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DrBulldog

10 years ago, the “Project”

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That was a crazy time to be a fan of a WAC team.  I remember going online at work, like every 30 minutes for about a week, to see what was happening.  Fortunately I was the boss at the site I was managing, so I could get away with that. 

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Still have disdain for Fresno St. and Nevada for their back-stabbing actions during this. Milton Glick and John Welty were big smelly vaginas. One coined the whole thing "The Project" and the other made demands and negotiations right up until the day he turned tail and ran. Honestly it doesn't matter much now because I think this conference is the collection of schools that should be together (swap SJSU for BYU if we're being honest). I said it then and it didn't go over well but I really think if this had gone through as planned,  the front range schools that would have been on the outside looking in. AFA would have had options but Wyo, CSU and UNM would be without a country.

Here's an article by Honolulu Star Advertiser that documented it pretty well at the time.

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Interesting read. The author speculates that the WAC would have been the 2nd best conference in the West. I felt bad for Benson. He nearly smashed it out of the park. I wonder if Boise would have came back eventually. Maybe even getting Gonzaga to come over. 
 

In the end I think it has work out better for everyone except for New Mexico St and Idaho. BYU relied heavily on the old WAC schools until Holmoe got the schedule figured out. I’m actually surprised we play more PAC 12 schools than MWC schools now. 
 

I think the animosity for the most part is over. I doubt BYU will ever return to the MWC it will be the AAC if anything. Personally I think BYU is going to stay independent. 
 

I wish the WAC could have survived we need another conference in the west. 
 

If the WAC could have added BSU, UNLV, New Mexico and Gonzaga that would have been better for BYU. 

The Masters 5k road race All American.

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It was a stupid idea....There was never any chance UNLV and SDSU were going to join..Boise wasn't coming back.  

Nevada

Fresno State

San Jose State

Hawaii

New Mexico State

Idaho

Utah State

La Tech

Some games with BYU weren't going to change the fact that would be a horrendous football conference.

BYU Olympic sports were no prize..

It was stupid stupid stupid.... 

 

 

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You guys have it all wrong (April 13, 2014, 2007):

https://www.mwcboard.com/index.php?/topic/53359-mwc-new-members/&do=findComment&comment=1342552

The fact is, none of the added member universities did Jack to earn an invite into the MWC.  It has to do with the manifest destiny of a Hamburger chain.  I read this thread seven years ago and mistakenly assumed Fresno State would not receive and invitation to the MWC until the city secured a Perkins Restaurant:

 http://www.mwcboard.com/index.php?showtopic=9439&hl=Perkins&st=0

 When Boise was added, I was convinced a Perkins restaurant needed to be secured by Fresno at all costs (#7):

http://www.mwcboard.com/index.php?showtopic=25096&hl=%2Bperkins#entry415551

I was right about Hamburgers being the key to Bulldogs success; however, it turns out the key to the coveted invitation was securing a Five Guys establishment, not Perkins:

http://www.fiveguys.com/locations/store-list-by-state.aspx

 I submit that Boise, Logan, San Jose, and Fresno all have Five Guys establishment.

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1 hour ago, nvspuds said:

It was a stupid idea....There was never any chance UNLV and SDSU were going to join..Boise wasn't coming back.  

Nevada

Fresno State

San Jose State

Hawaii

New Mexico State

Idaho

Utah State

La Tech

Some games with BYU weren't going to change the fact that would be a horrendous football conference.

BYU Olympic sports were no prize..

It was stupid stupid stupid.... 

 

 

Yeah there wasn't enough incentive for a WAC school NOT to jump to the MW. If Nevada/Fresno stuck to the "project" then maybe the MW just invites USU/SJSU and says screw Fresno/Nevada. 

Don't get me wrong it would have been SWEET for the WAC to outlast that MWC. But the only way that was really practical was if BSU lead the charge back to the WAC. If for nothing else than pride BSU was going to pick and average MW over and average WAC.

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8 hours ago, nvspuds said:

It was a stupid idea....There was never any chance UNLV and SDSU were going to join..Boise wasn't coming back.  

