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Conference Realignment: Air Force Still In Mix for Big East Expansion

Big East commissioner Mike Aresco said the conference is looking to reach agreements with 14 members in the next year. The Air Force Falcons could be one of their top targets.

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55 Total Updates since September 19, 2011
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Friday Press Conference Scheduled To Introduce San Jose State, Utah State To Mountain West

The Utah State Aggies and San Jose St. Spartans are set to join the Mountain West beginning in the fall of 2013 and press conferences have been set for Friday to announce the additions:

This move puts the Mountain West at 10 football playing members and nine basketball playing members. On the football side this makes the league more stable and the move also adds more markets to the league by getting some of the Utah market back in the fold, and possibly the Bay Area if San Jose State can become a winner.

However these additions really help with basketball since the Mountain West was looking at having only seven teams for the 2013-14 season and now they get nine teams and a quality hoops program in Utah State who has won 20-plus games in 12 out of the last 14 seasons.

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Conference Realignment: Mountain West, Conference USA Not Dissolving To Form New League, According To Report

A little over a month after they announced that they would dissolve their leagues and form one new mega-conference, Conference USA and the Mountain West have ended that course, reports Brett McMurphy of CBS Sports. McMurphy breaks it down on why this won't be happening:

However, if the leagues dissolved, then they would lose their NCAA tournament units -- teams earn about $250,000 for their conference for each round they advance in the NCAA tournament and that money is distributed to the conferences after a rolling six-year period. Dissolving the leagues would forfeit C-USA and the Mountain West millions of dollars.

And, as we know, money always speaks. Losing that money outweighs whatever the new league could have received in a new television contract. As it stands now, McMurphy's source believes that there is no front-runner when it comes to either merging the two leagues or simply work out some sort of alliance.

Sixteen teams currently comprise the football portion between the two leagues, but expanding this to as many as 24 teams is still possible.

Expansion -- it never ends.

Head to SB Nation College Football for more in-depth coverage of the 2012 NCAA college football season.

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Big East Expansion To Happen On Wednesday, Include Boise State, According To Report

It appears that Big East expansion will finally come on Wednesday. The conference is expected to announce the additions of the Boise St. Broncos, the Houston Cougars, the Central Florida Knights, the San Diego St. Aztecs and the SMU Mustangs, according to Brett McMurphy of CBS Sports.

We've heard this all before, but this time is seems like it will really happen. However, this initial announcement will include just five teams. With BYU out of the picture a couple of weeks ago, it now appears that the Air Force Falcons and the Navy Midshipmen are still in the picture. However, the Falcons are still determining its future course of action and Navy might not want to give up its Independent status in football.

Boise State is expected to join as a football-only member in 2013.

The Newark Star-Ledger and the Boston Globe also reported this story (h/t to Brian Murphy of the Idaho Statesman).

Head to SB Nation College Football for more in-depth coverage of the 2011 NCAA college football season.

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Conference USA, Mountain West Discussing All Sports Merger, According To Report

Back in October, Conference USA and the Mountain West Conference announced that the two leagues would merge for a football-only partner. Nearly two months later, it now appears that the two conferences will attempt merge in all sports, reports Chris V. Lopez of the El Paso Times. According to Lopez, UTEP Miners athletic director Bob Stull remarked on Thursday that negotiations were moving forward and that the new entity that emerges could house all sports.

However, it appears that this is far from certain as Lopez followed up with a tweet that let everyone know that it is being "discussed" as part of the negotiations. There is still no news on how many teams will be part of this super conference or how the division will be aligned. And there's always that pesky Big East expansion issue lurking in the background that could grab Boise State, Houston, Central Florida, possibly Air Force and other.

Head to SB Nation College Football for more in-depth coverage of the 2011 NCAA college football season.

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Conference Realignment: Big East Expansion May Wait, Air Force Falcons May Stay

The Colorado Springs Gazette is reporting the Air Force Falcons may elect to stay put in the Mountain West conference:

Although moving the football program to the Big East is an appealing option, sources with knowledge of academy superintendent Lt. Gen. Mike Gould’s thought process ... said Gould might be leaning toward staying in the Mountain West.

