Report: UTSA To Meet with WAC

[TexasTerror]

The folks at UTSATailgaters has been fairly accurate in this whole process. If the people at UTSA are really meeting with the WAC in Denver, this is a significant step forward for the program in their quest to get a spot in the league.

I'm not sure if TXST, Montana, Sac State or any of the schools mentioned for a spot in the WAC have had face-to-face meetings with the WAC administration and representatives from the institutions like this. I know there have been phone calls, e-mails and a few run-ins, but not sure like this...


UTSATailgaters has confirmed that UTSA Head Football Coach Larry Coker, Athletic Director Lynn Hickey and some of her administration staff will , in fact, be meeting with WAC Commissioner Karl Benson tomorrow at WAC headquarters in Denver, Colorado.

UTSATailgaters has confirmed with at least two sources that this is in fact is a sales pitch to the WAC, as UTSA pushes onward in their sky rocketing ascension to FBS status. Back in July, UTSATailgaters had a one-on-one interview with WAC Commissioner Karl Benson, and he made it no secret that the WAC had UTSA on it's radar and that the UTSA was a very attractive program.

Fast forward a couple of months, and several defections later, and the WAC has been left scrambling to salvage the conference. It appears that Benson and company are full throttle to save the conference, by talking to UTSA - and RunnerNation is standing on edge to see what comes of this meeting. The sources went on to say that a formal invite has not been extended yet and there is no specific deadline of when the WAC wishes to hand out it's invitations.

http://www.utsatailgaters.com/football/articles/breaking-news-utsa-to-meet-with-the-wac

[Sly Fox]

Does anybody else see this dog & pony show as a mere formality. I mean look at Benson's position, he should be the one putting on the presentation to the schools.

[TexasTerror]

Does anybody else see this dog & pony show as a mere formality. I mean look at Benson's position, he should be the one putting on the presentation to the schools.

I'm just curious if the current WAC members are excited about the FCS schools moving in to the league...

UTSA may be a bit more catchy for them because of being in San Antonio, playing in the Alamodome and having Larry Coker as head coach, but will those schools really want to bring in Sacramento State and Texas State-San Marcos - two programs who have had limited FCS success?

[Jackman]

The WAC clearly needs to adopt the "anyone, anytime, anywhere" mentality.

[superman7515]

The WAC clearly needs to adopt the "anyone, anytime, anywhere" mentality.

And he doesn't mean playing them... He means letting them join. They're no Kimbo Slice.

[TexasTerror]

Does not sound like there was a meeting afterall... wonder how UTSATailgaters will respond... especially since Lynn Hickey was still in her office!

http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/utsa/2010/09/wac-meeting.html

[TexasFan]

It appears both UTSA and Texas State will receive an invitation to the WAC provided the current six members remain. It's FBS at all cost for both schools regardless of whether or not this would be the best move.

Texas State is the best of the two for immediate membership. They have the facilities and the budget while UTSA only has the Alamodome which has seen better days.

All of this talk about California FCS schools coming in is crazy. They've been cutting budgets and sports so what makes it logical that they would suddenly have extra millions in the bank to play FBS football?

Montana is hands down the best fit along with Montana State second. Can they spend the bucks necessary to be in the club? Are they willing to trade championships for obscure bowl appearances?

[TexasTerror]

All of this talk about California FCS schools coming in is crazy. They've been cutting budgets and sports so what makes it logical that they would suddenly have extra millions in the bank to play FBS football?

Based on the geographic setup of the WAC, they are the most logical choice for the WAC. Even UTSA and TXST fans will agree with that - especially if the league were to lose Louisiana Tech. Unfortunately for the Techsters and thankfully for the WAC, they are stuck there since the Sun Belt has no interest in expanding (though killing off the WAC may be appeasing) and C-USA presently has no need to expand.

The issue as you mentioned is the California schools are not ready at this point, so the best options are UTSA and TXST.

[cpalum]

Based on the geographic setup of the WAC, they are the most logical choice for the WAC. Even UTSA and TXST fans will agree with that - especially if the league were to lose Louisiana Tech. Unfortunately for the Techsters and thankfully for the WAC, they are stuck there since the Sun Belt has no interest in expanding (though killing off the WAC may be appeasing) and C-USA presently has no need to expand.

The issue as you mentioned is the California schools are not ready at this point, so the best options are UTSA and TXST.

Actually much of this is not true. Cal Poly for example has not been cutting sports programs at all that was UC Davis. Many of those programs are not supported by the WAC anyway. Some folks even suggested that they were cutting those programs to make themselves more attractive to the WAC in particular.....e.g. more of their operating fund could be used towards WAC supported sports. The other error is that the State budget (or lack thereof) would directly affect a school that wanted to improve sports facilities. In almost any scenario, any type of expansion to a stadium that would be required would be done through donor funding.....There is very little chance that State funds would be used to build football stadiums in California now or even 10 years ago when the economy was humming. I would assume that is true in other states as well.

The California Schools (UCD, CP and Sac St.) are still the best fit for the WAC but my guess is that they don’t want to go. They would prefer to play equal competition xnodx in the Big Sky where their future is more stable and the price tag is more appealing.xcoffeex

[TexasTerror]

What to make of this... this is so confusing! To believe or not to believe?


Ok guys, If you just watched WOAI at 10pm, you saw Don Harris open up the sports news by confirming that Lynn Hickey and Larry Coker did, in fact, take an early morning trip to Denver to talk with WAC officials! Okay, so he didn't say we were his sources, and we're not trying to say we are, but it feels good to hear someone confirm that the story we broke - LAST NIGHT - is true. With that said, we can sleep knowing that our sources and credibility are intact. We'll keep the news coming, and GO UTSA!

Last night we broke the story about UTSA officials making a trip to Denver, Colorado, today in order to meet with WAC (Western Athletic Conference) officials. This was confirmed by credible sources with direct knowledge of the situation. As of late this evening, approximately 7p.m. (CST) there is still no official confirmation on what has transpired. Dan McCarney, of the SA Express News, now reports that both UTSA Athletic Director, Lynn Hickey, and WAC Commissioner, Karl Benson, have decided to give "no comment" replies on whether there will be a meeting in the immediate future between the two parties; further leading to what UTSATailgaters initially reported.

Credit: http://utsatailgaters.com/football/articles/update-on-utsa-and-wac-meeting--2