Jason Groves

Las Cruces Sun-News

LAS CRUCES — New Mexico State University President Garrey Carruthers is seeking permanent membership to the Sun Belt Conference in football, but stated the school is open to other options in the future if a March vote doesn’t go the Aggies' way.

Carruthers will make a presentation to Sun Belt Conference presidents at 8 a.m. Wednesday via teleconference from Milton Hall on campus. It’s the university’s second such presentation to the conference in the past six months. The league added Coastal Carolina as a full member in September 2015, denying NMSU’s proposal for full membership.

“We have already gone down that road in the other sports, and it’s pretty clear to me that is not going to materialize,” Carruthers said. “It is travel problems. We want to remain FBS football (Football Bowl Subdivision, the top division) if we can.”

Fellow Sun Belt football-only member Idaho made a presentation on Monday. The 12 league presidents, including Coastal Carolina President David DeCenzo, will vote to either extend or terminate the agreement for both schools on March 10 as part of the Sun Belt Conference basketball tournament in New Orleans. Neither school’s administration will be in the room for the vote, which would require nine votes to remain in the league past the 2017 season.

“Clearly they know that we are interested and we certainly have some support,” Carruthers said. “My question is, do we have enough support? I can name several that I think are good supporters, but I’m not sure we are at nine right now.”

NMSU’s current agreement with the Sun Belt expires after the 2017 football season. Carruthers said playing as an independent in football or playing in a Football Championship Subdivision conference are viable options for the university if the Aggies do not receive a favorable result in March.

“You could conceivably play independent or FCS, but that would be an analysis we would have to go through,” Carruthers said. “We have two more years in the Sun Belt, so it’s not like we aren’t going to play next season.”

NMSU played an independent football schedule in 2013 after the Western Athletic Conference dissolved as a football league. The Aggies' program has been in survival mode ever since from a conference stability standpoint.

“We played one year as an independent and found out that was pretty tough going,” Carruthers said. “We kind of had a mutual agreement (with the Sun Belt) that was helpful to both of us at the time. The rules have changed since that time.”

Joining an FCS conference, such as the geographically close Big Sky Conference, would be a multiple-year transition for the university in terms of 22 fewer scholarships to the football program and a reduction in revenue across the board in athletics. Carruthers said NMSU’s football budget was nearly $7 million for the 2015-16 season.

“We have been approached by other leagues, who do other sports but not football,” Carruthers said. “There are other things floating around that might materialize in another environment for Olympic sports, but there is not much out there for football right now. It’s either Sun Belt, independent or join a FCS league.”

Carruthers said his presentation on Wednesday will revolve around the quality of the university as an academic institution and an improving football program.

Over the past three years, NMSU has invested heavily in the football program, with nearly $4 million in facility renovations in the past two years. Carruthers will attempt to persuade fellow presidents that head coach Doug Martin’s approach with building with high school players will help add value to the conference on the football field and in the classroom coming off a three-win season and an all-time high Academic Progress Rate score.

Carruthers also believes the university’s ability to independently produce and distribute football games in high definition via AggieVision could be a selling point as a potential revenue stream for football teams across the league.

“I think we are the only school with that (ability) and that gives the program reach out to fans at home on cable and online,” Carruthers said.

Carruthers acknowledged the glaring weakness of NMSU’s case for membership – its far west location in relation to the other 12 full member schools. When the university was in the process of seeking full membership in September of 2015, NMSU offered a $4.4 million financial package that included $2,387,618 travel subsidy over a seven-year period in an effort to offset travel costs for Olympic sports. Carruthers said travel subsidy is not included in NMSU’s current presentation to remain a football only member.

Sun Belt presidents will also need to consider sharing potential television or bowl revenue with an additional school since the NCAA ruled last month that conferences can hold a conference championship football game with 10 members.

SBC commissioner Karl Benson said a championship game is not in the league’s immediate future, but the option is now available to the conference.

“I think it’s a distance friction and the cost of travel more than anything else,” Carruthers said. “Clearly, I believe (Sun Belt presidents) hold us in great respect as an academic institution. What I think is they have as a goal in the Sun Belt led by (Benson) to get as small and stable of a footprint as they can, and us and Idaho are outliers in that case.”

Sports Editor Jason Groves can be reached at 575-541-5459. Follow him on Twitter @jpgroves.