Conference realignment has been the unofficial nickname of the 2011 college football season, and one of the bigger names yet-decided on their conference appears to be the Falcons. Joining the Big East would meaning joining a BCS conference -- likely adding several million dollars to the Air Force athletics department.

However, the Mount West Conference is a strong conference and has gained prominence over the last decade -- and will be adding three more members in the 2012 season, including the Hawaii Warriors. Craig Thompson, the MWC commissioner, lauded the Air Force for not rushing their decision:

Air Force is diligent and they’re doing the right thing in saying, ‘Let me know all the answers to all the questions.'

For now,  the Air Force has not made any official determination on their conference status.

For live and up-to-date news on the Air Force Falcons, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. Head to SB Nation College Football for more in-depth coverage of the 2011 NCAA college football season.

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Boise State President Bob Kustra Given Power To Accept Big East Invite

Boise State University President Bob Kustra received the power to accept an invitation from the Big East when the Idaho State Board of Education voted 7-1 in favor of granting that power, reports Brian Murphy of the Idaho Statesman. Kustra expects that a decision could come by next week.

Boise State would enter the league as part of a West Division in the Big East. Air Force, should it receive an accept an invitation to the Big East, would be Boise State's Western partner, as the other teams in the West under the current iteration are Houston, SMU, Louisville and Cincinnati. However, BYU is reportedly a target to join the Big East West Division and San Diego State has indicated it would be open to such a move.

If Air Force and San Diego State jump to the Big East with Boise State, the Mountain West will lose its top three football teams in the conference.

Boise State is expected to reach an agreement in a few days with another league to house its non-football sports.

For more on the Mountain West and possible realignment, visit Mountain West Connection.

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Conference USA, Mountain West Announce Football Merger

After months of will they or won't they, Conference USA and the Mountain West announced on Friday afternoon that the two leagues are forming a football-only association. All 22 schools of this association agreed to the move. For the time being, the Air Force Falcons and the Boise State Broncos are members of this new conference, but both teams appear headed to the Big East.

This could be a move to keep both schools in the Mountain West, but realistically this merger doesn't bring much prestige to either conference. But there is this from the official press release;

UNLV President and Mountain West Board of Directors Chair Neal Smatresk said, "In an era of uncertainty in intercollegiate athletics, this collaborative partnership with C-USA lends stability and credibility to our collective football enterprise. We are excited about the prospect of having teams in five time zones and the many possibilities created by this extremely bold and proactive step."

This league could certainly give way to an automatic qualifier in the BCS, but outside of Boise State, who, again, might leave, there is no powerhouse school that will compete for the national championship year-in and year-out.

There could be a TV deal still to be made with this new conference, but there's still much left to be learned about it.

For more on the Mountain West and possible realignment, visit Mountain West Connection.

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Mountain West Expansion: MWC, Conference USA Considering Football-Only Merger

With the Big 12 conference about to go under, Pitt and Syracuse heading to the ACC and Texas leading a number of schools that will likely wind up in the Pac-12 (or 16 as it would become), the Mountain West Conference is willing to consider a football-only merger with Conference USA, according to Brian Murphy of the Idaho Statesman:

"We’ve resurrected … this consolidation concept with Conference USA from a football-only standpoint. The timing is right to be proactive in that," Thompson said. "Consolidation is, at least, worth exploring."

However, this is just one possible course of action for the league. Commissioner Craig Thompson told the Statesman that the conference is also discussing inviting remaining teams from the Big 12 and from the Big East, though those teams could attempt to come together to remake one of the conferences.

If the MWC-CUSA merger took place, it would be to help TV distribution, sponsorships and other financial happenings. Each conference would send its top team to a league championship game.

Also, Thompson hinted that the TCU Horned Frogs could be issued an invitation back into the Mountain West, just a year after they opted to leave and join the Big East in 2012. With Pitt and Syracuse heading to the ACC, Connecticut could also move to the ACC to keep together a rivalry against the Orange.

For more on the Mountain West and possible expansion, visit the Mountain West Connection.

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