Mountain West, Conference USA Plan Football Merger

The two leagues expect to merge their football operations into one mega-conference that will probably have between 20 and 24 teams in it when it finally gets going in 2013.

The name? They'll come up with one.

Will Boise State and Air Force, among others, stay? They hope.

"I'm just trying to create stability — greater stability — so we're not talking about membership issues," Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson said Friday night on a conference call. Both commissioners, Thompson and Conference USA commissioner Britton Banowsky, said the new arrangement will provide the security that top programs need to keep them from jumping ship.

That's clearly the reason for the merger announced Friday, shortly after it came out that Boise State and Air Force — two key Mountain West programs — were being courted by the Big East.

Down to six teams of its own after Syracuse and Pittsburgh announced a pending departure to the ACC, the league generally viewed as the weakest of the automatic qualifiers for the Bowl Championship Series looks set to poach some of the top mid-majors.

A Big East official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the conference had not authorized anyone to speak publicly about its plans, told The Associated Press that the conference plans to invite Boise State, Air Force and Navy as football-only members, and Central Florida to compete in all sports.

"It's a viable option and it creates stability and that's what they're looking for," Thompson said. "I can't answer what Air Force will do or won't do, but we're going to put a very attractive opportunity on the table for the United States Air Force Academy."

Both Thompson and Banowsky said it's too soon to discuss how the sprawling league — which could stretch from West Virginia and Florida to Hawaii and Idaho — would handle scheduling.

They were able to emphasize, however, that they would honor their current TV contracts.

"I think definitely the intention is increased television revenue for all members," Thompson said. "We like the new approach because it's different. It's proactive."

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AP College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo contributed.

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Follow Rick Freeman at twitter.com/RWFreeman

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Big 12-Big East merger afoot?

The Big 12 and Big East have discussed how to merge the two leagues, according to an Associated Press report.

From the report:

The person, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk publicly about what is going on behind the scenes, said Monday there has been dialogue between athletic directors and high-level officials in the conference offices.

No big surprise there, and it's something that's a) natural and b) been speculated elsewhere, but we have here some relatively concrete confirmation.

Oklahoma, Texas, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech are mulling their conference future, and of course, any merger would most likely only become reality if those four left.

Or, could the Big 12 somehow convince those four to stay and take on the remaining six Big East football programs after Syracuse and Pittsburgh announced their exit over the weekend?

That would be quite the comeback for a Big 12 that looks like it's entering its final days.

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