UTSA distancing from realignment talk

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Lynn Hickey laughed at the idea that Internet trolls, patrolling college football message boards in recent weeks, already had pegged UTSA for the Mountain West Conference.

She also denied it.

“We have not had any conversations, and I have not had a call, nothing,” UTSA's athletic director said last week.

Nonetheless, in the days after Boise State announced plans to scrap a move to the Big East and remain in the Mountain West, online forums buzzed.

In particular, the speculation ran amok on New Year's Eve.

As Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson announced the return of Boise State and noted the possibility that he also could reel in San Diego State, he mentioned that he had talked to other schools, as well.

On message boards, the fans responded, with most speculating about SMU, Houston and Tulsa.

UTSA 33 - South Alabama 31 : South Alabama defender Montavious Williams (92) brings down leaping UTSA running back Evans Okotcha (36) in the first quarter Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012, at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala. (Press-Register/Mike Kittrell) less UTSA 33 - South Alabama 31 : South Alabama defender Montavious Williams (92) brings down leaping UTSA running back Evans Okotcha (36) in the first quarter Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012, at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in ... more Photo: Mike Kittrell, Mobile Press-Register Photo: Mike Kittrell, Mobile Press-Register Image 1 of / 47 Caption Close UTSA distancing from realignment talk 1 / 47 Back to Gallery

But a smattering even talked about coach Larry Coker's fledgling UTSA football program.

Currently based in the Western Athletic Conference, Coker's Roadrunners are scheduled to take a modest 12-10, two-year record into Conference USA this fall.

In quashing the UTSA-to-the-Mountain West chatter, Hickey issued a firm denial, saying, “No, we're in the WAC this year. We've already made our first down payment to be in Conference USA next year, and so that's the direction we're going.”

C-USA officials can't laugh off all the speculation, however.

They know that major conferences are expected to continue making more realignment moves in coming years.

They also know that as the major conferences quake, the mid-majors also will shake, and that's what has happened within the past year.

The Big Ten recently snapped up Maryland and Rutgers, a move that in turn forced officials in the Atlantic Coast Conference and Big East, respectively, to re-think their positions.

Also, seven Catholic schools bolted from the Big East to form their own basketball-centric conference.

Boise State, already wondering about whether it really wanted to start play in the Big East this fall, elected on New Year's Eve to bail out. It decided to stay home, taking a package sweetened with financial incentives, to stay in the Mountain West.

With Boise's return, the Mountain West emerged strategically as the early leader among second-tier conferences that include the Big East, C-USA, the Sun Belt and the Mid American.

Being the leader of that group is significant, based on the new postseason format.

Starting in 2014, the top-rated champion from those five conferences will snag a berth in one of college football's premier postseason games — a slot that could be worth tens of millions to that school's league.

It's probably not a coincidence, then, that Houston and SMU — both leaving C-USA for the Big East this fall — have been linked in mainstream media reports to discussions regarding Mountain West expansion.

In addition, C-USA defending champion Tulsa and even UTEP have been mentioned, with Tulsa admitting that it has engaged in talks with the Mountain West and Big East.

Such talk is a concern for UTSA because both schools have been penciled in as annual opponents for the Roadrunners in a C-USA Western Division.

“Just to be clear, I'm more excited about this group (in 2013) than I've ever been,” C-USA commissioner Britton Banowsky said. “The enthusiasm we have is great. We've put ourselves in great shape going forward. We can still lose members, and that's OK, because we have a great core in place.

“It's a group with a whole lot of upside potential.”

In fact, Banowsky said that C-USA has plans for a 14-team football conference this fall, two more than expected.

Middle Tennessee and Florida Atlantic, he said, are strong candidates to play in the conference a year ahead of their projected 2014 entry.

If Banowsky can close the deal before the end of the month, those two would join UTSA, UTEP, North Texas, Rice, Tulsa and Tulane, as well as Louisiana Tech, East Carolina, Marshall, Southern Mississippi, Alabama-Birmingham and Florida International in the largest C-USA field in history.

East Carolina and Tulane already have agreed to leave and join the Big East a year from now, so C-USA is tentatively scheduled to revert to a dozen members in 2014.

Plans call for the conference to increase to 14 again by 2015 with the addition of Old Dominion and Charlotte.

If Tulsa bolts, it wouldn't be the first time a conference champion has left C-USA.

Houston, Central Florida and East Carolina won titles in recent years. All received what they considered to be better deals from the Big East, then all said goodbye.

“We don't really try and deter that,” Banowsky said. “In fact, we promote it. We want the schools in our conference to be the very best they can possibly be.”

Apparently, the Roadrunners don't even need to play a game in C-USA, much less win a championship, to be discussed in fan forums as a candidate to move up in the college football hierarchy.

Hickey laughed at the idea.

“Just put it like this,” she said. “Two years ago, we hadn't even played a down of football. Now, everybody's worried about whether we're going to be in Conference USA or the Mountain West or the Big East? It's a pretty cool problem to have.”

Seriously, Hickey said, UTSA's destination already has been decided no matter what fans may see on the message boards.

“We're very happy,” she said, “about joining Conference USA next year.”