Defectors' loss could be WAC's gain in '05
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer
Texas-El Paso's appearance in the men's NCAA Basketball Championship tournament in March will be worth nearly $1 million to the Western Athletic Conference. The irony is the Miners don't figure to see a dollar of it.
If there is potential for a showdown at the annual WAC Board of Directors meetings that begin today at Half Moon Bay, Calif., it could come over defining withdrawal penalties for the four departing teams who stand to leave more than $3 million on the table when they leave June 30, 2005.
Rice, Southern Methodist, Texas-El Paso and Tulsa will bolt the WAC for Conference USA and the board, which is made up of presidents and chancellors, is scheduled to discuss how much the defectors must forfeit, according to officials.
Members annually receive $600,000 to $700,000 each for their share of school year-end revenues. The main revenue sources are the NCAA basketball tournament payout, television rights and conference basketball tournament receipts.
After eight schools — Air Force, Brigham Young, Colorado State, Nevada-Las Vegas, New Mexico, San Diego State, Utah and Wyoming — defected from the WAC at the conclusion of the 1998-'99 season, the conference added a rule forcing departing members to forfeit their annual shares.
The only school that has, so far, been forced to leave its annual distribution behind was Texas Christian, which bolted to Conference USA after the 2000-'01 season.
If this latest group of defectors is required to leave its 2005 share behind, the six remaining schools — Hawai'i, Boise State, Fresno State, Louisiana Tech, Nevada and San Jose State — will divvy up the expected $2.4 million to $2.8 million next year.
A large part of that is NCAA basketball tournament money. This year the NCAA paid each conference $140,964 for each game one of its members participated in. That payout will rise to $152,037 next year and, since it is paid each year of a six-year cycle, will be worth more than $912,222 at the end of the period. None of which UTEP or the other defectors stands to receive.
UTEP athletic director Bob Stull said yesterday: "We understood that. We knew that coming in." Whether other departing members will agree remains to be seen.
Coupled with the fact that incoming members New Mexico State, Utah State and, possibly, Idaho are required to forfeit part of their shares in the first three years as part of their "buy-in," the holdover WAC schools each stand to receive an additional $400,000 to $500,000 over the next three years.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.
