Miner Rush

Old Dominion to Join Conference USA in 13'-14'

2012-05-17T16:59:22Z

As most already know, officials from Old Dominion University announced this morning that they will be joining Conference USA beginning in the 2013-14 season. ODU will join Charlotte, Florida International, Louisiana Tech, North Texas, and Texas San Antonio as the newest members of C-USA in 2013. Those additions will get the conference to 14 members, likely setting up two 7 team divisions, barring any defections before then.

The move for ODU comes just two days after fellow Colonial Athletic Association member Virginia Commonwealth decided they were bolting for the A-10. VCU however, will be joining the A-10 for 2012-13. CAA bylaws state that ODU will be ineligible to win a conference title this year, or participate in the conference basketball tournament. The expected exit fee for ODU will be $250,000, but the school will likely lose more than that due to the loss of shared postseason revenues.

An official announcement and press conference is expected at 2:30 p.m. ET (12:30 MT) on the school's campus. Expect for more on the specifics of the move to become clear after the presser, and a expect a full writeup on this in the coming days here at MinerRush.

The State of Conference Realignment Address

2012-05-17T13:00:33Z

Ready or not, here we go again. A week ago, reports were made, and rumors were spread that Boise State may consider staying in the Mountain West Conference. Apparently, that wasn't exactly the case. The biggest issue for Boise, is where to house their non-football sports. And, after San Diego State lobbied for their new buddies in the Big West to bring them aboard, Boise may be heading East after all. Or West, however you want to look at it.

The Big West Conference has given Boise St. an "assessment tool" given to all prospective candidates, and the conference is expecting to hear back by at least July 1st. The information obtained through that assessment tool will then be taken before the presidents of member universities, and the school must be approved by at least eight of the ten current members.

One would have to think Boise is all but in the Big West. A few months ago, the conference wanted nothing to do with them, but after "a quick word", and maybe even a small threat by SDSU, Boise is now back in the mix. So, what exactly does that mean for the rest of us? Well, for starters, if the conference does accept Boise, the Big East will survive. Again, for now.

A move for Boise St. and San Diego State to the Big East also means that the Mountain West will remain at 10 members in football, and 9 in basketball. The conference has already stated that they would be content in staying with those members through the 2013-14 season, but, was it all posturing? Were they just saving space in case those defecting members were to come back?

That might be the case, but at this point, it doesn't seem like they're getting ready to extend any invites for the 2013 season. It's been tossed around that both UTEP and Tulsa could potentially get the conference to 12 members, but in my own opinion, things are likely stay the way they are for the time being.

Now, the merger between C-USA and the MWC that has been dead, and alive, and dead, and alive again, could be back on. Still not immediately, but at some point in the next few years. If that were to happen, it would be very possible for a couple C-USA teams to shift west, allowing that division to get to 12 schools. C-USA, who with the possible addition of Old Dominion will be at 14 schools, could afford to lose two, making two 12 team divisions. But that's for another day.

Right now, there could be bigger issues in conference realignment. It was recently reported that Florida State was unhappy with the current TV deal for the ACC, and would be willing to consider a move to the Big 12 conference. As far as we know, no serious talks between the two parties have taken place, but a move of that magnitude would certainly open up a can of worms.

If we all remember, a similarly upset University of Miami decided it had had enough with the leadership of the Big East, and bolted for the ACC. That move, subsequently started the mass realignment of 2005. Granted, Miami's frustrations had been boiling over for years, so it's not like they just upped and left. But, times are changing, and in an atmosphere where the biggest factor is money, anything can happen.

Members of the ACC currently stand to make about $17 million per year, through 2026-27, but they are on the lower end, in comparison to the rest of the power conferences. The Big 12 for instance, is guaranteeing members roughly $20 million per year. And if additions are made, that number could potentially rise.

But there are other factors in play for FSU. First, is cost. While a move to the Big 12 may make them more money in the long run, in the short term they'd owe the ACC $20 million plus, just to leave the conference. Try that one on for size. Second, the school's major issue with the ACC is its supposed "favoritism" towards the North Carolina schools.

The good news is we all know that "favoritism" doesn't exist in the Big 12...Texas, anyone? While the member schools of the Big 12 have apparently gotten UT to agree to equal revenue sharing when it comes to TV deals, it doesn't take a genius to figure out who is in the driver's seat.

So, a decision must be made. What exactly matters when it comes to conference affiliation? Is it staying in competition with other schools in your region, maintaining rivalries, and doing what seems logical? Or, is it all about money? If its the latter, see you in the Big 12.

