The key to risk is to take Australia Fresno
It all started this morning when the world was told there are 'rumors' that BYU is leaving the MWC to live life as an independent in football and a member of the WAC in other sports. The Mountain West did a fine job adding Boise in preparation of Utah's departure to the PAC-1012. While Boise did not get them everything they lost with Utah they were strong enough to stay at the fore front of BCS conference conversations.
Boy did Brigham Young screw that up today. BYU thinks it's going to get more money from the networks (and their own network) as an independent than they were able to get in the MWC, like all things expansion its about the money.
It might work, with ND and two of the service academies in play and with a rumored deal to get four WAC schools a year BYU is up to seven games. Through in an annual contest against Utah and they are just four games short of what they need, not a whole lot harder than what most conference attached schools have to go through.
So with BYU a done deal we can all go to bed and think about whats next right?
Well that would be it but is seems western non BCS conferences they don't like to jerk people around like the Big-10. For months the Big Ten played expansion chess with us. Well it seems that officials from the MWC and the WAC upon hearing about BYU's decision today got drunk, pulled out the risk board and started to play.
In the time it took me to get home, have dinner and have a backyard fire with the kids (managed to keep my eyebrows this time) the Mountain West went mid-evil on the WAC. Offering Fresno and Nevada, and against all odds Fresno accepted. In the course of 24 hours the MWC and the WAC have given us more of a realignment fix than the Big Ten managed in years. That's right the MWC/WAC is an expansion crack dealer.
And as I type this it seems Nevada accepted as well. Thank the ghost of Knute Rockne that Brett Farve had nothing to do with this decisions made today. So the WAC has lost its three best teams to the MWC and gained four games against BYU in football.