The television market in Tulsa could be looked upon favorably should the Golden Hurricane football team end its four-year status as an independent and join the Western Athletic Conference, a WAC athletic director says.
"For anybody who wants to get in the WAC, that's the most significant advantage they could bring," said Gary Ness, athletic director at New Mexico. "That's our Achilles heel. It doesn't give us a lot of clout when it comes to getting national or regional television."Tulsa has the ninth-largest cable company in the country and its television market is 58th in the country.
But any plans to expand the nine-member WAC are temporarily on hold. And Tulsa hasn't officially thrown its hat in the ring.
Tulsa athletic director Rick Dickson, noting Tulsa's basketball membership in the Missouri Valley Conference, declined to comment on any Tulsa interest in the WAC.
But Ness told The Tulsa Tribune on Thursday he and Dickson had informal talks on the subject when New Mexico played at Tulsa Sept. 23.
"It's tough being an independent these days. A conference gives you so many advantages in scheduling, rivalries and expenses," Ness said.
Ness said with talk of reorganization by major conferences, it is difficult to predict whether the WAC will remain stable or expand.
"Nowadays, with the financial pressures each program has to bear, opportunities for greater television markets and revenues can dissolve loyalties and traditions in a hurry," he said. "In that type of environment anything can happen. I'd hate to say with any sense of certainty that if Tulsa applied it would be reviewed favorably or unfavorably."
Tulsa had been a member of the Missouri Valley Conference since 1934. It went independent in football in 1985 after winning its sixth straight championship.
Ness said the school's Skelly Stadium, with a seating capacity of 40,385, is on the small side among WAC schools. Skelly is larger than stadiums at Colorado State, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. In basketball, only Air Force and Hawaii play in arenas smaller than the 9,200-seat Convention Center.