[Buck]

Holy shit balls. 22 team conference.

http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-foo...ootball-merger

Conference USA, Mountain West announce football merger

Conference USA and the Mountain West Conference announced Friday that they have agreed to consolidate their football programs into one association.

There are currently 12 C-USA members and 10 football-playing members of the MWC.

“The role of a conference is to provide its members with the best possible environment in which to conduct their intercollegiate athletics programs,” said MWC commissioner Craig Thompson. “Rather than await changes in membership due to realignment, it became clear the best way to serve our institutions was to pursue an original concept. The Mountain West and C-USA share a number of similarities, and the creative merger of our football assets firmly positions our respective members for the future.”

Rest assured, both leagues will be impacted by realignment. There are multiple media reports that Boise State of the MWC will be extended an invitation to join the Big East. Central Florida, in C-USA, is also expected to get a call from the Big East.

With TCU playing its final year in the Mountain West, the MWC and C-USA are near losing their most high profile programs.

UNLV president and Mountain West board of directors chair Neal Smatresk said: “In an era of uncertainty in intercollegiate athletics, this collaborative partnership with C-USA lends stability and credibility to our collective football enterprise. We are excited about the prospect of having teams in five time zones and the many possibilities created by this extremely bold and proactive step.”

In its current lineup, the two leagues combine to have a presence in 16 states. C-USA has television partnerships with Fox Sports and CBS Sports, as well as ESPN for its championship game. The MWC has partnerships with CBS Sports and Comcast/NBC Universal.

The two would operate independently, but there would be cross-conference games. The winners of each side would play in a conference championship game.