A league of their own?
Mountain West expects to stay at 12 members — for now
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Craig Thompson, the longtime commissioner of the Mountain West Conference, did his best to offer his opinions about playoff expansion (he was disappointed it was shot down), name, image and likeness (he wants Congress to help regulate it) and the highly successful football season the league had last year.
But he was well aware he couldn’t avoid what he called “the elephant in the room” during his state of the conference address on Wednesday at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. That rather hot topic would be conference realignment, specifically the aftereffects of teams like USC and UCLA recently announcing they are leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten in 2024.
Thompson said he believes this year the Mountain West will remain intact at 12 members. But he didn’t deny the high probability that there could be changes in the MWC on the horizon.
“I probably received somewhere between less than a dozen but more than half a dozen calls from institutions expressing interest in the Mountain West if we were to add (teams), if we were to change,” Thompson said about his recent dealings with potential conference realignment. “One of the potential options out there is (a conference of) 16-20 teams. Is that something the Mountain West looks at?”
Thompson said about 10 years ago, the Mountain West talked extensively about merging with Conference USA to form one large conference. He said it’s a scenario that could come up again.
“We’ve moved out of an academic model and more to an entertainment model,” Thompson said during his address that began the Mountain West football media days. “The television revenue chase has taken a forefront in all this. But just because you are bigger doesn’t mean you
are more valuable necessarily. There are so many variables to consider. That’s why we meet a couple of times a month. We’re not sitting back, but we’re monitoring.”
Last year, the Mountain West agreed to six-year media rights deals with CBS and Fox Sports worth a combined $270 million through 2025-26.
“We could renegotiate; there’s a conference clause that calls for that,” Thompson said, if the league’s membership changed.
“We had a really good conversation with both FOX and CBS about a potential restructuring of our contract depending on who is in the league. Our value to CBS and FOX is Thursday and Friday night, and 8 p.m. on Saturday windows.”
UNM coach Danny Gonzales said he wasn’t surprised about USC and UCLA leaving the Pac-12. A former San Diego State assistant, he believes SDSU has great potential to move to the Pac-12, and Aztecs coach Brady Hoke expressed that he would be pleased with that.
“When we were at SDSU, USC and UCLA didn’t want (the Aztecs in the Pac-12),” Gonzales said. “Well, they’re gone now.”
The MWC is eliminating divisions in 2023 in an effort to ensure its two best teams meeting in the league championship game.
“In the world of realignment it relies on success and what can you bring to the table,” Gonzales said. “If we have success on the field, we need our state government to step up and supply the necessary means to be in one of those leagues . ... Over the next three years if we play better on the football field we have a chance to get in the conversation for a championship, then you set yourself up for opportunities beyond whatever happens. I think the Mountain West Conference is a great football league. I think we’re the fourth best league in all of football right now.
“When you have four 10-win teams ... it gives you opportunities to continue to push yourself forward. We’re better than the (American Athletic Conference) and Cincinnati was in the playoff.”