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Date Posted: 07/16/03 11:21am
Author: BMF
Author Host/IP: 63.96.38.62
Subject: El Paso Newspaper (home of UTEP) dis's BWC

I thought this was relevant given that Cal Poly will be playing UTEP in a couple months. The article is about WAC conference re-alignment..., not BWC realignment.

Here's the link:

http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/sports/joemuench/20030716-136926.shtml

Here's a paste of the article:

Joe Muench
El Paso Times

Joe Muench

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If UTEP is unable to realign with old conference mates, such as New Mexico and BYU, its next best option would be to head east.

Well, pray it's invited east.

It's because the western side of the geographically axed-in-two WAC is composed of schools whose lineage goes back to the inferior Big West.

Here are three points:

1.) UTEP's true home is with the old WAC: New Mexico, BYU, Utah, Colorado State and Wyoming. Those are the opponents UTEP fans pay to see. They bring out passion, especially New Mexico and BYU.

But it doesn't seem likely to happen. After all, they dumped UTEP when they left the WAC to form the Mountain West.

2.) With conference reorganization supposedly coming -- at least by 2005 -- there is serious talk that some east WAC members will dump the west and form a new conference. They don't need the west. SMU and Rice were once members of the legendary Southwest Conference. Their fans and rich alumni aren't passionate about west WACers.

So it's only logical, then, that SMU and Rice get together with two other ex-SWC teams, TCU and Houston of Conference USA. Keep present east WAC members UTEP, Tulsa and Louisiana Tech. But UTEP gets in only if New Mexico State comes along as its traveling partner. No sense flying 800 miles from Houston to play just UTEP. Get two league games. Save travel money.

SMU and TCU would be a one-flight, two-game stop, too. So would Rice-Houston. Louisiana Tech-Tulsa would be a puddle-jump flight of 280 miles.

That's eight teams. So add North Texas for nine, then there will be balanced conference football schedules -- four home and four away games a year.

It would be a league recognized by the whole country because of SMU-TCU and Rice-Houston.

3.) Being in the western WAC would be like being abandoned a second time.

Or third.

When UTEP's Border Conference folded in 1961, the MIners were not invited to join the WAC -- a merge between the Border and Skyline Conferences.

UTEP and Colorado State finally got in six years later.

When the WAC started big-time expansion -- taking in littler Big West schools and the easterns -- the old WAC bolted and didn't invite UTEP to join the new Mountain West.

Now, if an eastern WAC reorganization doesn't take in UTEP, the Miners would be left with the schools both the MWC and new league abandoned: Hawaii, Boise State, Fresno State and San Jose State.

If the east does form a new conference without UTEP, the western WAC (which now includes Nevada), would likely have to to bring in New Mexico State and Utah State to have eight members.

And UTEP would find itself in New Mexico State's old league -- the Pacific Coast Conference which turned into the Big West, which dropped football because most football-playing schools were promoted to the WAC -- then dumped.

Bet UTEP is lobbying hard to rejoin New Mexico and BYU.

But Plan 2, sticking in Texas, isn't a bad alternative.

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