It is official, C-USA and the Mountain West Conferences have agreed to create a 22 team football only league which will begin play next season.  This  move was inevitable considering all of the teams that have left their respective conferences the past couple of seasons in college football.

The idea has been talked about for a while and will undoubtedly benefit UTEP because they will be able to renew some of their old WAC rivalries against the teams from the Mountain West Conference. There is talk that UTEP may move to the Mountain West conference which is long overdue in my opinion.

Some may argue that this is a move out of desperation, after all everyone and their brother is trying to keep up with the big 5 conferences.  In case you have been living on the moon I am referring to the SEC, PAC 12, Big 12, Big East, and the ACC.

The Big East is attempting to reload after Pitt and Syracuse announced this week that they are leaving for the ACC next season.  The solution to their problem was to invite Boise State, Air force, Central Florida, and Navy to join the conference.  Boise State claims that they are not interested in leaving the Mountain West conference.

The best part about this merger is that the winner of the C-USA/Mountain West conference championship will more than likely receive an automatic BCS bowl bid.  Let's face it, there is no way that college football would ever consider granting the  C-USA champion an automatic BCS bowl game bid, and the Mountain West is not exactly a power conference either. 

This is a move that had to be made, it's like anything else in life, you have to keep up with the competition.  I don't know about you but I miss the days where UTEP was playing the likes of Wyoming, Fresno State, Air force, and Hawaii on an annual basis. 

 This move would reunite these former WAC rivals and the Miners would still play SMU, Houston, and Rice keeping the interstate contests going, which is really important.   If Boise State decides to stay in the Mountain West it will be good for numerous reasons.  Ratings, and competition come to mind most importantly.  It is good to have a quality team like Boise State playing in your conference.

I would like to see UTEP play Boise State again, you never know what can happen in a conference game.  If you don't believe me, just ask Nevada how they beat the Broncos last season to destroy their dream of playing in their first ever Rose Bowl. 

Call me crazy, but this move is great for UTEP because they have no chance of playing in a BCS game in C-USA.  Who knows maybe they can eventually end up winning the C-USA/Mountain West championship game and play in a BCS bowl game.  One thing is for certain, they will have a better chance of doing so in this new football conference than they do now.

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