Another look at the new WAC

Hand it to Western Athletic Conference commissioner Karl Benson – just when you thought they were about to fold the tents at the league office in Denver, he figured out a way to survive the conference-realignment nuclear winter. Barely.

The wacky WAC is now wackier than ever, and it’s had some wacky times the last 40 or so years. Boise State, Fresno State and Nevada are headed out in the next year or two, and Benson this week dipped into the ranks of the FCS or in Texas-San Antonio’s case, the no-CS. UTSA and Texas State will join the WAC after Fresno and Nevada bolt in 2012. UTSA has a coach (Larry Coker) and a borrowed stadium (the Alamodome), but matching practice unis at this point might be a stretch.

Obviously, the first reaction is to snicker a bit at Benson, who came off like a massive hypocrite last summer when all of this BYU-to-the-WAC in all sports but football came about. The Mountain West struck a preemptive blow by pilfering Fresno and Nevada, and Benson started throwing around words like selfish to describe those schools’ actions. Never mind he started the ball rolling with his clandestine dealings with BYU.

It all eventually fell apart for Benson, who at one point sounded so low, so despairing in interviews that we were certain the WAC was set to go the way of the Southwest Conference, especially with Hawaii making noise about independence, too.

But hey, the guy got back on his speaker phone, set up conference calls and meetings, made pitches and nearly pulled in a third replacement school, Montana. That Grizzlies have a good thing going in the FCS and decided playoff football resonated better with their fans. Can’t blame them.

Now, Denver is set to leave the Sun Belt and join the WAC. It’s really no biggie; Denver is a hockey school that fits better into the WAC geography, but the Pioneers must parachute into Texas a few times a year for hoops or soccer or whatever.

Finally, the point of this little rant is this: Where should North Texas stand in all of it? What we know is Benson pitched WAC membership to UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal on at least two occasions, maybe three. I wouldn’t rule out another phone call in the near future. The WAC needs a ninth football member. UNT, for now, is going the way of consultant Chuck Neinas’ advice and forgoing realignment issues to build a winner and a brand in the Sun Belt first.

Good advice, but are there any real absolutes here? I keep hearing the WAC is dead, Sun Belt is better, blah, blah…but does anyone really know that? Not making a case for what UNT should or shouldn’t do, but here's what I can see so far.

The WAC setup going forward has eight football-playing members, and four are no farther west than Las Cruces, N.M. Half the league is a reasonable-to-favorable distance from Denton, including New Mexico State, Louisiana Tech and the two newcomers. For those schools, perhaps you work out a yearly football schedule that goes west to San Jose State, Idaho, Hawaii or Utah State no more than twice a season. UTSA and Texas State will struggle early, probably for several years, but I’m fairly certain FAU and FIU were once dismissed as drags on the FBS membership. To many, they probably still are.

Has the Sun Belt been good to UNT? Sure, but why pooh-pooh the WAC as an alternative out of either blind loyalty, perception or scenarios yet to unfold? Again, I could care less if this goes either way, but I want to see an eventual side-to-side comparison of television opportunites/revenue, bowl tie-ins or competitive balance that the WAC might (or might not) have to offer.

As for the travel excuse for non-football sports, conference geographies have turned so ridiculous in the past decade that schools just deal with it. If you’re one of those fans obsessed with money-based arguments, bean-counting and bottom lines when it comes to flying the softball team to Logan, Utah (does USU play softball?), then maybe you should try to enjoy life a bit more. Frankly, I couldn't care less. If it concerns the suits, that's their call. Miami, San Jose, whatever. Does it suck that someone has to go to Honolulu once in a while? Probably, but it’s called fiscal planning. A 36,000-student university should be able to find a way.

All I know is Benson and the WAC are now bona fide survivors. They seemed all but exterminated from the college sports map, but here they are, like stubborn cockroaches. They might look a little goofy, but we know how big the roaches down here can get.