Comments about ‘Utah Valley University accepts invitation to join Western Athletic Conference’

Yay!

Add SUU too, why not?

Reasons why SUU is not even a figment of an option for the 2013 and beyond non FBS WAC.
1) SUU has football.
2) They are already very comfortable in the Big Sky.

Wow! Utah County will now have two schools in the WAC!

Remember two years ago when BYU tried to join the WAC and failed?

UVU: Achieving what BYU has been failing at since 2012.

Did you read the article? WAC of the future WILL NOT have football on any level. It will be olympic sports only and UVU could win it and win it often!

Wiley Old School and Brave Sir Robin,

I'm sure Utah fans are so proud to be able to count you two as part of their fan base. Proving Max Hall right one comment at a time!

UVU can thank Fresno St. and Nevada for the implosion of the WAC as formerly known.

There are 6 4-year universities with athletics in California's San Joaquin Valley. The 8 counties in the valley combine for 3.8 million people; about a third more people than Utah. As of 2013, the 4 with the largest athletics budgets will be in conferences with Utah schools. For the third time, USU and Fresno State will be part of the same conference when USU joins the MWC a year after Fresno State. In Stockton, at the north end of the valley, is the University of the Pacific (a former conference rival to USU), which joined the WCC this year and is thus a conference rival for BYU. The third largest athletics budget in the San Joaquin Valley belongs to CSU-Bakersfield, which joins with UVU as new members of the WAC. The fourth is Fresno Pacific University which is transitioning to NCAA Division II and joining the Pacific West, which contains Dixie State for Olympic sports. It is getting to be a pretty big rivalry between schools in Utah and in the San Joaquin Valley.

Congratulations to UVU on joining the WAC. I echo Coach Nixon's words today--it is about time.

>>>a two-year grace period granted by the NCAA

Note, is not a grace period granted by the NCAA, but part of the rules--it applies automatically to any conference falling below 7 schools.

I wonder who the WAC is going to tab in the next 2 years to at least get up to 7 teams. Somewhere I saw something about adding a whole second division to have a 10 or 12 team conference. Will the WAC further raid the Great West? Who are the candidates?

Does this mean Idaho and NMSU will drop football or will play football in some other league. Just wondering. Is this the last year for football in the WAC? Thrilled to see USU in the MWC.

Addressing the SUU comment above, the Big Sky just expanded and didn't really even consider UVU. This is a great move for UVU, nice to get that automatic NCAA basketball bid, but the WAC as present is a terrible conference except possibly in baseball. The Big Sky Conference with SUU and WSU, despite FCS football, is a much stronger conference.

People in Utah might still be thinking the WAC is similar to what it once was, but it's not even a shadow of what it once was. Having said that, there is nothing but upside here for UVU, so congrats!