MWC to add San Jose St., Utah St. in 2013

The Mountain West Conference will make an announcement to add San Jose State and Utah State to its ranks for the 2013-14 season, on Friday, according to ESPN sources.

The schools will replace departing San Diego State and Boise State.  Both schools are leaving for the Big East in football next season —  SDSU and Boise State will join the Big West and the WAC, respectively, in all other sports.

The MWC will now  feature 10 teams for football season — UNLV, New Mexico, Nevada, Fresno State, Wyoming, Colorado State, Air Force, Utah State, San Jose State, and Hawaii. — and nine teams for basketball (Hawaii is football-only).

With SJSU and Utah St. leaving the WAC, the conference is all but disintegrated.  The conference would only have two football playing schools — Idaho and New Mexico State — and five teams in non-football sports — Idaho, New Mexico State, Denver, Seattle, and the aforementioned Boise State, which is rumored to be already trying to get out of the move to the WAC.

In a rather interesting development, WAC interim commissioner Jeff Hurd, speaking with knowledge of the likelihood of a SJSU/Utah State move, said that the conference is evaluating membership options, and that the WAC would maintain its history as a “pre-eminent Division I Conference.”

While anything is possible in the topsy-turvy world of Division I realignment, one has to wonder if Hurd’s words were anything more than lip service.