Mountain West Connection

Rapper Flavor Flav Is A UNLV Fan

2012-02-14T00:36:46Z

When rapper/reality star (he has a tv show so I guess that counts) appeared in the student section of this past Saturday's game against San Diego State it seemed like a stunt. Well that is not exactly the case as Flav was invited to attend UNLV games and enjoyed it that he became a regular.

His appearance in the student section was his first but, he is not just jumping on the bandwagon because UNLV is good. Flav even attended the open house of the new Mendenhall Center.

Now with a well-known figure for UNLV, I am hoping that they make a deep NCAA tournament run so that there can be more shots of Flava Flav in the crowd for UNLV games. The way UNLV has been playing it seems like a sure thing.

Here is Flav running some suicides in the new Mendenhall Center:

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Mountain West, Conference USA Merger Could Include 18-24 Teams

2012-02-13T20:35:19Z

The Mountain West and Conference USA have announced their plans to dissolve and form one league. Here is the press release about the merger:

DALLAS, Texas - Presidents and chancellors from 16 universities met in Dallas Sunday to discuss future conference membership plans and agreed to work on forming a new intercollegiate athletic association that would begin competition in the 2013-14 academic year.

This presidentially led association will ensure stability and be built upon the principles of operating at the highest level of integrity and sportsmanship, enhancing the student-athlete academic and competitive experience, bringing fiscal discipline into athletics and ensuring competitive fairness.
"This is an exciting development that will stabilize the current conferences and create the first truly national conference with members in five time zones and television viewership from coast to coast. This partnership brings together like-minded institutions to improve the integrity and stability of intercollegiate athletics," said UNLV President Neal Smatresk. "We are moving our plans forward rapidly and expect to complete our conversations in the near future. Look for further announcements soon as we work together on this exciting new venture."

Universities involved in the discussions were the United States Air Force Academy, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Colorado State University, East Carolina University, Fresno State, University of Hawaii, Marshall University, University of Nevada, Reno, University of New Mexico, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Rice University, University of Southern Mississippi, University of Texas at El Paso, Tulane University, The University of Tulsa and University of Wyoming. With the exception of Hawaii as a football only member, the participation would involve all sports.

The structure of the new conference will likely include:
· Membership of 18 to 24 universities
· National scope from the Atlantic Seaboard to Hawaii
· Championship football game format that includes semifinal match-ups
· Championship basketball tournament
· Regular season scheduling in divisions
· NCAA FBS affiliation
· Mechanisms to emphasize and improve academic standards and fiscal responsibility

The presidents and chancellors will have follow-up meetings over the next six months to fully develop the operational issues essential to the formation of the association.

The most interesting thing is that the number of teams is not at the current 16 team league for football and 15 for other sports, but could ranged from 18-24 as well as having a semifinal game to decide a football champion. The semifinal idea is intriguing and would need NCAA approval. By having a semifinal matchup it probably would have the No. 1 West seed play the No. 2 East seed and vice versas, and assuming there will be 16 teams an eight- or nine-game conference schedule to include two cross over games.

As for more teams the only options would be to poach the WAC or Sun Belt to get to 18-24, or Temple from the MAC has been mentioned. Basically no team or league is out of bounds since football goes from Hawai'i to East Carolina.

There is still a lot to discuss and figure out about this merger, so stay tuned.

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Mountain West, C-USA To Dissolve, Form One League In 2013

2012-02-13T20:20:11Z

All of the conference realignment that has gone on over the past year and a half has finally killed off a league. According to CBS Sports' Brett McMurphy, the Mountain West and Conference USA will dissolve their leagues to form one league starting in the fall of 2013. Originally the plan was to have a conference alliance for football with over 20 teams, but with the recent events of both the Mountain West and Conference USA losing members to the Big East means a full on merger makes most sense.

Assuming no other teams leave the league will have 15 teams for all sports and 16 for football, and here are the teams:

Southern Miss, Marshall, East Carolina, UAB, Tulsa, Rice, UTEP and Tulane from C-USA and Wyoming, Air Force, Colorado State, UNLV, New Mexico, Fresno State, Nevada and Hawaii (football-only) from the Mountain West

So, what does dissolving mean?

The biggest reason to do this is that it will void any television and media rights contract that the two leagues have. This means that instead of waiting until the contracts of both leagues are up (which I think is 2015) and then combine as a single league they can get a jump start on finding a new television deal. This could also mean the end of The Mtn. channel or at least a rebranding. There have been rumors over the past few weeks that some employees were told the station would be letting go a lot of people after baseball season. Well, that looks to possibly be extended for at least another year.

I know a lot of people have given Craig Thompson a hard time (my self included) on the television deal, but really it was a good thing for the league. One can just look at the contract the Pac-10 had under former commissioner Tom Hansen who had a way worse television deal then the Mountain West, with the exception of a handful of football games on ESPN or ABC. That deal was entirely regional, at least once the Mtn. was on DirecTV games could be seen anywhere.