Regardless of whether or not Florida State decides to leave the ACC, at some point in the future, the Big 12 will make a move to get to 12 teams. It only makes sense. By NCAA rules, a conference must have at least 12 members in order to have a conference championship game in football, and for the conference, that game means a whole lot of extra revenue.

So who will be the additions? Florida State could be one. And if they were, its likely that someone like Clemson or Virginia Tech could be right behind them. The idea of Louisville and Cincinatti has been tossed around, and of course there's always BYU. Whoever, and whenever it ends up being, it will send conference expansion into overdrive once again.

In some way or another, that expansion will affect the Big East, and for them, it will be do or die time once again. Will they be able to sustain themselves by adding more schools from Conference USA and/or the Mountain West? Possibly, but the potential worth of their upcoming TV deal has to be dwindling, and at some point, as a football conference, they have to be done. Right?

Well, here's what we know. San Diego State definitely wants to be a part of the Big East, and they'll do anything to keep Boise State from turning back. Those two heading there will keep the conference breathing, for now. Because of that, C-USA and the MWC could potentially still form a 24 team league. The Big 12, at some point in the near future, will have to expand back to 12. And, what we know more than anything else, is that we have absolutely no idea what is going to happen. I guess that's just the "fun" of it.

MadTown Badgers Q&A Segment With MinerRush

2012-05-16T21:04:25Z

MadTown Badgers Q&A Segment With MinerRush

Everyone make sure to check out the MadTown Badgers Q&A segment with MinerRush. The University of Wisconsin blog site is doing the pieces with writers representing each of their opposing schools. Check it out.

Ultimate Miners Bracket: (3) 1984 Miners vs (14) 1988 Miners

2012-05-16T19:06:34Z

Ah to be a young Miner fan in the 1980's. Beginning in 1984, Don Haskins started a run that saw 8 of the next 9 Miner teams reach the NCAA Tournament. 1984 was the year of Ghostbusters, The Terminator, the Superbowl Champion L.A. Raiders and of course a dominant 9th ranked UTEP Miners team led by Fred Reynolds and Luster Goodwin. 1988 was the year of Die Hard, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the Superbowl Champion Washington Redskins and of course more excellent basketball from a 1988 squad that featured Chris Sandle, Chris Blocker, Tim Hardaway, Wayne Campbell, and Antonio Davis. The question is which was the better team?

(3) 1984 UTEP Miners
27-4 (13-3, 1st in WAC)

ROSTER
Fred Reynolds (SR)
Luster Goodwin (JR)
Kent Lockhart (JR)
Kevin Hamilton (SO)
Juden Smith (SO)
Dave Feitl (SO)
Donnell Allen (JR)
Paul Cunningham (SR)
Quintan Gates (FR)
Jeep Jackson (FR)
Anthony Bailey (SR)
Don Bronson (SO)
Lemuel Clanton (FR)

TEAM STATS ___ FG% ___ FT% ___ RPG ___ APG ___ BLK ___ STL ____ PPG
UTEP Miners ___ 47.6 ___ 70.0 ___ 33.2 ____ 13.3 ___ 2.6 ___ 5.7 _____ 67.8
Opponents _____ 44.0 ___ 65.2 ___ 30.6 ____ 9.7 ____ 1.6 ___ 4.5 _____ 59.9

1984 NOTABLE WINS & LOSSES
-Swept New Mexico State
- Beat #10 Indiana at home by 4
- Beat #15 Michigan and Arizona in Sun Carnival Classic
-Started the season 15-0
-Beat Wyoming and New Mexico to win the WAC Tournament in El Paso
-The 1984 Miners played 5 regular season games against eventual NCAA Tournament teams going 4-1. They beat the Karl Malone led Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, Indiana Hoosiers, BYU Cougars, and Alcorn State Braves by a combined 37 points and their only loss came to BYU on the road by 18.

1984 NCAA TOURNAMENT RESULTS
The '84 Miners were given a first round bye and a #4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Miners played the 5-seeded UNLV Runnin' Rebels in the second round and lost by 13. Tarkanian's UNLV squad would go on to lose in the very next round to eventual National Champ Georgetown. The rest of the Final Four in 1984 included the Houston Cougars, Virginia Cavaliers, and Kentucky Wildcats.

