The Mountain West 12: What could have been.

On February 2nd 2005, the MWC made this official announcement:

    "The addition of TCU to the Mountain West Conference is a perfect fit and is already complementing the steady growth and progress of the Conference. The MWC anxiously anticipates TCU's official entrance on July 1, 2005. The issue of additional membership expansion is no longer a topic of discussion."

With this seemingly exciting addition of TCU came also a statement that sealed the death of the MWC as a possible AQ conference... 


"The issue of additional membership expansion is no longer a topic of discussion."


If the good ol boys of the BCS chairmen ever were considering having another option in the west to add as an AQ conference, that door was shut tight when the MWC decided not to squeeze every last drop out of all the available non-AQ teams in the west.


What a crossroads the MWC was at in 2005. Here was this new conference that had two very strong football teams in BYU and Utah, and they had just added the next most impressive non-AQ team in TCU. Whoa... at that moment any non-AQ school would of taken a similar style crap deal that Utah took to get in the PAC-12! Yes, some schools already in the MWC were bad. Really bad. A lot can be said that they (Wyoming, UNLV, & New Mexico) 
were the real reason AQ status was not given to the MWC. 


OK, I'll buy that for just a minute. But humor me for a minute with this thought; if a conf. becomes too top heavy it will do one of two things: 1- The top teams will tip to one side or another and finally breaks off (exactly what happened with TCU, BYU, and Utah). or 2- If the top teams are united, and the conference has pieces to develop a decent conference body, they wont sway one way or another. It will be a conference that's strong enough to compensate for the weak feet.


So who is this strong "body" that could of supported a united head of TCU, BYU, & Utah? Who should the MWC of added in 2005:


Boise St. (BSU would be a top tier MWC team of course!)


Houston


Fresno St.


The addition of these three athletically strong schools would have put the conference to 12 members, and given the MWC two divisions with a championship game.


Divisions:


Mountain Division:
BYU
Utah
Wyoming
Air Force
UNLV
Colorado St.




West Division:
TCU
Boise St.
Fresno St.
San Diego St.
New Mexico
Houston


So how would the last few years of a MWC championship likely played out?


2005:   #15 TCU vs BYU


2006:   #20 BYU vs #10 BSU    (BSU went to the Fiesta Bowl)


2007:   #19 BYU vs #25 BSU


2008:   #6 Utah vs #9 BSU    (Utah went to Sugar Bowl)


2009:   #6 BSU vs #14 BYU    (BSU went to the Fiesta Bowl)


2010:   #3 TCU vs #20 Utah    (TCU went to the Rose Bowl)


Including Utah's 2004-5 BCS win, this "non AQ" conference would of gone to five BCS games in seven years... winning every time. (yes, I know BSU and TCU played each other in 09-10 fiesta bowl, but we are assuming BSU would of beaten TCU in division play)
Despite the "weaker" teams in the conference, having the stronger "body" and the extra championship game would of made it very difficult to keep out of the ol' boys club.

So as BYU is seemingly turned away by yet another AQ team, and while Utah is having an off year being pounded by the PAC-12 and earning no conference money, and as TCU whores itself from one crappy, almost dead AQ conference to another shaky AQ conference, and all the while BSU keeps beating everyone placed in front of them, despite not being seen on national T.V., we watch the Big East die, leaving a shiny new AQ spot for what could have been.


The Mountain West 12.