I feel that the channel should still be in place in some form and be the third-tier for football and basketball and then broadcast a lot of Olympic sports. That model is what I felt that the Mtn. should have been in the first place, I don't know why they did not do what the Big 10 did and broadcast nearly every sport from volleyball, water polo, soccer, swimming or anything else to have live programing; also showing stuff online is key as well.

Also, those complaining about not being on ESPN nee to realize that maybe 20 total football games would be shown if they struck a deal with ESPN. Now, there is a reset button to do things right, or at least improve the television deal.

Sports is one of the very few events that is placed on a DVR, so having a large inventory of live sports programming to sell is key and with 16 teams there will be a lot of it. A lot of people will first scream and want to go back to ESPN. I think the new league should be smart and divide up their assets, and should consider ESPN to broadcast the best games. Then have some deal with Comcast which includes NBC, Fox Sports, CBS and then thirdly the conference television network.

Actually getting on ESPN for the best games each week may not be the best deal, just look what BYU is going through being independent. They are on at 10 p.m. ET and on ESPNU a lot of the times. Also, this new league may have to play on weekdays to fill their ESPN spot. So, actually ESPN may not be the best choice for top tier games; don't get me wrong they should be on ESPN but maybe not for their best games.

Who knows what Comcast is going to do, they did not want to spend as much money on the Pac-12 so we will not know what their plan is until the Big East gets their next television deal which now will be at the same time as this new league. So, Comcast may have their hands involved in both and if the Big East gets to pricey since it is likely that ESPN will over pay for Big East hoops, Comcast maybe a channel for the MWC/C-USA. That would include NBC and NBC Sports and possibly some regional channels they already own.

At this point speculation is running rampant on my part, but the main reason to dissolve is to be able to negotiate a new television deal for the teams.

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Whats in store for the MW/C-USA Expansion?

2012-02-12T18:50:51Z

From where we are now, the middle of February, to June 30th, what do fans of the MW have to look forward to? What little is leaking out right now is cryptic at best. At present, if I had to guess, I would look for an expansion of the alliance from 8/8, as it stands now, to a 10/10 or, less likely, to a 12/12 model, which I would argue is nationally more plausible.

From trying to read between the lines, Bob Stull is getting ready for a switch to the MW. That would mean 9/7 MW/C-USA split. If Temple joins C-USA, the numbers would go to 9/8 but this still does not address the Hawaii partial membership issue. Does a watered down MW/C-USA (at 9/8) have enough inventory to fill media scheduling demand, required for a bigger payout? The addition of UTEP to the MW renews rivalries and cuts down on some travel expenses, while Temple would bring in a part of the large, new market of Philadelphia. Is that enough to spark the interest of a big-time network?

With the departures of SDSU, BSU, Utah and BYU, southern California is gone (the largest MW metro area currently in the MW) and the states of Utah and Idaho. Neither of the two states are top ten in terms of population, but Salt lake City and the outlying areas are significant. From a business prospective, regardless of how lucrative a territory is, one never wants to lose an area of loyal supporters. Memphis was a large metro area, as were the populations of Texas and was lost when Houston and SMU left, although Rice, also in Houston, is still in C-USA. Losing Florida, and more specifically Orlando (UCF) which is still growing at a decent pace, is simply devastating in terms of viewership, alumni support and for network desire to showcase a product (Disney world, parent company of ESPN is in Orlando).

For the alliance to go forward, all of these territories must be replaced, in order to re-establish a regional presence and have a chance of fostering new, viewable rivalries or to renew old ones. In business as well as personal finance, what one can earn is only 50% of the equation, its also about what you spend (revenue - cost = profit). The more sustainable regional rivalries the MW / C-USA alliance has to offer its fans and a TV network, the lower the cost of travel for all sports. This is why the Big West is such a good idea for some: bus rides to and from universities.

Several months ago, I was dead-set against the expansion candidates, because they didn't bring power to the conference (RPI). Things have changed so dramatically, from a numbers perspective, that I have been forced to rethink the entire point. The MW can't go get a Houston/SMU and get AQ: It is solely about money and exposure now. If the MW is to go forward with this alliance, it is in our interest that C-USA gets more viable by adding metro areas for market share and recruiting hot-beds for more talent.

The MW will be forced to add UTEP, USU, SJSU and Idaho, just to regain what it lost (if it choses a plan of territory retention). C-USA would be lucky to have Temple. Beyond that, the conference must re-establish a presence in Florida and get more areas of Texas. If UTEP slides over to the MW, which makes sense for travel and rivalries, then C-USA would need 5 to reach 12: Temple, UNT/UTSA/Texas State, La Tech, FIU/FAMU (La Tech is established and won the WAC, the Texas and Florida teams aren't quite there yet). If ECU/USM get poached, the number from that list simply increases.