(14) 1988 UTEP Miners
23-10 (10-6, 4th in WAC)

ROSTER
Chris Sandle (SR)
Chris Blocker (SR)
Tim Hardaway (JR)
Wayne Campbell (SR)
Antonio Davis (SO)
Terry Stallworth (JR)
Jerry Jones (SO)
Eddie Williams (SO)
Prince Stewart (FR)
Keith Manuel (SO)
Mark McCall (FR)
Sean Harris (FR)
Shelton Boykin (FR)

TEAM STATS ___ FG% ___ FT% ___ RPG ___ APG ___ BLK ___ STL ___ PPG
UTEP Miners ___ 50.4 ___ 67.3 ___ 33.7 ____ 14.6 ___ 4.0 ___ 7.8 ____ 70.3
Opponents _____ 44.0 ___ 66.5 ___ 32.7 ____ 12.8 ___ 2.2 ___ 5.6 ____ 63.5

1988 NOTABLE WINS & LOSSES
- Split season series with New Mexico State
- Beat Boston College and UAB to win the Sun Carnival Classic
- Split season series with both Wyoming and BYU, both of which were ranked in the Top 25 throughout the 1988 season.
- The 1988 Miners only had 2 teams on their regular season schedule that made it to the post season: Wyoming and BYU. However they played each of these teams 3 times for a total of 6 games and went 3-3. They beat the Cowboys at home but lost to them on the road and in the WAC Tournament Championship game. They beat the Cougars on the road in overtime and in the WAC Semifinal, but lost to them at home.

1988 NCAA TOURNAMENT RESULTS
The 1988 Miners limped into the NCAA Tournament. Antonio Davis broke his ankle during the WAC Tournament and Chris Blocker, the Miners' second leading scorer, was ruled academically ineligible right before the Big Dance. The Miners were given a 9-seed in the Tourney and lost to 8-seeded Seton Hall 80-64, despite Chris Sandle dropping 28 points in his last game as a Miner. The Miners were outrebounded by the Seton Hall Pirates by almost 20. Seton Hall would get blown out in the next round by top-seeded Arizona. The Final Four in 1988 included National Champion Kansas, Oklahoma, Duke, and Arizona.

THE MATCHUP
The 1984 Miners obtained the 3rd best regular season in school history and rose to as high as #5 in the AP Poll during the season, finishing the season ranked 9th. They also hold the best home record in Miner history going 21-0 in El Paso and held their opponents to under 60 points per game.

The 1988 Miners were snakebitten towards the end of the year finishing with just 8 guys on the roster by season's end and had to deal with two other nationally ranked teams in their conference. 1988 was the year Tim Hardaway set the school record for assists in a year with 183. The '88 Miners got to the free-throw line very often, setting the Miner record for most trips to the line (842) and making 67.3% of them. They also shot better than 50% from the field, showing that this team knew how to get into the paint and either score or get fouled.

All of that is what the statistics say about this matchup. Unfortunately, I was not around to see either of these teams play, so I really can't give a nuanced analysis of the head-to-head matchup. Those of you who were around in the 80's can post details in the comments section if you'd like. For me though, I can only vote based on the stats and it is hard to argue with a 27-4 overall record and 4-1 record against NCAA Tourney teams. The '88 team averaged and allowed more points per game, but the addition of the 3 point line certainly had something to do with this. As always, your votes decides who goes on in the Ultimate Miners Bracket.

BRACKET SO FAR...
Last week we had our closest matchup yet, with the 1963 Texas Western Miners storming back to beat the 1986 Miners by just 4 votes. I have a feeling chris87's comment at the bottom of the post convinced some voters to go with the 63 team, which shows how important personal insights and memories can be in swaying the matchups. Big shout out to anyone who posts about the matchups. The current bracket looks like this then:

(1) 1966 Texas Western Miners
(9) 1987 UTEP Miners

(5) 1992 UTEP Miners
(13) 1963 Texas Western Miners

(3) 1984 UTEP Miners or (14) 1988 UTEP Miners (This week's matchup
(6) 1989 UTEP Miners or (11) 1975 UTEP Miners

(7) 2010 UTEP Miners or (10) 2005 UTEP Miners
(2) 1964 Texas Western Miners or (15) 1985 UTEP Miners

Poll

Who would win this matchup?

Quick Look Ahead: 2012-13 UTEP Basketball Season

2012-05-16T13:00:59Z

The late signing period has got Miner Nation buzzing, and with good reason. With only days left in the period, and a scholarship available, the Miners snagged 7'0 C Matt Willms of Findlay Prep (Las Vegas, NV) on Monday to round out the 2012 class. The two star recruit joined G/F Twymond Howard, F/C Chris Washburn Jr., G Dustin Watts, and juco transfer PG McKenzie Moore as the newest members of the UTEP basketball team.

The class is widely considered to be one of the best in years, and brings plenty of talent and depth to a team with an extremely bright future. Thoughts of the Miners experiencing immediate success are floating around, but the task at hand is certainly no easy one. That said, it's time to take a deeper look into what to expect from the 2012-13 season.

