KMPH FOX 26 | Central San Joaquin Valley News SourceAnother New Conference For Fresno State?

The Mountain West Conference and Conference USA are working on something big right now. It was announced last fall they would merge. Fresno State is set to leave the WAC for the Mountain West this summer, but it could be a short stay.

Everybody is looking for stability in the wake of the latest round of realignment with schools moving from one conference to another. This proposal is the result of that concern.

If everything goes according to the plan, both the Mountain West and Conference USA would dissolve and a new conference would be created, beginning competition in all sports, not just football, in the summer of 2013.

There would be two divisions of at least eight schools apiece. The Eastern Division would be made up of the remaining Conference USA members while the Western Division would be built around those in, or bound for, the Mountain West. The numbers could change as schools are moved around or added.

There would be a conference championship game between East and West in football, and crossover games during the regular season. There could also be a holiday basketball tournament.

It is believed dissolving the original contracts would void both network TV contracts and open the door for a new deal that should be more lucrative considering the amount of schools and the size of the cities involved.

It if all comes together as planned, the proposed conference could have bigger demographic numbers than the Big East and the ACC. That could be important if the BCS formula sticks around.

We could also see more local broadcasts of Fresno State games under this proposal.