Posted on: Sunday, May 30, 2004

Idaho suddenly appealing to WAC

By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist

When asked the other day if there were any schools other than Idaho the Western Athletic Conference could consider for expansion, one of its member officials said:

"Well, Notre Dame doesn't have a conference, yet."

At least they still have their sense of humor in the WAC.

Adding Idaho to the thrice-jilted band of survivors isn't ideal, but it is necessary.

When the WAC Board of Directors, which is composed of member presidents and chancellors, meets June 2 to 4 to consider expansion, it needs to look at Idaho as an insurance policy. Think of the Vandals as sort of a Mutual of Moscow — Idaho, that is — for the times.

Idaho would give the WAC nine members for 2005-'06, when the revolving door that sees Rice, Southern Methodist, Texas-El-Paso and Tulsa exit and New Mexico State and Utah State enter stops spinning.

Eight is something of a magic number in Division I, where it takes a minimum of eight members to retain the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA men's basketball tournament and the bucks that come with it. A conference is guaranteed $845,784 ($140,964 annually over each of a six-year rolling cycle) just for having a team in the tournament, money that is shared among the membership.

The problem with the WAC's eight is that it is an unstable group, a geographically disparate alliance held together only by the lack of other conference options. By the time the latest pack of defectors pulls up stakes, 13 schools will have left in six years.

So, it wouldn't be a surprise if somebody else were to slip away in the dead of night a couple of years down the road.

In fact, if Louisiana Tech doesn't go somewhere in the next five years, it will be an upset. Come 2005, the Bulldogs will be the WAC's only Central time zone team, stranded out on the eastern flank more than 800 miles from their nearest conference opponent. The only reason they haven't left yet is because they got passed over by C-USA, and some old grudges stand in the way of them being willing to go back to the Sun Belt. But if Tech gets a new administration, that could change.

So, it behooves the WAC to give itself some insurance, especially since there is really no one else out there within reasonable geographic reach who has shown interest.

There are other reasons, too. A ninth team will provide for balanced (four home, four away games) scheduling in football. And the Vandals, who have twice played UH in the NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament, bring a competitive program.

A school that was Ida-Who for many in the WAC a short time ago, is now the best available bandage to put on a bad situation.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.