Presidents from 16 universities — including Colorado State, Air Force and Wyoming — met over the weekend in Dallas, and on Monday announced their intention to form a large sports conference for the 2013-14 season.
As the Mountain West continues to lose and add teams, it had been in talks with officials from Conference USA in the past few months.
Schools involved in the discussions Sunday in Dallas were Air Force Academy, Colorado State, Wyoming, New Mexico, UNLV, Fresno State, Hawaii, Nevada-Reno, Alabama-Birmingham, East Carolina , Marshall, Rice, Southern Mississippi, UTEP, Tulane and Tulsa. With the exception of Hawaii as a football only member, the participation would involve all sports.
“We are very excited about this new era for Colorado State athletics and the Mountain West,” CSU athletic director Jack Graham said in a release from the school on Monday. “This merger creates a bigger, more competitive conference and will allow us increased exposure for all Ram athletic programs. The new conference preserves traditional rivalries that are important to CSU, such as those with Air Force and Wyoming.”
According to the presidents, the structure of the new conference will likely include: Membership of 18 to 24 universities; championship football game format that includes semifinals; NCAA FBS affiliation; and regular season scheduling in divisions.
In making the announcement, UNLV President Neal Smatresk made a statement on behalf of the presidents: “This is an exciting development that 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. This partnership brings together like-minded institutions to improve the integrity and stability of intercollegiate athletics. We are moving our plans forward rapidly and expect to complete our conversations in the near future. Look for further announcements soon as we work together on this exciting new venture.”
In the next six months, presidents and chancellors will meet to develop the operational issues.
“College athletics has seen a great deal of change these last several months,” Wyoming AD Tom Burman said in a release. “By aligning ourselves with this group of universities, we feel that it provides us greater stability moving forward.”
