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C-USA eyes UTEP for 12th member
Miners would fill void left by Texas Christian
Friday, April 16, 2004
By Ted Lewis
Staff writer
Conference USA athletic directors have recommended Texas-El Paso to become the league's 12th member, but presidential approval for the move still must be obtained.

A decision is expected by the end of next week when the school presidents have a scheduled meeting via conference call.

UTEP athletic director Bob Stull said he has not had any communication with C-USA officials other than a visit from league consultant Chuck Neinas.

"There's really no reason to analyze what we might or might not do at this stage," Stull said. "We're very happy as members of the WAC."

C-USA has been considering future moves since February when Texas Christian left to join the Mountain West Conference, upsetting the planned alignment of the league after last year's nationwide conference reshuffling.

The decision to go with UTEP, currently in the Western Athletic Conference, was made during meetings held by the athletic directors in Irving, Texas, on Monday and Tuesday. No official announcement has been made, but two sources involved in the meetings said UTEP beat out North Texas and Louisiana Tech.

UTEP, which has an enrollment of 18,000, has been a member of the WAC since 1968. But indications are the school would prefer to align itself with C-USA's Texas members: SMU, Rice and Houston, so that it can play more games in front of its alumni in Dallas and Houston and save on travel costs.

The Miners averaged 20,009 in football during this past season when the team was 2-11. Coach Gary Nord was fired and replaced with former Washington State and Alabama coach Mike Price.

But in 2000, when UTEP won the WAC championship, attendance was more than 46,000.

The men's basketball team, which shared the WAC title with Nevada, averaged 10,282 this season, selling out seven of its nine conference games. Coach Billy Gillispie left at season's end to become the coach at Texas A&M. Assistant Doc Sadler was hired as Gillispie's replacement.

UTEP's athletic history includes winning 21 NCAA track and field championships, although the most recent was in 1982. The school also won the men's basketball championship in 1966.

If UTEP does join C-USA, Louisiana Tech, a WAC member which had openly campaigned for membership in C-USA, will be more than 1,000 miles from its nearest conference foe, New Mexico State, and the only WAC school in the Central Time Zone.

But Louisiana Tech athletic director Jim Oakes said his school plans to remain in the WAC.

This sounds OK to me. They, the Miners, do travel well and on SW airlines it's easy to get to El Paso. Hey... they have some good golf courses there too.

I did like the La. Tech choise but would like to play in Shreveport.

That would be great news for UNT, and devastating for the WAC.

The WAC had hoped to become a western conference by phasing out all the CST schools, and adding some non-football basketball powers.

Benson had said in October that if LA Tech left the conference, the WAC would push to "expand" with Idaho. There have been reports that have surfaced since that claim the conference would also push for an expansion of Gonzaga, Portland and Pepperdine as full members (but football).

In the same statement in October, Benson said that if LA Tech stayed, the WAC would look at a CST travel partner in their "expansion effort."

I doubt the WCC schools would be quick to jump to a conference in the central timezone, so the WAC is probably looking at a 9-school conference across 4 timezones if indeed UTEP is the CUSA selection.

Again, bad news for the WAC, good news for UNT.

I've been saying all along that I wanted LaTech (for recruiting purposes), but with the turnaround Billy Gillispie orchestrated in the UTEP basketball program and with the arrival of Mike Price in football, the Miners' days as pushovers probably are over. They should be a solid addition to CUSA if, in fact, they get voted in.

Having been caught by surprise on the selection of UTEP for the C-USA, I am OK about now since we do have a WAC history with them that will transfer well. I look for a Sun Bowl connection to the C-USA in the future that would be a good gain for SMU when and if we ever start winning again.

we have more history with UTEP than La Tech and they do have more potential in football/bball (the possibility of adding the Sun Bowl to CUSA's stable at some point in the future is huge)

Gotta wonder where this leaves the WAC. If UTEP is out of the equation, Hawaii, Boise, Nevada and Fresno will really be on their knees in front of those MWC schools. I just can't see the WAC remaining at 8 members with La Tech. I expect a battle for survival between the WAC and SBC with UNT and La Tech being the key. If the WAC could add UNT and hold at 9 members, they will actually have improved the conference as a football conference. If the SBC could entice La Tech to return, the WAC would have no choice but to offer Idaho, who really has no business in the SBC. Should be interesting

ROLL TIDE !