On Friday, the Mountain West Conference officially announced that the Utah State Aggies and San Jose St. Spartans have accepted their invitations to join the MWC effective as of 2013-14 academic year in a move that will increase the conference's full membership to nine institutions and 10 football-playing members. Commissioner Craig Thompson proudly declared the conference is "pleased to announce the addition of San José State University and Utah State University to the ranks of the Mountain West," and added that "the long-standing rivalries with our current members and the fit within our geographic footprint made these two institutions the optimal choices."
According to the official announcement, the next step for the Mountain West is strengthening their alliance with Conference USA. On July 1, 2012, Fresno State and the University of Nevada will become members of the MWC and the University of Hawai`i will become a football-only member. Exactly one year later San Jose State University and Utah State University will join the ranks of the Mountain West.
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