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Old WAC vs. MWC

T-6 Miner

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Sep 16, 2004
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Serious question. Was the old WAC a better conference than the current MWC? I seem to remember that it was. With that said, any move to the MWC will not take us back to that place. I get that it's a step up from where we are now but the MWC really isn't all that,
 
Yes, it had BYU and Utah.

The current MWC is definitely a better conference for UTEP than CUSA, though.
The WAC that UTEP joined, along with Colorado State, had BYU, Utah, Arizona, Arizona St, Wyoming and New Mexico. If only the UTEP administration of that day had worked to keep pace athletically with all those schools, UTEP would have been part of the MWC from its inception. Oh well, didn't happen. Real important for UTEP to do much better in FB and MBB this coming season since next spring realignment could be affecting the G5 conferences.
 
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Current MWC members make 4 million a year from the TV deal. How was the old WAC deal? CUSA members make 400,000k.

I think that's pretty self explanatory.

The Current MWC is better than anything UTEP has been a part of.

At least financially speaking.
 
Current MWC members make 4 million a year from the TV deal. How was the old WAC deal? CUSA members make 400,000k.

I think that's pretty self explanatory.

The Current MWC is better than anything UTEP has been a part of.

At least financially speaking.
Depends on what your reference to "old WAC" is.

If it's comparing the WAC from the 80s to the MWC of 2021, there's no possible way to compare the two. Completely different eras. Cable TV was just beginning to emerge, the internet and multimedia didn't exist back then, and the landscape of college athletics itself was way different than it is today.

I know the current WAC recently negotiated a new distribution deal. If that's what you're comparing to, then the MWC deal is far superior. And yes, the CUSA deal completely sucks too.
 
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Depends on what your reference to "old WAC" is.

If it's comparing the WAC from the 80s to the MWC of 2021, there's no possible way to compare the two. Completely different eras. Cable TV was just beginning to emerge, the internet and multimedia didn't exist back then, and the landscape of college athletics itself was way different than it is today.

I know the current WAC recently negotiated a new distribution deal. If that's what you're comparing to, then the MWC deal is far superior. And yes, the CUSA deal completely sucks too.
BYU from the '80s WAC won a football national championship.
 
Current MWC members make 4 million a year from the TV deal. How was the old WAC deal? CUSA members make 400,000k.

I think that's pretty self explanatory.

The Current MWC is better than anything UTEP has been a part of.

At least financially speaking.
Back then, as a fan you didn’t hear talk of money in regard to conference, and very little in regard to conference prestige. Completely different era.

As Feral said, we had a national champion in football. We almost always had 2-3 bb teams in the top 20, and usually 1 in the top 10 at some point during the season. I’d say the WAC during the 80s was as good as it’ll ever get for UTEP.
 
Serious question. Was the old WAC a better conference than the current MWC? I seem to remember that it was. With that said, any move to the MWC will not take us back to that place. I get that it's a step up from where we are now but the MWC really isn't all that,
I’d gladly go to the MWC provided the opportunity, even though it’s just a small step up from where we currently are. More for the renewed rivalries and geographical convenience than anything else.

I’m kinda over UTEP gaining some footing and climbing the conference hierarchy ladder. There’s always gonna be a better conference to aspire to and UTEP will never “get there”.

I’m of the opinion to just go win. Be good whatever conference you’re in. If we can’t win in CUSA, we’re really gonna struggle in a better conference.
 
My point to the comparison was it looks like our best days are behind us. Those days are gone and not coming back…even if we do land in the MWC. The leadership missed the boat and now we’re in everyone’s wake. It’s a shame.

I agree.. So many schools jumped in and invested heavily into Athletics and UTEP did add some shiny new facilities, they were outdated quickly by new arenas, Indoor Practice Facilities, Cafeterias, Student Athlete Centers, etc....

UTEP in its effort to become a Top Research University, invested the money into that and athletics has not benefited.
 
It's more than a small step up, UTEP and the rest of CUSA, make pennies compared to the MWC... Not to mention, many UTEP fans would rather play a UNLV, New Mexico, Nevada, Boise St, etc. Over ODU, FU's. Throw in the travel cost, and it adds up, for all sports. UTEP needs to get the heck out of CUSA one way or another. There are enough regional teams, to have brought back a decent WAC. UTEP, UTSA, UNT, RICE, NMSU, Texas St... Just to name a few. Could be a nice regional conference. A MWC even without Boise St, is going to be better. Just my opinion. Glad it's almost football season!
 
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How I imagine it plays out.

Texas and OU to SEC

No other P4 conference expands. Those leftover B12 teams will still be there whenever the P4 want to pick them.

B12 expands to 12 for better stability. They add Houston, Cincy, Memphis and UCF.

The MW escapes any poaching since the AAC has been weakened enough.

The AAC is at 7 football members and every CUSA/SB team is preparing their power point presentations. AAC will be slow at expanding too big but will immediately take the two "best" G5 programs to prevent any of the G5 conferences poaching them. Who those two programs will be is debeatle but UAB should be one of them.

CUSA will lose one or two teams at max to AAC. Does SB try and and poach the best of the rest from CUSA?
 
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That is a possibility, but I think the Big 10 might be thinking expansion and if they take 1 or two more that will cause a larger domino effect. WVU is a outlier and they could be looking to go somewhere also. Houston and SMU look to be the best "Texas" filler schools. UCF and USF are too attractive to be left out as they are in big time tv and recruiting areas and are well funded. Could Big East Football make a comeback? UCon would certainly support that.
 
How I imagine it plays out.

Texas and OU to SEC

No other P4 conference expands. Those leftover B12 teams will still be there whenever the P4 want to pick them.

B12 expands to 12 for better stability. They add Houston, Cincy, Memphis and UCF.

The MW escapes any poaching since the AAC has been weakened enough.

The AAC is at 7 football members and every CUSA/SB team is preparing their power point presentations. AAC will be slow at expanding too big but will immediately take the two "best" G5 programs to prevent any of the G5 conferences poaching them. Who those two programs will be is debeatle but UAB should be one of them.

CUSA will lose one or two teams at max to AAC. Does SB try and and poach the best of the rest from CUSA?
If the AAC takes 2 CUSA teams, CUSA will be at 12 and that’s better for everyone. At that point, I don’t think there’s 2 teams that would increase the SBC’s TV deal to make it work. By remaining at 10 teams, they will still maximize their CFP payout. By adding two teams, they’re likely to dilute their earnings each year.
 
I'd love that conference, but has the MWC given any indication that they are looking to expand?
They aren't. If utep makes it in, it's because Boise, AF and CSU go elsewhere.

I'd love it though. I don't think the Dakota schools are capable of making the jump financially. They don't bring a market and I don't think they actually want to be in FBS.
 
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