Reviewing Craig Thompson's Teleconference

by Jeremy Mauss on Aug 19, 2010 10:51 AM PDT in Mountain West Football

Craig Thompson is not usually a man to be proactive, just remember back in June they waited almost a week to invite Boise State to the league. That has all changed as Thompson is out on the offensive by inviting Fresno State and Nevada. The big thing I noticed from the teleconference was that how evasive he was about BYU's situation and keep saying 'you will have to talk BYU about that.'

Thompson also talked about that they made it lucrative for Fresno State and Nevada to join. Not sure what that means, but it may have something to do with the $5 million exit penalty by the schools. However there are still conflicting reports about if either school signed that. Plus, there is an entry fee to join the Mountain West so who knows if that will be waived. It is not as if the Mountain West is rolling in cash, so not sure what incentives they could be offering. Perhaps BCS status in the near future, but that is something that can not be guaranteed and without BYU no chance in that.

This quote from Craig Thompson says it all:

"I don’t know what BYU’s intentions were, or are."

He had many chances to confirm something going on with BYU but kept deferring to BYU and repeated that as of this time they are a full fledged member of the Mountain West conference. He also said BYU has not talked to him or any MWC officials about BYU leaving the league in 2011, again I doubt that because BYU wanted to keep this quiet.

The one big thing that Thompson was insistent on was that he would not be giving any special concession to BYU to keep them in the league. One answer that made everyone know that BYU was on the move and Thompson was not telling the truth about that was when he was asked why today to add Fresno State and Nevada.

He responded by saying that he was in Philadelphia in a meeting with Comcast and CBS regarding the television contract and the way he responded made it seem that Comcast wanted more markets. But, why Fresno State and Nevada they are not that big of markets whereas my favorite addition should be Houston is a huge market. I know Houston Cougar football is low on the list, but still getting the Mtn there would be huge.

Check back later as I review Karl Benson's teleconference.

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Thompson HAD to act quick on the WAC teams

BYU forced Thompson’s hand. He had to decimate the WAC in order to ruin BYU’s leverage and keep Boise State. If BYU left, the MWC was more then likely dead in the water.

Houston just makes too much sense not to be in the works so I still think that invite is forthcoming.

by Smoove V on Aug 19, 2010 11:08 AM PDT reply actions

agreed

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by Jeremy Mauss on Aug 19, 2010 12:23 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions

Hey, wait a second. The BCS autobid hope is still alive.

Let’s set aside the Cotton Bowl talk and all the future conference merger/re-merger theories abounding. Right now, let’s just focus on where things are at the moment of this typing.

BYU has not technically left the MWC, so let’s assume that stays. (It’s the one assumption I really need to make here.) But on top of that, Fresno and Nevada agreed to join the MWC after the July 1 deadline. They should join in 2012, not 2011 like Boise. This is not an assumption as it would take an assumption of an exemption to this rule for these teams to be in the MWC next year.

That means that the MWC will be heading into the BCS eval with the 9 teams we expected them to have a week ago. So despite all the chicanery of the last few hours, the autobid eval is actually intact.

Based on how things stand at this very second, at least.

;-)

by David Hooper on Aug 19, 2010 11:20 AM PDT reply actions

I just thought of something

If BYU doesn’t decide soon enough whether or not they’re going to leave, we get their stats. The deadline is September 1st and if they are going to decide, hopefully they wait until September.

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UNLV is going all the way this year!

by rebelfan1 on Aug 19, 2010 11:46 AM PDT up reply actions

Maybe Utah will stay?

Do they have an out clause like Boise St? Kidding of course, but wouldn’t that be something it the Cotton Bowl talk came to fruition and Utah decided to stay put?

by Smoove V on Aug 19, 2010 11:55 AM PDT up reply actions

If the Cotton Bowl stuff has real legs, they won't announce it before Sept. 1.

That’ll be something the BCS committee announces alongside all of their eval news.

;-)

by David Hooper on Aug 19, 2010 12:47 PM PDT up reply actions

I am not up to date on that

Is it saying the MWC would be a BCS league with their bid to the Cotton Bowl? I would think the Big XII would want the Cotton bowl since they are and were aligned during the SWC days.

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by Jeremy Mauss on Aug 19, 2010 12:48 PM PDT up reply actions

I don't know any more than the RUMORRUMORRUMOR suggestions that have been going around.

Certainly nothing of substance, and only barely credible by the way it fits with Patterson’s quotes about knowing things the rest of us don’t.

But if the Cotton does join, they’ll get the Big12 team and the Fiesta would likely get the MWC team.

;-)

by David Hooper on Aug 19, 2010 12:55 PM PDT up reply actions

it true

all the more reason for BYU to come back to the MWC and for them to add Houston.

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by Jeremy Mauss on Aug 19, 2010 12:48 PM PDT up reply actions

WAC Commish

just stated he isn’t inclined to let Nevada and Fresno leave for 2011 so it looks like you nailed this one.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/football/ncaa/08/19/wac-benson.ap/index.html

by Smoove V on Aug 19, 2010 12:27 PM PDT up reply actions

Benson is such a JOKE

"Football is a violent game played by violent people, so put a smile on your face, murder in your heart and lets go kick these f***kers in the mouth" -Dick Bumpas, TCU Defensive Coordinator

by Ben Findley on Aug 19, 2010 12:52 PM PDT up reply actions

That's fine with me.

I can wait a year and let the evals maximize. Fresno and Nevada are great value adds to the conference from a depth perspective, but they won’t help the BCS eval formula.

;-)

by David Hooper on Aug 19, 2010 12:55 PM PDT up reply actions

My biggest question.

Why is BYU doing this now? MWC is a house that they helped built, and we are 2 years away from knowing definetivley if we get an AQ or not., so why torch our chances now? Either way what is two more years to see if the MWC meets it’s goals?

"Football is a violent game played by violent people, so put a smile on your face, murder in your heart and lets go kick these f***kers in the mouth" -Dick Bumpas, TCU Defensive Coordinator

by Ben Findley on Aug 19, 2010 12:54 PM PDT reply actions

BYU has always wanted bigger things.

For decades, they’ve been trying to get into the PAC so they can get on more TV sets. Even when Arizona and Arizona St. left the WAC for the PAC, BYU was upset that they weren’t invited. With Utah in the PAC, the odds of BYU getting an invite are now much smaller because their only real hope was to be invited in as a package deal. (The PAC requires a unanimous vote, and no religiously-based private school will pass muster with all of the PAC schools.)

And now BYU doesn’t want to be seen in what they view as an ‘inferior’ conference when Utah got a seat at the big table. And that’s true, really; the PAC is a better conference. The Big East and ACC are the ones that the MWC is more favorably compared against right now.

Well, long story short: BYU has always wanted to be the biggest fish in the pond, and to be in the biggest pond possible. They lost their shot at the PAC, and the Big 12ish won’t invite them without Utah. So they’re either ‘stuck’ with a MWC that they don’t really care for, or they go indie.

And they can’ stand the thought of Utah being in the PAC while they’re in the MWC.

;-)

by David Hooper on Aug 19, 2010 1:00 PM PDT up reply actions

Tell them to quit peeing thier magic underpants

They’re so damn smug. It would not suprise me if this was just posturing to raise some eyebrows, just in time for the Big-12 to collapse. They so desparate to be relevant that they’re willing to kill their program to be there.

If they go solo for 2011…can they find 12 teams to play? And if they can, do they really think they’re going to be legit programs? I see them paying a bunch of patsies to get beat down, and that won’t come cheap.

by B Money on Aug 19, 2010 3:17 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions