Mountain West Connection,

Reports are circulatting that the commissioners from the Big East Conference, the Mountain West Conference and Conference USA are to meet Wednesday to discuss the formation of a 28- to 32- team super conference to try to gain automatic Bowl Championship Series status. The Mountain West and Conference USA already have agreed to merge by either next year or in 2013 and the recent developments concerning the Big 12 invite to West Virginia could play a major factor in the Big East giving it serious consideration.

After North Dakota joined the Big Sky Conference most assumed their border rival South Dakota would follow, however the Coyotes have declined the Big Sky's invitation. Like SDST and NDST, South Dakota will join the Missouri Valley Football Conference and elect to stay in the Summit League in all other sports. This move leaves the Big Sky with 11 all-sport members and 13 football members. The Summit League will remain stable with its 9 members, while the MVC will now be at 10. North Dakota may have a case of buyer's remorse after signing on with the Big Sky, and could be looking into joining the other 3 Dakotas in Summit league/MVC to reduce their travel costs and maintain its rivalries. The WAC's expansion plan seems to have settled on just adding UTSA, Texas St, and (non football school) Denver in order to hold open another spot in case Montana decides to upgrade. The only school left out of of this expansion shuffle for now is Seattle University, a non-football school, who may be targeted to join the WCC with the new addition of BYU or they could be invited to join Big Sky Conference as a 12th member in an attempt to even out the basketball schedule.

The date was moved from September 1 to July 1. That is the same date that the MWC will need for Boise to accept an invite to the league so that their WAC performance from 2007-2010 can go toward BCS evaluation, and they would begin play in fall of 2011.