Because the MW / C-USA WILL NOT receive an AQ upgrade, according to everything I have read, the strength of teams does not matter like it did. That is a game changer. It is all about network sales, advertising sales, ticket sales, merchandise sales, market penetration and exposure. The Mtn. apparently (from Utahbusiness.com), only hits about 1 million homes. The US has 310 million people, Canada around 35 million. 1 out of 345 is not good: its pathetic. That source said that BYUtv gets into about 60 million homes world wide. 60 out of 345 (or more) is getting there, not as good as prime time ESPN exposure, but not bad.

With competing interests, such as the Big East/West and the B1G/Pac 12 alliance, the MW/C-USA alliance will need to establish itself in the hearts and minds of the people in its regional centers, before the others have a chance to. BSU will take its followers, SDSU will take its followers, but some will be disaffected by the lack of regionality. The loss of basketball and other sports to lesser conferences will turn others off. The MW has to aggressively target these fans. By including USU in Logan, Utah the MW has to work to get the alumni, many of whom live in Salt Lake City, invested in the alliance. By including SJSU, the MW MUST work to get the alumni and the people in the San Francisco area involved (largest potential market). By getting Idaho, the MW must be actively involved in trying to win alumni and others in the greater area to be involved in the success of the university's sports teams. If CT and the boys simply treat this as business as usual and do not work the areas for advertisers and fan retention, the initial good will, that is inevitably generated, will be wasted.

So, what do you all think? 9/9, 10/10, 12/12, more...? We should really care about what the C-USA is doing: we are about to be married to them. We are heavily invested in their success, and they in ours. What teams should each side have? Why? Will the alliance be protected if/when the BE gets raided again by the Big 12, ACC or others? Is there stability in a lower number, if raids are still in the cards (do we like to keep backfilling)? What type of playing schedule should the alliance pursue (all Weekdays/Saturdays, Thursdays/Saturdays, only Saturdays)? Which Network and why? If the alliance is able to get more money, should Hawaii be invited for all sports or should there be one filler team? BTW: Mr. Mauss, if/when this alliance happens, please switch this site over to whatever the name is. SB nation only has one C-USA site: Miner Rush (4, soon to be 3 (Frogs of War is leaving to B12) MW sites). So, what should the conference name be: Big Country, The Alliance, Conference MW USA, The Strategic Alliance, The Also Rans (lol - came from a B1G fan, they have a bunch), The Atlantic - Pacific conference (the AP), Other?

UNLV Vs. San Diego State Final Score: Rebels Upset Aztecs With Defense, 65-63

2012-02-12T18:40:15Z

Final - 2.11.2012	1	2	Total
San Diego St. Aztecs	29	34	63
UNLV Runnin' Rebels	37	28	65

Complete Coverage >

While the game between UNLV and San Diego State was amazing there was a lot of other stuff going on that merit attention in this game, but before we get to that stuff lets talk about the game itself. UNLV nearly blew an 18-point lead and let San Diego State back in this game and UNLV went on a scoring drought late in the second half.

San Diego State crawled their way back into the game and took a 63-62 lead on a Chase Tapley three-pointer, and then on the following possession UNLV missed their own three-pointer. UNLV's Mike Moser stole the ball from Xavier Thomas and set up a layup for Anthony Marshall to put them back up by one point. Then Marshall stole the ball from San Diego State which eventually lead to Justin Hawkins making one of two free throws to give UNLV a 63-65 lead.

The defensive play for UNLV was the steal at the end of the game by Hawkins with 10 seconds left which did not allow San Diego State to have a chance to tie or win the game.

UNLV was lead once again by Moser who had a team-high 19 points, nine rebounds, six steals and four blocks.

HIghlights and photos from the game are after the jump:

Now here is all the other stuff that happened in Las Vegas when a big rivalry is involved and 18,500 fans are at the game.

First off Flava Flav was in the crowd:

Via @CoedMagazine

Then there is the giant head in the crowd of Moser with a video as well:

Here is a sequence of photos of Moser dunking over Garrett Green, who looks dejected.

Then there are these from Saturday:

A prank by UNLV fans on the SDSU student section 'The Show'

Here is my favorite sign:

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Why BYU and Utah really left the MW

2012-02-12T00:22:28Z

Why BYU and Utah really left the MW

A very interesting article citing the numbers behind the exits of the Cougars and the Utes. It really drives home the desolate future of life with the Mtn.

My favorite sign from the UNLV-SDSU game.

2012-02-11T23:33:18Z

My favorite sign from the UNLV-SDSU game.

MW Commissioner pushing expansion

2012-02-11T23:18:14Z

MW Commissioner pushing expansion

According to an article in the Denver Post, Mountain West Commissioner, "the Hair" himself but speaking through a representative, admits that 8 just isn't enough. The way the argument is framed, Mr. Thompson seems to be using this as more justification for the "alliance" instead of bolstering the MW and its current regional footprint. From 22 teams down to 16/15, the alliance will face an uphill battle for recognition, TV contracts and open doors in general. Whatever happens, the Commish needs to have things in place by June 30th.