Fresno State

A summer that began with conference expansion and realignment will end with another round of reshuffling. Nevada and Fresno State will leave the Western Athletic Conference and join the Mountain West Conference, schools announced Wednesday night.
Brigham Young, currently of the MWC, has been weighing "all options" about its future, including football independence. MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson said Wednesday night that BYU is a member and has participated in several conference calls with league members the last 48 hours.

BYU athletics director Tom Holmoe said last month that playing football as an independent was an option given the school's national The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints base. The Cougars were left out of the first round of conference realignment when in-state rival Utah headed to the Pacific-10, along with Colorado of the Big 12.

Earlier this summer, Boise State announced it would leave the WAC for the MWC. The departure of Boise State, ranked No. 5 in the preseason USA TODAY Coaches' Poll, Nevada and Fresno State — three of its top tier teams — is a major blow to the WAC, which will be left with just six teams. As of late Wednesday night, WAC Commissioner Karl Benson was not available for comment.

"It's fair to say he was disappointed," Nevada President Milt Glick said in a Wednesday night news conference when asked about Benson's reaction.

Glick gushed over the move from a league it joined just a decade ago: "I think it's extraordinary. I think people have been waiting a long time for this day. … It really is a game-changer for us."

Glick cited increased revenue from the Mountain West and a decrease in travel costs among reasons for the move, as well as improved competition and solid academic schools.

"We believe that in five years we will come out ahead financially," Glick said.

Both schools said they would like to begin play in 2011 but the details of the move as well as any potential exit fee are still to be determined in negotiations with the WAC. Neither president would confirm the details of a penalty for leaving.

Glick and Fresno State President John Welty said his first informal contact with the Mountain West came on Tuesday before serious negotiations began Wednesday. "This invitation provides Fresno State the opportunity to take another step athletically and academically," Welty said. "We've got to increase attendance. We've got to increase support. The student-athletes will have to work harder. This is a good long-term step for us."

As for the next step in this ever-shifting summer of conference re-alignment? Stay tuned for possible news from BYU.

Member schools netted less than $2 million per school in football television money last year from the MWC's television network. BYU has its own TV network as well as a broadcast center.

If BYU does not leave the MWC, the league would consist of 11 schools — Air Force, Boise State, BYU, Colorado State, Fresno State, New Mexico, Nevada, San Diego State, TCU, UNLV and Wyoming. Thompson said it was too early to discuss whether the league would add a 12th team or consider having a football championship game.