In the end, after four months of bluster, the Mountain West Conference finally agreed to sign on the dotted line yesterday, renewing its second-class status within the Bowl Championship Series for four more years.

After all the "we-wuz-robbed" bleatings, the high-minded talk about fighting for justice and principle and threats to overturn the apple cart, the MWC said, in effect, "Uh, where do we sign for the cash?"

Make no mistake about it, the MWC fought the good fight. But, unfortunately, also a late, poorly thought out and arrogant one.

Which is why, one day before a deadline to commit to being part of the BCS lineup for January 2011 to January 2014, or risk being left out of the money and appearances, and hours after the Western Athletic Conference's acceptance, the MWC announced it "has executed the (BCS) agreement and the attendant rights agreement with ESPN."

The WAC and the MWC were the last of the 11 Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-A) conferences to ratify the agreement. And, though they waited until after Tuesday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to do so, there really was no doubt they would sign on.

It was that or lose out on future opportunities to put its teams in Rose, Fiesta, Sugar or Orange bowl BCS slots and miss out on millions in payouts. "... the Mountain West believes it has no choice at this time but to sign the agreements," an MWC release said.

Clearly, the BCS format is less a vehicle to deliver a true national championship than a way for the six elite conferences to hoard the lion's share of the moolah from what has been a $100 million annual pot. A jackpot that will rise above $125 million under the new ESPN deal.

Utah of the MWC deserved to be in the national title picture last season, just as it did in 2004. And as Boise State of the WAC did in 2006.

The MWC, along with all the rest, agreed back in November to the terms of the upcoming agreement. Then, it belatedly got religion. And got greedy.

After Utah went 13-0, the MWC in March began promoting a new plan to rewrite automatic BCS eligibility. One that just happened — surprise — to favor the MWC at the exclusion of the four other non-automatic conferences.

So the MWC's demands for equality not only rang hollow, they garnered little support and no leverage. Now, only Justice Dept. action will change that in the next four years.

Too bad, too, because the BCS system cries out for real change. The kind that would have had a better chance of coming with a united front.