Boise State scrimmages in preparation for the new football megaconference.

Round and round the conference wheel goes… where it stops, nobody knows.  As the race to 16 teams intensifies and traditional rivalries break up in pursuit of money, mid-major conferences have to do anything they can to survive.  For example, take a look at the Mountain West and Conference USA.  The two leagues have seen their top teams courted by other conferences and leave for bigger pay days, but both leagues have done something radical in pursuit of survival and relevance.  The Mountain West Conference and Conference USA are going to merge to create the first super conference.

“I’m just trying to create stability – greater stability – so we’re not talking about membership issues,” said current Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson.  ”I think definitely the intention is increased television revenue for all members.  We like the new approach because it’s different.  It’s proactive.”

The two leagues would honor their current television contracts while improving the fortunes of the bigger teams in the conference, Boise State and Air Force.  The merger would create a single conference with 20 to 24 teams, assuming the league didn’t want to pare down numbers a bit or make the geography a little easier for some members (and the weakened Big East didn’t poach Boise and the Air Force Academy as has been hinted at).  While the merger is only for football, it’s a great idea and should help both leagues in all sports.

Tags: Conference USA, Mountain West, NCAA, NCAA Football, conference merger between MWC and C-USA, C-USA, MWC, Boise State, conference merger, college football, two conferences to merge in 2013, super conference, sports, football, Craig Thompson, conference realignment

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