The Merger Between C-USA and The Mountain West

Earlier, today it was announced that the Mountain West Conference and C-USA would combine to form one super league beginning in the 2013-2014 season. At that time, there will be 16 schools from both conferences for football and 15 for basketball and other sports. However, both UNLV (Mountain West) and Tulane (C-USA) issued a joint press release earlier today expressing an interest in expanding to 18-24 schools. That scares me.

Remember, the  Mountain West Conference formed nearly 14 years ago because 8 universities from the Western Athletic Conference grew tired of the 16-team league. Now, it is ironic that the Mountain West is looking to do the same thing that their conference has opposed all along. The problem is, both conferences have lost some key schools over the last 10 months that have forced them to merge into one league.

I am sure, the million dollar question is "how does this affect UTEP?" If I had to guess, then the Miners will move back west to their old WAC opponents when they expand to 18 or even 24 teams. So, get ready for the Lobos, Running Rebels, Falcons, Rams, and Cowboys. Will a super league give them any more credibility for an automatic BCS bid when the contract is up in two years? Probably not, but renewing some old rivalries, especially in Albuquerque will make things a little more exciting for Miners fans.