Conference USA, Mountain West to discuss merger that could create football ... - NOLA.com
It seems every day brings a rash of new college football conference realignments. So far, it hasn't affected Tulane and its membership in Conference USA.
However, that might change as C-USA and Mountain West Conference representatives meet next week in Dallas to discuss a football-only merger.
"The plan is this: Each conference maintains its own identity and operation except for football," said former Big 8 Commissioner and merger consultant Chuck Neinas. "The idea is to develop a football conference which would involve 22 to 24 teams divided between east and west, and have the champions at the end of the season have a championship game, with the anticipation and hope that the winner would be an automatic qualifier into the BCS."
Neinas has consulted with C-USA for years, and regardless of whether he becomes the interim Big 12 commissioner in the meantime, he will help facilitate the meetings next week on the merger, he said.
"I'll be in Dallas next week," Neinas said. "I'm committed to working with Conference USA and the Mountain West trying to see this through."
Those talks should begin to address the complicated assessment process conferences go through to obtain automatic-BCS qualifying status as well as the feasibility of combining the two leagues.
The Mountain West has lost members to automatic-qualifying conferences. Utah was added to the Pac-12 this season, and TCU is scheduled to leave after this season for the Big East. C-USA hasn't lost a team yet but has several flight risks, including East Carolina, which has applied for Big East membership, Central Florida and Memphis.
Those schools appear open-minded about staying put if the merger happens, according to reports.
The positive aspect of the move for Tulane, which isn't a hot prospect because of its lack of a competitive football program over the years and poor attendance, is that it would put the Green Wave into a BCS automatic-berth league.
"The advantages of this plan are No. 1, strength in numbers," Neinas said. "No. 2, covers all four time zones, plus Hawaii. No. 3, opens up some real interesting television and marketing opportunities. In view of the landscape and what is happening with those conferences that do have automatic (spots) in the BCS, the feeling is that it is time to explore and see if Conference USA and the Mountain West together can capitalize on what they bring to the table."
Asked if Tulane could gain admittance into a BCS-qualifying conference independently, Neinas responded: "Well let me say this, two things. No. 1, there is no BCS plan after 2014, and if there is, nobody knows what form it will be in. Secondly, under the current situation who knows who is going to be in what conference. You can be speculative all you want, but let's play with the cards you're dealt."
Tulane's status in realignment conference talks Conference USA and the Mountain West are discussing a football-only merger. Here's a look at where Tulane stands in all of this. Watch video "I'm like you, I'd be guessing," Toledo said. "I don't know. I don't know what they are going to do. They haven't approached me with it, and from what I hear, they don't want to talk much about it. So it's not important to me right now."
Yet, the situation has been hard to ignore. Toledo has kept an anxious eye on all the moves and marvels that college athletics has become so volatile.
"I think it's crazy," Toledo said. "I see all these leagues. I was a Pac-10 guy, and of course, I was in the Mountain West one year. It's getting out of hand, and it's all about money. That's the sad thing.
"But as far as us making a decision on where we're going and what we're doing, hey, that's up to the administration."
23 Sep, 2011--
Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNFGrBXy7DPvCWdc6LpPeHyorOgp7w&url=http://www.nola.com/tulane/index.ssf/2011/09/conference_usa_mountain_west_t.html
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