On Monday, news broke that the Mountain West Conference is re-considering a football-only merger with Conference USA, a topic that will be dealt with next week during an athletics director meeting. According to Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post, Colorado State athletic director needs to learn more about this possible move before he can say more about it:
"I'm going to withhold judgment until I hear the pros and cons," said Kowalczyk today. "It's a crazy landscape out there right now. Nobody really knows who to trust or what they are going to do, it seems, both from a school and conference standpoint. We'll have to see how this plays out and hear what the proposal might be."
However, Kowalczyk did express concern over the size of a 16-team conference, which could make the logistics of holding meetings harder than they already are. However, if this 16-team conference is run more like the old AFL-NFL set up, that might solve some of the non-administrative issues schools have.
Kowalczyk also is receptive to TCU rejoining the conference should that become a viable move. But we'll need to wait and see how things play out in the Big East and the Big 12. If those conferences merge into one, then TCU may be willing to stay put. The Mountain West Connection believes TCU is sticking to its original plan:
My gut feeling is that TCU will proceed with their plan going forward and unless they get a definitive answer before this summer about a merger between the Big East and Big 12 or if the Big East is not going to exist at all, and only then would TCU consider coming back to the Mountain West.
But I hear there are game to play on the field right now.
For more on the Mountain West and possible expansion, visit the Mountain West Connection.