MWC, C-USA work on merger

The Mountain West Conference and Conference USA are expected to move closer to some sort of merger or working agreement, but no major announcement is expected after the presidents for the two leagues meet today in Dallas.

The conferences agreed in mid-October to merge in football only, but momentum soon picked up to move toward a unification in all sports. Which course to pursue is expected to be debated.

There also is the possibility of creating more of a working relationship than an outright merger, but indications don't point to that scenario as likely.

With both leagues losing schools to the Big East Conference, each side feels an urgency to put a plan in place by 2013. Boise State and San Diego State leave the Mountain West that year, when three schools depart Conference USA.

The Mountain West already has taken its share of hits with Brigham Young and Utah exiting last year and Texas Christian leaving this summer. The Mountain West will add UNR and Fresno State in all sports this year and Hawaii in football only.

Forging a merger with Conference USA is more about survival than an effort to become an automatic qualifying Bowl Championship Series league. Automatic BCS status is expected to disappear anyway, probably in 2014, and both conferences would prefer to be in a position where they are not badly damaged should another round of realignment prompt further defections.

Without a merger, the Mountain West would be down to eight football members -- seven in other sports -- by 2013 and Conference USA would have nine.

"The members of the league have expressed significant dissatisfaction with the structure of the conference," said UNLV president Neal Smatresk, who also is chairman of the Mountain West board of directors. "We don't feel we're in a stable position because we've lost members for a variety of reasons. We want stability. We want to be part of a productive enterprise."

The presidents have plenty of significant issues to resolve before any announcement is made, everything from league structure to a new name.

One possibility is Texas-El Paso could move to what would be a Western division to give New Mexico a nearby rival. Expansion also could occur, with the combined conference looking at schools such as Louisiana Tech, Utah State and San Jose State.

Scheduling and postseason issues would need to be ironed out, and a new TV contract would be negotiated, possibly bringing an end to The Mtn.

Then there is the basic question of who runs the league, Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson or Conference USA chief Britton Banowsky. They probably will share duties, overseeing the respective divisions.

Though there seems little doubt the sides are headed for some kind of marriage, when is uncertain. The process has moved slowly, even though the parties have been in talks for many months.

Perhaps today's meeting is a sign the end is near.

"We hope the conversations lead to something very satisfying for all member institutions," Smatresk said.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.