Nevada

Fresno State

San Jose State

Hawaii

New Mexico State

Idaho

Utah State

La Tech

Some games with BYU weren't going to change the fact that would be a horrendous football conference.

BYU Olympic sports were no prize..

It was stupid stupid stupid.... 

 

 

It was a great idea that worked for everyone. Would the MWC invited Fresno or Nevada without it? USU got screwed for a couple of years trying to be loyal to the plan. 
 

As I said before except for no 3rd conference and Idaho and NMS everyone went to a better place. BYU was done with the restrictive MWC. BYU offered to stay for Olympic sports and MWC declined and then recanted a couple of years ago which BYU said no thanks. 
 

BYU could have saved the MWC this year. With all the help we received from the old WAC schools we should have stepped up and offered to join for one year only. But at the end of the day the MWC isn’t our responsibility. They had their chance with BYU and blew it. They made their bed and now they need to lay in it. 

The Masters 5k road race All American.

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Ann Richards is to blame for this whole thing BYU and New Mexico we’re headed to the B12 until she got involved. The MWC would have never existed and we would still have the Big West. 

The Masters 5k road race All American.

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1 hour ago, robe said:

Ann Richards is to blame for this whole thing BYU and New Mexico we’re headed to the B12 until she got involved. The MWC would have never existed and we would still have the Big West. 

Ann Richards wasnt the one who got involved.  It was David Sibley and Bob Bullock (along with Pete Laney and Rob Junell).  And BYU and New Mexico were never, ever in the mix.  Hell, it was only going to be 10 (UT and A&M) until the Texas politicians stepped in.

In the beginning the Universe was created.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.

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Guest #1Stunner

When BYU joined the WCC, I don't think anyone had really heard of that schools in that conference, besides Gonzaga.

Now the WCC regularly battles the MWC for the title of second best basketball league in the west.  Who would have guessed.

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9 minutes ago, #1Stunner said:

When BYU joined the WCC, I don't think anyone had really heard of that schools in that conference, besides Gonzaga.

Now the WCC regularly battles the MWC for the title of second best basketball league in the west.  Who would have guessed.

that has everything to do with the rise of Gonzaga hoops and nothing else. has BYU won an NCAA tournament game since joining the WCC?

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1 hour ago, RSF said:

Ann Richards wasnt the one who got involved.  It was David Sibley and Bob Bullock (along with Pete Laney and Rob Junell).  And BYU and New Mexico were never, ever in the mix.  Hell, it was only going to be 10 (UT and A&M) until the Texas politicians stepped in.

I guess BYU was going to PAC but Colorado didn’t want to come at the time. 
 

Prop 8 happened and Utah made the BCS runs. The rest is history.
 

https://www.deseret.com/2017/11/22/20623768/the-rise-and-fall-an-inside-look-at-the-decline-of-byu-s-marquee-sports-programs

The Masters 5k road race All American.

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Guest #1Stunner
45 minutes ago, Del Scorcho said:

that has everything to do with the rise of Gonzaga hoops and nothing else. has BYU won an NCAA tournament game since joining the WCC?

Sure it does...  But the measure of a mid-major league is NCAA tournament bids.

Ask any Gonzaga fan and they will tell you that the WCC took a leap in prestige once BYU joined.

The WCC is now a 2 to 3 bid league every year.

The entire WCC has a lot more exposure on ESPN than it ever did prior to 10 years ago.  ESPN now has an alternative league to use to fill the late night time slot on the West Coast.

BYU gave the league another almost perennial NCAA tournament caliber program than just Gonzaga and Saint Mary's.

The entire league is trending up...

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There's only one problem with this story...Ann Richards wasnt Governor at the time.

 

The Pac-10 told Fehlberg that BYU would need a travel partner. Fehlberg suggested Utah, but the idea was dismissed immediately — BYU already brought the Utah TV market to the league. Fehlberg approached Colorado, which immediately liked the idea of joining the league. But, as Fehlberg tells it, Colorado later reneged. He says CU officials told him that Texas governor Ann Richards threatened to sue if Colorado left the Big 12, which included many Texas schools.

 

 

In the beginning the Universe was created.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.

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