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Sports Watch
BIGGER is not necessarily better, as we've seen in the remake of "Godzilla." Or, as in the ill-fated expansion of the Western Athletic Conference to 16 teams in 1996. WAC needs stability,
not growthWas it only just five years ago? It seemed an eternity.
Citing philosophic and geographic differences, eight teams bolted to form their own league after only two years. Trouble is, the rebelling majority made up the old WAC as we knew it.
Since then, expansion has always been a topic of conversation for the new - or leftover - WAC.
Nevada-Reno was added last year and will join the conference this fall. Boise State and Louisiana Tech will join in 2001, only because TCU will be leaving to join Conference USA.
There's still some fear that Rice, Southern Methodist and Tulsa will some day bolt as well, maybe to form a league of their own along with Louisiana Tech, of all people.
Hence the thinking by some that the WAC needs to expand now so as not to worry later.
WAC commissioner Karl Benson has been urging the league's presidents to expand from 10 to 12 teams, in order to form two six-team divisions so that a conference football championship can be held.
It was the major topic on the agenda at the WAC Council meeting in Monterey, Calif., this week and undoubtedly will be discussed by the league's presidents in Lake Tahoe, Nev., in June.
AMONG the proposed expansion candidates? Utah State or Idaho for the western half of the WAC and North Texas or New Mexico State for the eastern portion of an already far-flung conference.
Hawaii would be with Fresno State, San Jose State, Nevada, Boise State and either Idaho or Utah State in the West. The East will have Texas-El Paso, SMU, Tulsa, Rice, Louisiana Tech and North Texas or New Mexico State.
Adding more schools east of the state of Utah seems like more of financial headache to me because the non-income sports, which is virtually every sport except - football and men's basketball.
Volleyball is a Hawaii-only aberration when it comes to making money.
The four schools mentioned as expansion possibilities bring nothing to the WAC table.
Me? I'd wait until after the 2001 season when the college landscape might shift dramatically.
Who knows? Maybe Nevada-Las Vegas might get tired of getting bullied by the likes of BYU and Colorado State and seek solace by rejoining the WAC.
And maybe San Diego State will find that playing in a league that includes Hawaii, Fresno State and San Jose State would make more sense than traveling for games at Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico.
UH president Kenneth Mortimer says there isn't much support by his peers for further expansion right now and doesn't see a change in that thinking by June when they meet.
For example, he doesn't see Utah State or New Mexico State bringing anything to the WAC table in terms of marketing value.
"Our biggest problem is stability. And the league's image. The image right now is that we're not stable," Mortimer said. "The most important thing is to make sure that Fresno State isn't picked off by the Mountain West (Conference)."
The WAC was stung once, thinking bigger was better. I hope it doesn't get burned again thinking that expansion for expansion's sake is good.
It's reassuring to know that Mortimer and the other WAC presidents aren't in any hurry to do just that.
Bill Kwon has been writing about
sports for the Star-Bulletin since 1959.