It?s happening! The MWC is being picked apart.

[MinerInWisconsin]

Four schools are announcing today that they are joining the PAC. Boise St, SDSU, Fresno St, Colorado St are all leaving to join Oregon St and Washington St in the PAC and at least 2 more schools will need to be added for the minimum of 8 required for an FBS conference. Speculation is that 2 from the AAC will be added, maybe more. Also, many think UNLV and AFA will eventually leave the MWC as well.

How this will affect UTEP and CUSA will be interesting.

[Minermojo]

They don't want a super football powerhouse like us in the Pac?   

[MinerInWisconsin]

They don't want a super football powerhouse like us in the Pac?   

Hard to believe, right?

Maybe a depleted MWC is the right move for UTEP. If only Hawaii, SJSU, Nevada, Utah State, Wyoming and New Mexico remain should UTEP make the move? I think so. jmho

[kyyote]

I am glad that you have brought up how UTEP is affected. While I am somewhat interested in the move I am more interested in how it affects UTEP.   I am going to look back to see where it goes. In what may have been the first ditching in NCAA conference history teams from the mwc left the wac behind. Why?  Strength of play and money. Seems as though the two are linked. Realizing that, conferences have come to understand that money is better than historic rivalries and such. You can add strong teams to strengthen your conference or you can be the strong team that leaves to a stronger conference.
We have a rich history of not being strong. We are seen as the anchor dragging.   I see tremendous settling yet to happen and I ask how will we anticipate it. Wait and hope for the best or actively take the steps to move up and not down. We have already pretty much reached the bottom floor.
That means that the next few years will be critical and we banked our chances on Walden who just got beat by an fcs team.
I understand that I am the one that seems to be a downer where we come to root. Sorry. I am old and have been rooting for jackpots from a very stingy house machine for too long. I can hope against hope that I am wrong and Walden will e the next Saban but seriously come on. Reality is that when the administration made a decision knowing more than I do about realignment and instead of making the public decision to go get a name coach and lay down the money, they went to the dollar store looking-hoping-that the young guy can make UTEP a winner.

Go Miners! Beat Liberty!

[SisyphusMiner]

I think Wilson and Senter will sit tight and wait for that SEC invite.

[kyyote]

I?m glad I didn?t have a mouthful of coffee when I read that

[kyyote]

They don't want a super football powerhouse like us in the Pac?   

Hard to believe, right?

Maybe a depleted MWC is the right move for UTEP. If only Hawaii, SJSU, Nevada, Utah State, Wyoming and New Mexico remain should UTEP make the move? I think so. jmho

Great question. Are those six better than the top six in cusa?  And who else would they round out the conference with?  Finally, we have to ask if we are one of the best four they could get.

[Minermojo]

They don't want a super football powerhouse like us in the Pac?   

Hard to believe, right?

Maybe a depleted MWC is the right move for UTEP. If only Hawaii, SJSU, Nevada, Utah State, Wyoming and New Mexico remain should UTEP make the move? I think so. jmho

Great question. Are those six better than the top six in cusa?  And who else would they round out the conference with?  Finally, we have to ask if we are one of the best four they could get.

I don't think the "new" mwc will coming running for utep or enemas u. we have nothing to offer. Except for last years miracle enemas u. isn't someone you think of when talking about good football either. Like they say, it was a flash in the pan. This year they will probably fight it out with us to see who are the least of the least.

I think the mwc will come looking for teams in the fcs ranks like we did and perhaps some like tx st. They would have a better league with teams that constantly win in the fcs ranks like Montana, n.dak state, n. dak, etc. They're much closer in the vicinity too all northern schools. But, if they do go looking our way I don't know if utep would jump at the chance like they would have with the teams that are leaving out of the conference. It's a better league with the ones we're in now.

[SisyphusMiner]

Although I'm not watching or listening to any games in any sport anymore I still want what's best for the Miners.  In your opinions, if MWC became available to UTEP, which is better for UTEP in the long run -- CUSA or MWC?  Not which would you like, or emotionally attached to.  Pure business, which is better for the Miners.

[kyyote]

If you are competing you can be trying to win or you can be competing for the sake of the positive aspects of being on a team and the challenge of competing. Exercise. I believe that we should strive to win.
If we strive to win we could be successful if we played eighth grade girls. But it would not be worth much. So winning against the toughest competition should be our objective. We don?t want to be a loser in the Big10. We want to win. So my opinion is based on winning/competition over all else. We need to be able to compete for conference championships in the conference we are in to the point that we are attractive enough to be asked to move up. You know, like damned near every conference mate we have had for forty years.

[SisyphusMiner]

MAybe CUSA just pick up the pieces of MWC.  Add UNM, Utah State, and Wyoming and have a western division with NMSU and UTEP plus Sam and LSU

Eastern is the other guys.  They can add someone and make it 16 (if I'm adding correctly).

Sun Bowl can be PAC 5th place against CUSA west champ or something

[Minermojo]

You know, that's something that wasn't in the equation when the Pac died. What's gonna take it's place as a conference that sends its representative to the SB? Maybe, just maybe it's time that whichever conference with the letter P and a C invites UTEP to the conference in order to maintain its prescence in the SB.

LOL, just dreaming here.

[SisyphusMiner]

historically the SB has refused to use itself as leverage to help UTEP.  But the current contracts end at the end of 2025, and the PAC ain't what it used to be.  Why not tie into whatever conference UTEP is in?

[kyyote]

I think the pac has already lost its place as a power conference. I hear the media talking about the power four now. The whole selection and all of to get the twelve playoff teams is in trouble. They are talking four or five from the sec and bigten leaving crumbs for the othe ? power conferences. But, y?all have raised the question of bowls. All bowls, except the top four bowls are going to be playing hell trying to sort out matchups after all of the shuffling. So, I would expect that we will see chaos reign finding matchups. If you are the people who paid to televise the bowl game with the fourth place pac team and figured you?d get Washington or Oregon and you are going to get Fresno State that ain?t gonna work.

[Minermojo]

Bernie is gonna be scrambling to find a replacement conference now that the Pac is just another G designated conference. Those two teams left over aren't gonna cut it anymore...and especially the ones that they invited. It's just another bowl game a little higher than the NM Bowl but after the new contracts the payouts will be much, much lower. Poor Barnie he won't be getting ND in the Sun Bowl again. But, think of it this way at least he won't have red eyes from all the happy crying he did last time. What a putz.