MWC and WAC battle becoming a hot war

SALT LAKE CITY — They are saying it's nothing personal, just the business of business. So why does it feel so personal between the Mountain West and the Western Athletic conferences?

Because neither can turn around without bumping into the other.

And then there's that cannibalism issue. Otherwise, things couldn't be finer.

The ongoing tension between conferences soared this week with the proposed move of BYU to independent status in football and from the MWC to the WAC in all other sports. That hasn't come off as planned. Why? Because the MWC interfered by stealing Nevada and Fresno State from the WAC.

Call it healthy competition or bad blood. Consider it a simple sibling rivalry or a war to the death. One thing is certain: These two Western-based conferences aren't getting closer.

It's hard to be friends when things are becoming, as one writer framed it in a question, "predatory."

"I don't look at it as necessarily predatory," said WAC commissioner Karl Benson on a conference call Thursday. "In today's intercollegiate athletic environment, it has become fairly routine, fairly standard."

The first shot of the summer was fired in June when the University of Utah left the MWC for the Pac-10, facilitating Boise State's jump from the WAC. But the WAC nearly landed a reciprocal blow Wednesday when it invited BYU to join. In a matter of hours, Fresno State and Nevada announced they were leaving the WAC for you-know-where. That potentially left the WAC with only six football-playing schools. It could even mean the demise of the WAC.

"In a 12-hour period, we went from having a secure future to not knowing what will happen," Benson said.

Such a position isn't the first for Benson. When the MWC was formed in 1998-99, it was believed the departure of Air Force, BYU, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV, Utah and Wyoming to form the MWC would vaporize the WAC. But the conference rebuilt around teams like Fresno State, Boise State and Nevada. Meanwhile, the MWC added TCU.

The MWC has traditionally been considered the overall better conference. In most power rankings, it is rated seventh-best in the nation, the WAC eighth. The MWC has supplied three BCS bowl teams (Utah twice, TCU once), the WAC three (Boise State twice, Hawaii once). Each has won two BCS bowls.