The announcement is now official that San Jose State and Utah State will be joining the Mountain West:
"We are pleased to announce the addition of San José State University and Utah State University to the ranks of the Mountain West," said Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson. "As we have developed the strategy for the future of the Conference, the long-standing rivalries with our current members and the fit within our geographic footprint made these two institutions the optimal choices to strengthen our membership and position ourselves for the next steps."
Those next steps include continued consideration of a future association between Conference USA and the Mountain West. The two leagues have synchronized their new membership decisions and are still determining what form the alliance will take.
"Joining the Mountain West in 2013 is an exciting opportunity for San José State University's student-athletes, coaches and our many supporters," SJSU President Mohammad Qayoumi said. "I want to thank everyone who worked hard to make this happen. The Mountain West and San José State are a great match. We are not joining this conference to simply compete. We are joining to win, and to build upon our current record of success reflecting San José State's role as a leader in the classroom, research and athletics."
"This is an exciting moment for Utah State University as the decision renews historic rivalries and places us in a conference that is a model of athletic and academic success," said USU president Stan Albrecht. "We are proud to join with this group of high-quality institutions as we continue our very positive upward trajectory. This is a great day for Utah State athletics and for the university as a whole."
Ah, there has to be a mention about the handshake deal with Conference USA, nonetheless welcome to the league and we will see come July 2013.