadium revamp, ODU= expansion of an already nice facility, La. Tech = new athletic facility -- I mean really, is there one program that is not in process or planning on facility improvements in this league?

We've had a terrific 5-10 year run in terms of facilities and that will have to continue in this league for us to be competitive. We have three teams (ECU, UTSA and UTEP) who have shown the propensity to put 40-50K in the stands per game. We have to improve attendance, recruiting and the value of our product to be successful in this league. I think our facilities are already in the top half and I see strides being made in recruiting as well. The attendance deal has a lot to do with winning but also scheduling. Clearly the C-USA schedule will be the best we've probably ever had. We also need to get more big non conference games in Denton. The SMU series will certainly help but I would like to see us get some Big 12 teams as well. I think those types of games help you to build your season ticket base.

[Mark Gommesen]

A merger will stabilize the current conferences and create the first truly national conference with members in five time zones and television viewership from coast to coast. Remember most television networks are national and/or have regional networks throughout the country. By merging the conferences would have a better chance of improving television contracts. It is quite simple, they would control a larger section of the supply when demand is increasing. Also, they would have greater leverage in negotiating bowl, merchandising, promotional and OOC scheduling contracts. MWC/C-USA may have to merge in response to the money grabs by the Big 4 conferences. Right now, the MWC and C-USA often times find themselves competing against each other! Where else could a company buy promotional or advertisement space in 24 major markets in five time zones throughout the country? Where else could Fox or Comcast find one supplier of programming for almost every region they operate in? Where else could a national network find programming for that matches the markets of it's affiliates? No where but the MWC/CUSA, not the Big 12, Big 10, SEC...

[Harry]

A merger will stabilize the current conferences and create the first truly national conference with members in five time zones and television viewership from coast to coast. Remember most television networks are national and/or have regional networks throughout the country. By merging the conferences would have a better chance of improving television contracts. It is quite simple, they would control a larger section of the supply when demand is increasing. Also, they would have greater leverage in negotiating bowl, merchandising, promotional and OOC scheduling contracts. MWC/C-USA may have to merge in response to the money grabs by the Big 4 conferences. Right now, the MWC and C-USA often times find themselves competing against each other! Where else could a company buy promotional or advertisement space in 24 major markets in five time zones throughout the country? Where else could Fox or Comcast find one supplier of programming for almost every region they operate in? Where else could a national network find programming for that matches the markets of it's affiliates? No where but the MWC/CUSA, not the Big 12, Big 10, SEC...

I agree with you and like I said if the Alliance generates more TV money- I'm in. I'm just happy with how the C-USA side of things worked out.

[VideoEagle]

A merger will stabilize the current conferences and create the first truly national conference with members in five time zones and television viewership from coast to coast. Remember most television networks are national and/or have regional networks throughout the country. By merging the conferences would have a better chance of improving television contracts. It is quite simple, they would control a larger section of the supply when demand is increasing. Also, they would have greater leverage in negotiating bowl, merchandising, promotional and OOC scheduling contracts. MWC/C-USA may have to merge in response to the money grabs by the Big 4 conferences. Right now, the MWC and C-USA often times find themselves competing against each other! Where else could a company buy promotional or advertisement space in 24 major markets in five time zones throughout the country? Where else could Fox or Comcast find one supplier of programming for almost every region they operate in? Where else could a national network find programming for that matches the markets of it's affiliates? No where but the MWC/CUSA, not the Big 12, Big 10, SEC...

But a joint marketing and scheduling agreemnt does exactly that whole keeping multiple autoqualifiers.