Big 12 moves could affect the Aggies
Some depleted conference might be perfect landing place for NMSU
LAS CRUCES — When New Mexico State’s administration opted to remain at the highest level of college football, administrators did so with the hope that future conference realignment could lead to a safe landing space for Aggies athletics.
Those hopes could become a reality sooner rather than later if a number of dominoes fall in NMSU’s favor.
NMSU’s Olympic sports are in the fragile Western Athletic Conference, while the football program’s football-only membership with the Sun Belt Conference expires after 2017. The Aggies will play independent football in 2018, but recent talks involving Big 12 expansion have opened myriad possibilities that could eventually have an impact at NMSU.
“Without knowing what decisions are going to be made, I think it’s a great first step and at least it puts us in the ballgame,” NMSU athletics director Mario Moccia said. “It’s a good first positive step in my opinion.”
There hasn’t been a definitive timetable established, but the Big 12 has voted to seek league expansion from its current 10-school conference to possibly land a lucrative TV deal like the other four power conferences. Whether two or four teams are added has yet to be determined, but schools under consideration come from conferences such as the 12-team Ameri-
can Athletic Conference and the Mountain West. The trickle-down effect could add Conference USA and the Sun Belt to possible leagues looking to fill in for lost schools.
“Out of the Group of Five leagues, I think it’s unrealistic to end up in a conference like the AAC or the MAC (Mid American), so that leaves three choices left and then it depends on if the Big 12 is hoping to expand by four, or if you are an Aggies fan, by six,” Moccia said.
NMSU’s best option would likely involve the Big 12 adding at least two schools from the 12-team Mountain West and either pair with UTEP to gain an invite to the league where in-state rival New Mexico currently resides or potentially take UTEP’s place in C-USA if the MWC adds NMSU’s I-10 rival.
The AAC stands to lose multiple teams depending on how many schools the Big 12 elects to add, and eastern Conference USA teams could be looking to move after a rather bleak TV deal announced last month. TV markets and football success seem to be the driving force behind potential Big 12 schools such as BYU, Cincinnati, Memphis, Houston, Colorado State and Boise State.
Will the trickle-down effect be driven by the same factors? Moccia and NMSU fans certainly hope so since independent football has always been described as a temporary solution.
“I still think football success is a huge driver and in the Big 12 talks, the schools they are talking about are from major population centers,” Moccia said. “That doesn’t bode well for us, but a league like Conference USA could look at us not as much as a television market but by saving on travel costs (with UTEP as a travel partner).”