The Miners were one of the youngest teams in the nation in 2011-12, and with only one scholarship senior this year, that trend should continue. Joining the class of 2012, are seniors Jacques Streeter and Tyler Tafoya, juniors John Bohannon and Malcolm Moore, and sophomores Julian Washburn, Cedrick Lang, C.J. Cooper, and Hooper Vint. Sophomore Jalen Raglend will redshirt, and its still unclear what role, if any, redshirt fresman Tim Jacobs, Kevin Perry and Mauricio Cheda will fill.

The additions of Willms and Chris Washburn Jr. add even more size and depth to a front court that already features blooming stars like Bohannon and Lang, and returns solid players like Malcolm Moore and Vint from injury. The group will now have a total of six players who are all capable of putting in significant minutes, and contributing.

The back court loses one of its most experienced players, and arguably its best shooter in Michael Perez, but returns Streeter at the point, and Cooper as a combo guard. Julian Washburn and Twymond Howard give the team the ability to be extremely long and athletic at the 2 and 3 spots, and throw in Watts and McKenzie Moore and the possibilities are endless. Though, Moore will not be eligible until December because of transfer rules.

All in all, the Miners will have at least a dozen players that will compete for playing time, and that can be used in a number of different combinations. The overall versatility of the team will allow them to the adapt to whatever styles their opponents might bring. How exactly they fit together though, is still an unknown.

The team is certainly capable, but an extremely tough task lies ahead of them. The non-conference slate, which hasn't yet been completed, is turning out to be one of the toughest a Miner team has faced in a long while, and the conference schedule won't be much easier either.

Highlighting the non-conference schedule are home dates with Oregon and UNLV, a home and home series with New Mexico State, a road trip to Colorado St., and the Old Spice Classic featuring Clemson, Davidson, Gonzaga, Marist, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, and West Virginia. Also, a home game against Oral Roberts is still in the works, and the field for the Sun Bowl tournament still hasn't been announced.

In conference, the Miners will be going up against an extremely competitive bunch from top to bottom. The West "division" of Conference USA is loaded with potential, and could have a couple of teams in the mix for the conference title. Houston brings in a young and talented team with arguably the best recruiting class in the conference. SMU welcomes Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown.

Rice fields an experienced squad, with star F Arsalan Kazemi entering his senior year. Tulane gets F Kendall Timmons back from injury, and welcomes back freshman of the year Ricky Tarrant. Tulsa returns five of their top six scorers, and adds some size to replace the graduated Steven Idlet and D.J. Magley. The Western teams make up 10 of the 16 conference games for the Miners, and its looking like every night will be a battle.

The East, as always, will also bring a handful of contenders to the table. Memphis and UCF return the majority of their 2011-12 squads, and should easily be the class of the division. Both Marshall and Southern Miss will have to replace multiple key players, but still return plenty to build on. And, UAB and ECU both lose what most would consider their best player, but return nearly everyone else from fairly competitive teams. In the end, it wouldn't be a surprise to see two or three of these teams in the premier postseason tournaments.

Needless to say, there won't be a single night the Miners can take off in the 2012-13 season. The team is as deep and talented as we've seen in a long time, but there's talent aplenty throughout Conference USA. The good news is, we've got a great coach in Tim Floyd that can add all the intangibles to a team with so much promise. There's no doubt the future is bright, it's just a matter of how quickly the team can bring it all together. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out, and I, for one, can't wait! Go Miners.

Poll

How many games will the Miners win in 2012-13?

El Paso Times: UTEP basketball Coach Tim Floyd adds recruit, hopes Miners can jell

2012-05-15T16:23:21Z

El Paso Times: UTEP basketball Coach Tim Floyd adds recruit, hopes Miners can jell

Good read here from Bill Knight and the El Paso times, talking about the latest addition to the Miner roster, and the upcoming season in general. Have a read.

UTEP Lands 7'0 C Matt Willms Out of Findlay Prep

2012-05-14T22:07:05Z

UTEP basketball coach Tim Floyd has added another outstanding player to the class of 2012. This time, it's 7'0 C Matt Willms of Findlay Prep in Las Vegas, NV. Willms took an official visit to UTEP last weekend, and just confirmed via his twitter account that he will be attending UTEP. Here's the Tweet:

Matt Willms @m_willms4

"I am officially a UTEP MINER, #minerforlife"

Willms, who is originally from Canada, is considered a two star athlete with a recruiting grade of 86 according to ESPN, and the #47 C in the 2012 class. He was also offered by Long Beach State, Marquette, Missouri, Providence, UNLV, and UTEP, among others. Willms also took a visit to Missouri last week, but apparently he liked what he saw in El Paso.

