LARAMIE – Could the Border War really be no more?
Wyoming athletics director Tom Burman doesn’t see the benefit for current Mountain West Conference members leaving for the American Athletic Conference.
But the decision by Oklahoma and Texas to leave the Big 12 behind for an even larger payday in the SEC is triggering another round of realignment that could have a trickle-down effect felt in War Memorial Stadium.
CBS Sports reported Thursday that the American Athletic Conference has targeted four MWC schools – Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State and San Diego State – for expansion in response to losing Cincinnati, Houston and UCF to the Big 12.
Losing those regional rivalries, particularly the Border War against the Rams, would be a devastating blow for UW.
The Cowboys have been playing CSU since 1899 and the two programs have been battling for the coveted Bronze Boot traveling trophy since 1968.
“It makes everyone nervous because obviously now you’ve got three schools going (to the Big 12) from the American,” Burman said during a recent interview with the Star-Tribune. “I don’t think the American offers, without those three schools, are anything that benefits anyone in the Mountain West. But it wouldn’t surprise me if they were talking to some schools.”
A week ago, former MWC member BYU officially accepted an invitation to join the Big 12, along with the three AAC programs. The Cougars will join in 2023 with Cincinnati, Houston and UCF to join no later than 2024.
AAC commissioner Mike Aresco said his conference would aggressively expand and remain in the “Power 6.” CBS Sports reported the AAC is also targeting UAB of Conference USA.
Boise State, which was engaged with the AAC in conversations about joining the conference last year, would likely jump at an opportunity to continue its regional rivalry with BYU, if the Big 12 were to add additional programs down the road.
But would the Broncos bolt for another Group of Five conference that is saying goodbye to its top three programs? That’s a lot of travel for non-revenue sports.
“I clearly don’t see any value for a Mountain West team to play in that league as we go forward, but that’s someone else’s decision to make,” Burman said. “So I don’t think there will be a trickle-down effect, but this business is weird and sometimes illogical. As ADs, we are talking about it, but sometimes not totally transparently.”
Despite the cable cord-cutting trend, Burman believes the audience programs with national brands like Boise State can draw will dictate which Group of Five members will be coveted by Power 5 conferences in the future.
San Diego State, which has a strong men’s basketball program and is building a new football stadium in a large market, could be considered based on potential.
Right now, the Cowboys are focused on winning the MWC as it’s currently constituted.
“I think we are positioned much better than we were 10 years ago,” Burman said of the previous realignment frenzy that saw Utah leave for the Pac-12, TCU for the Big 12 and BYU for independence. “If you want to be in the Power 5 and you’re not there now, you’re not going to be there if you’re not good. So you’ve got to be really good and you’ve got to be able to drive streaming viewers or (television) ratings or something.”
UW, which plays Ball State on Saturday at War Memorial Stadium (2 p.m., streaming on Stadium), opens MWC play on Oct. 9 at Air Force.
The Cowboys host CSU on Nov. 6 for the Border War, play at Boise State on Nov. 12 and will not play San Diego State during the regular season.
