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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, October 21, 2003

WAC might turn to Sunbelt schools

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Western Athletic Conference commissioner Karl Benson yesterday said the league is seeking to add at least two schools to replace the three members leaving for Conference USA at the end of the 2004-05 academic year.

In a teleconference with reporters, Benson said potential replacements include Arkansas State, Idaho, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, New Mexico State, Middle Tennessee State, North Texas and Utah State. Those eight are the football-playing schools in the 11-member Sunbelt Conference.

Benson said the current 10-team WAC — which will lose Rice, Southern Methodist and Tulsa — eventually will end up with nine, 10 or 12 members, although he cautioned, "It's way too early to speculate what the league is going to look like in September 2005."

Benson did not rule out making overtures to teams from the Mountain West Conference, a league formed from the eight schools that seceded from the WAC in July 1999.

"We're not ruling out anybody," he said.

He said there is no timetable to replenish the league's membership. The presidents of the seven remaining WAC schools — Hawai'i, Boise State, Fresno State, Louisiana Tech, Nevada, San Jose State and Texas-El Paso — yesterday met in a teleconference, although they did not vote to empower Benson to extend formal invitations.

"We're not in a crisis situation," Benson said. "We have time to evaluate and explore all of our options. Whether it's six weeks or 10 weeks, I don't know if it makes any difference."

The WAC must add at least one school to meet the Division I-A minimum of eight football teams. The departure of Rice, which won the 2003 NCAA baseball champion, will leave the WAC with five baseball teams, one short of the minimum.

A nine-team league will provide each school a balanced home-and-home football schedule of eight conference games.

With 12 members, the WAC could resurrect Benson's plan of two six-team divisions. Although the WAC had attempted to lure Conference USA members Tulane and Houston to the WAC as a way to placate Southwest schools Rice, SMU and Tulsa, league officials no longer believe it is imperative to add teams from the Central time zone. Of the seven remaining WAC schools, Louisiana Tech is in the Central time zone, Boise State and Texas-El Paso in the Mountain time zone, and Fresno State, Nevada and San Jose State in the Pacific time zone.

Benson said he will seek a commitment from the seven remaining schools. It was the reported lack of unity — three schools, including Hawai'i, did not sign pledges — that created instability and probably led to Rice, SMU and Tulsa deciding to bolt.

"The departure of SMU, Rice and Tulsa is disappointing, and yet it's not going to severely damage the WAC," Benson said. "We have seven outstanding schools that will form a foundation to build upon. I'm confident we'll be able to add to those seven (to form a league) just as viable, if not stronger, than in the past."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8051.