The news is great for the Miner basketball team, which adds a solid player to an already stout group of bigs. While nothing is ever certain, this will likely be the last addition to the class of 2012, as the Miners have now exhausted all available scholarships.

The Dig: Conference Expansion Rumors Edition

2012-05-14T19:27:36Z

As we all know, conference expansion never sleeps. Over the weekend more rumors were born, and more possibilities were opened with both Boise St. and Florida St. being the topic of conversation. There's still a lot to be seen, and we'll discuss a bit of that in this edition of The Dig, along with some UTEP track and field.

AROUND MINER NATION

UTEP Men Take 2nd at C-USA Indoor Championships/Women Take 9th

The UTEP men's team took 2nd place at the 2012 Conference USA championships, finishing 38.5 points behind the winner, Houston. Head coach Mika Laakonsen was a bit unhappy with the finish, saying "I feel disappointed that we got second place at the conference meet today...Before the meet started, I thought we had a good chance to beat Houston."

While the Miners didn't capture that C-USA title, there was certainly still plenty to be proud of. The Miner's Anthony Ritoch claimed the title of Freshman of the Year for C-USA after his performances in the 3000m steeplechase, and the 5000m run. Junior sprinter Anthony Wright also competed well, taking home gold in the 100m, and silver in the 200m, and the 4x100m and 4x400m relays.

The UTEP women finished 9th in the championships, but also had some solid performers. Janice Jackson took 2nd in the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.27 second, which also happened to be 24th nationally. Laura Macauley took bronze in the javelin throw, and freshman Taylor Gunn took silver in the discuss throw.

Congratulations to all Miner athletes who competed this weekend. For a complete list of how all Miner athletes performed, click the link to see the UTEP athletics writeup.

Former Miner Kris Adams Released by Vikings

Former UTEP standout WR Kris Adams has been released by the Minnesota Vikings in order to open up a roster spot for G Tyler Holmes. Adams signed with the Vikings in December 2011, and spent time with the Chicago Bears and the St. Louis Rams before that. The timing of the move allows for Adams to find a spot on another roster somewhere in the league, which most believe he will.

UTEP Waits on Decision From Pair of Basketball Prospects

With the late signing period winding down, the UTEP basketball team awaits word from a pair of recruits that took visits to the campus just last weekend. 6'5 G/F BillyDee Williams, and 7'0 C Matt Willms were both in El Paso last week, and seem to have the Miners in their final two. The Miners only have one available scholarship for 2012, so it's not likely that they land both of them, but it would almost surprise me if they didn't snag one.

Williams is rumored to be down to Wyoming and UTEP, while Willms is apparently down to Missouri and UTEP. Williams announced on his twitter that he has his mind made up, but hasn't revealed where he will play. The late signing period ends on Wednesday.

AROUND THE COUNTRY

Conference Expansion Takes Center Stage...Once Again

It never seems to fail. Conference expansion talks always seem to make their way to the front of the class. Or twitter, however you want to say it. This time, the talks focus on both Boise St. and Florida St. Now, we already talked a bit about Boise St. last week, so we'll focus these talks on the Seminoles.

Recently, the ACC struck a new deal with ESPN/ABC that would reportedly give member schools roughly $17 million per year, through the 2026-27 athletic year. For most, there would be no reason to complain. For Florida State, that isn't exactly the case.

Somewhere in the fine print of that new agreement, it was arranged that ESPN would own 3rd tier rights in football, but the ACC would hold on to those same right in basketball. The problem? Schools like UNC and Duke stand to benefit just a little more from those 3rd tier basketball rights, than a school like FSU does.

For years, there have been talks of "favoritism" towards the North Carolina schools, and this here seems to be all proof Florida State needs. In an interview with Warchant.com, FSU board of trustees chairman didn't hold back, blasting the ACC for the new TV deal. For whatever reason, that article has since been deleted.

In it, the chairman stated that the BOT would "absolutely" be interested in hearing what the Big 12 would have to offer, and they would have to do what was in FSU's best interest. For the record, the current agreement the Big 12 has, will give each member school roughly $20 million per year, but Florida State would also have to pay between $20-$25 million just to leave the ACC.

Today, the FSU President released a memo stating the pros and cons of membership in both the ACC and Big 12, but subsequently stated that "The faculty are adamantly opposed to joining a league that is academically weaker.", and "We can't afford to have conference affiliation governed by emotion."

A move from Florida State will undoubtedly throw another wrench in the system, so we'll just have to wait and see how it plays out. But, at this point, no move seems imminent.