Colorado State & New Mexico Interested In Forming New League

[TheImmortalGoud]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/dennis-dodd/21436444/colorado-new-mexico-trying-to-coax-byu-and-boise-state-into-forming-new-league

Representatives from Colorado State and New Mexico have shown preliminary but informal interest in forming a new conference that would have Boise State and/or BYU as its foundation, CBSSports.com has learned.

It's not clear what other schools would be added, but it's obvious the race is on to establish the most dominant conference below the five power conferences going forward in 2014 (Big Ten, Pac-12, Big 12, ACC, SEC). CBSSports.com reported earlier this week that the Big East had reached out to UNLV and Fresno State to shore up its shaky prospects on the football side.

This latest development might be a reciprocal answer to the Big East's move. Whatever conference in the so-called Group of Five (MAC, Conference USA, Mountain West, Sun Belt, Big East) emerges as the strongest, it would have the best chance of getting the automatic berth that goes to the highest ranked of the group's champions beginning in 2014.

At issue for the moment is the Mountain West TV contract, which still has three years to run. The deal with CBS reportedly pays $12 million per year. However, a new conference theoretically could strike its own -- preferably more lucrative -- TV deal. That current CBS deal runs through the 2015 football season and 2015-16 basketball season.

The MWC is hoping to renegotiate part of that deal so it could hold the rights to more first-, second- and third-tier games that could be licensed to other networks. That would allow the MWC to make more money off the deal by keeping the revenue from those games. Example: The MWC would take slightly less than that $12 million if it was able to hold the particular rights to certain games. It then could, in theory, "sell" that game (or games) to NBC Sports Network, Turner, ESPN or Fox. Creating a new league would allow more leeway in structuring more profitable rights fees.

One source said it is unlikely that CBS would give up the rights to first-tier games, which the source said includes the network's choice of the top 15 contests in the Mountain West. That would devalue the worth of the contract to CBS.

The possibility of a new league is only in the talking stages at this point. In fact, MWC commissioner Craig Thompson told CBSSports.com on Friday he had just spoken to Colorado State president Tony Frank and the subject of a new league had not come up. Another source said the talk could be between athletic directors only at this point, New Mexico's Paul Krebs and Colorado State's Jack Graham.

What's not clear is what kind of leverage Colorado State and New Mexico would have in this agreement other than trying to convince Boise and BYU to form a new league. Neither Colorado State nor New Mexico brings a TV market or marketable brand name to the table to interest rightsholders. A new league would also face issues regarding carrying over NCAA tournament basketball units and access to the new college basketball playoff beginning in 2014.

Boise State and BYU continue to be the biggest prizes below college football's Mendoza Line. Boise is in a sort of limbo. It left the Mountain West on July 1 but doesn't officially join the Big East until July 1, 2013. If one or both could be coaxed into forming a new league, that might convince the likes of San Diego State, SMU and Houston to come along, a source said.

BYU continues to say it is happy after just completing its second year of independence in football. However, because of that independence, it will be paid only a miniscule amount out of the revenue produced by the college football playoff. Also, as it currently stands, BYU and Army would have the worst automatic access point to the playoff. If they don't finish in the top four, neither would be guaranteed access to one of the six playoff bowls. Navy would be in that situation as well for one season in 2014 before it joins the Big East in 2015.

But no one is sure if there is going to be a Big East (in football) and/or Mountain West going forward. It's clear that any conference with Boise and/or BYU, though, is going to have the upper hand among the Group of Five. As has been reported, both schools have also talked to the Mountain West about their future.

Boise has spent the last two seasons in the MWC. BYU was a member of the Mountain West from 1999-2010.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

It's becoming pretty obvious that the Big East is going to cease to exist shortly. The western schools are going to bail and either go back to the MWC or form this new league.

 

[NAHSTE]

The MWC just got an upgraded TV deal, so this may no longer be necessary, and Boise bailing on the Big East is thought to be "inevitable" at this point.

 

[Hasselbeck]

Welcome back Boise and SDSU!

 

[SHOGUN]

Fuck the Big East. Make it happen.

Maintain geographic integrity! :lesmug:

 

[St. Francisco]

I'm so fucking tired of this conference bullshit. I wish there was a governing body to keep all this shit straight.

 

[TheImmortalGoud]

It's even more likely that this new conference will form after this news.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/jeremy-fowler/21441330/cbs-still-has-option-to-keep-mountain-west-rights-until-2020

The Mountain West Conference's restructured television contract with CBS creates an interesting dynamic for 2016, when the network can apply its four-year option to keep the conference's rights until 2020.

CBSSports.com's Dennis Dodd reported Friday night the Mountain West had reached an agreement to restructure its television deal with CBS that allows the league to sell packages of games to additional networks. This is a reworking of a 10-year deal with CBS that began in 2006-07 and pays a reported $12 million per year.

But the deal does not affect CBS' four-year option after the deal is up, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation. In other words, the Mountain West likely won't be a free agent for another eight years.

The Mountain West doesn't see this as a bad thing as it works to bolster its portfolio and position itself for more money than its antiquated original deal.

The reworked deal is more inventory for a league that's clearly trying to become the most powerful small conference while the Big East is vulnerable. It could also free up the conference to profit more off digital rights.

With CBS still the primary rightsholder with priority picks to the top games, as Dodd points out, the question becomes: How much will the new inventory -- games with Utah State, San Jose State, New Mexico and others -- be worth to suitors?

The Mountain West will find out soon on the open market.

Otherwise, the league feels good about its 10-team membership after meetings with each school last week. One official believes the Big East's overtures to Fresno State have been unsuccessful so far.

If the Mountain West can retain Boise State, which is set to join the Big East in 2013, it could prepare for the 2016 re-up with 11 teams and possibly a 12th if it poaches from Conference USA.

Boise State has several options -- stay in the Big East, revisit the MWC, or explore an independent television deal, as Sports Illustrated's Pete Thamel reports.

A Mountain West expansion to 14 teams is an option, depending on what happens with the Big East.

Unless CBS is willing to restructure their contract to give the MWC more money then I think the MWC conference will be dead in a few years. This new conference can easily get 3x the amount that they are currently getting.