The huge movement that everybody expected in college football didn't happen, though I don't think the moving around is quite done.
Texas, thought to be the linchpin of the movement, rejected the Pac-10 and stayed in the Big 12 along with the other Texas schools. Go figure. The only thing that I can figure is that the Longhorns felt they could get a better TV contract if they stayed put.
That's what all the movement was about - money.
It's why the Mountain West Conference went after Boise State. The addition of the Broncos gives the MWC a solid second team to go along with BYU. It's too bad Utah left for the Pac-10 because a trio of Boise State, Utah and BYU is pretty formidable. The MWC thinks that the addition of the Broncos will be enough for them to get recognition from the BCS and get an automatic bid. That's a dangerous thought process, because overall, the MWC is tougher and deeper than the WAC even before Boise decided to jump ship, and the Broncos may not be able to routinely run the table like they used to do in the WAC.
I thought the MWC would try to get 12 teams so they could have a playoff, but that doesn't appear to be in the cards. I think that would have been the smarter route to go. Sure it means the money is split more ways, but it gives the conference recognition. I know that Fresno State and Nevada would join the MWC in a heartbeat, and that would make sense geographically.
• I was glad to see Utah move over to the Pac-10. The Utes are solid in the major sports (football, men's basketball and women's basketball), and that's the most important thing about this move. Utah is not very good in baseball however, and Colorado, the other new addition to the Pac-10, doesn't have a baseball program. It will be interesting to see if Colorado is forced to add baseball at some point.
I think Colorado could be a first-division team in football, especially with Dan Hawkins at the helm. Being in the Pac-10 will do wonders for Colorado's recruiting efforts. The move means that Colorado could make some significant inroads in the California area; even more than they've done already. Hawkins has coaches in California, and he knows the quality of football played there. There are already 21 Californians ready to play for Hawkins in 2010.
• Obviously WAC commissioner Karl Benson is playing things close to the vest these days. I've already said that he should look for two schools and get the conference up to 10. An eight team football conference isn't good; makes it tough to get non-conference opponents. A nine-team conference makes for travel problems for basketball and volleyball.
I'd love to see the WAC take a run at one or two of its former members, namely UTEP and Rice. UTEP is a mere 40 miles from New Mexico State.
Unless the WAC can steal a team from Conference USA or the Sun Belt, it will have to grab teams from the Big Sky or possibly Big West. The issue that schools are going to have with the WAC is the travel. Going to Ruston and Hawaii isn't cheap, and with the economy being what it is ...
• Carson High graduate Nate White begins his second season of professional baseball umpiring on Monday when the short-season Class A Pioneer League gets under way. White worked in Arizona last year. Here's hoping that Nate has a successful season.