Matt Hayes of The Sporting News believes that for the 2012-13 seasons the Mountain West Conference will be part of the BCS. People from the BCS leagues will cry foul since all of the Boise State and TCU numbers count toward the Mountain West even though three years of Boise State's numbers came from the weaker WAC while Big East-bound TCU's count for the Mountain West.
The calculations show us that those numbers would be good enough for the Mountain West to apply for a petition as would the Big East and ACC who currently do not qualify. Here is a telling quote from the article about not letting the Mountain West in the BCS while allowing the Big East and ACC to stay as a BCS league:
"I don't see how we can," says one BCS athletic director.
That answer is short and brief, and in the long run could take a lot of heat off of the BCS. If this happens, Hayes points out how the end result would look:
There would only be two years remaining on this contract rotation, and at the end of the rotation (end of 2013 season), the MWC would move back down if it failed to reach the standards. The one-time exemption would not only provide a sense of partnership with non-BCS schools, it would completely eliminate the access argument.
That would allow the BCS to say they gave a league a chance and they could not hack it if the MWC does not qualify as a league to keep BCS status. So, the Mountain West would have two years to show their worth. All the Mountain West wants is a chance and if they get into the BCS they better start scheduling a way that allows them to continue to stay as a BCS league during the two-year evaluation period.
The reason there are only two years is because the BCS agreement expires after the 2014 bowl season, so it could be extended and give the Mountain West two more years to improve their stock. Also, the BCS could say screw it and not allow the Mountain West in at all.
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