In the life of Karl Benson, it won't go down as his best day.
While recuperating from eye surgery at his home last May, the Western Athletic Conference commissioner was awakened by a phone call from Colorado State President Albert Yates.Yates dropped a bomb on the Western Athletic Conference commissioner -- notifying him that CSU, along with BYU, Utah and five others league members, would be bolting the WAC to form their own alliance.
Talk about being blind-sided. Benson was stunned and devastated. Hired in 1994, the same week the WAC fatally expanded to 16 teams, he had worked tirelessly to make this upstart, bloated, woebegone, beleaguered and maligned conference -- his adopted child -- become successful. Suddenly, his adopted child was being torn in half.
That was one year ago. Now, on the first anniversary of that ugly split -- an idea that was consummated between a group of breakaway school presidents at the Denver International Airport -- where are the pair of eight-team conferences now?
Closer than you might think, in many ways. The divide isn't all that wide, despite the leagues' best efforts to distance themselves from each other, both figuratively and literally. For instance, only 56 miles separate their respective league headquarters in Colorado.
Of course, the departing institutions have transformed into the Mountain West Conference, which selected Craig Thompson as its commissioner.
Thompson and Benson happen to longtime friends who now preside over arch-rival conferences with similar goals and challenges. As they usher in a new era, both are striving to help their leagues thrive in an intercollegiate athletics world where they are regarded as second-class citizens. Meanwhile, they are grappling with each other for the finite number of bowl and television dollars available for leagues considered to be lower-tier in the eyes of the rest of the nation.
This is a tale of two conferences. While Thompson is working with a somewhat clean slate of a group that's perceived to be stronger, with a lofty goal to be counted among the elite conferences, Benson is picking up the pieces of a group perceived to be weaker. Is perception the reality? Only time will tell. Ties between the WAC and MWC will be officially severed on July 1.
Although the MWC (aka the Conference Formerly Known As WAC) will be fighting to detach itself from the battered WAC image, everyone knows it is indelibly linked to the WAC. There will be comparisons.
"It's inevitable that people will look at us and see the same old product, repackaged," Thompson said. "But we are shaping a different league. There was nothing wrong with the WAC before with these schools. Not before expansion."
The animosity between the WAC and former WAC is well-documented, including the threatened lawsuits by the remaining schools. The WAC is angered by the MWC's superiority complex and its attitude of having abandoned the dregs of the old league for greener pastures.
But that bad blood just may end up doing both conferences some good.
"It will be a great rivalry, intense and heated," Benson said. "From our point of view, WAC schools will look at this as an opportunity to prove people wrong. It has the potential to be a healthy rivalry. There's a lot on the line for both conferences. People will watch with a lot of interest this fall. Not just people within both conferences but those nationally who will be watching to see how each measures up on a national basis."
Though the games have yet to begin (the rivalry started to some extent last season but the first real meeting between WAC and MWC schools will be on Sept. 4 when New Mexico and play) there is plenty of scoreboard-watching going on.
"This is a business where you keep score," Thompson said. "Perceptions will be formed. People will take note of who wins. There will be a lot of comparisons between us in our formative years."
The WAC won a big battle when it learned it will get to keep NCAA basketball tournament revenues, mostly earned by the departing schools, totaling more than $2.5 million a year for six years.
WAC 1, MWC 0.
On the other hand, the MWC can boast its 7-year, $48 million contract with ESPN.
MWC 1, WAC 1.
All things considered, the score looks somewhat even. While the MWC figures to be stronger in football, both leagues are comparable in basketball. When it comes right down to it, they know they will be judged by on-field performance. That's when respect and revenue will come their way.
"We need to perform right out of the box in September," Benson said. "Our challenge is to make sure we stay within the reach of the Mountain West, the Big 12 and the Pac-10."
Thompson knows that playing, and beating, the elite will do wonders for the MWC. And it will be in the spotlight early on as Wyoming takes on defending national champion Tennessee. BYU has a non-conference schedule that includes Washington, Virginia and Cal.
Though they are seeking to establish their own identities and out-perform the other, from a big-picture perspective, the twin conferences will probably have to become allies more than enemies.
"There are some common issues the WAC and Mountain West are currently facing and will face in the future, such as (the Bowl Championship Series) and the bowl structure," Benson said. "I would anticipate Craig and I will be on the same page on national issues."
"Karl and I talk on a weekly or biweekly basis," Thompson said. "He's a good friend. There are a number of issues that overlap, others that we butt heads on. We're in the same category in some instances, and we're different in others."
Thompson and Benson have known each other for 10 years. Their paths crossed in Salt Lake City in 1994 when both men were finalists for the WAC commissioner's job. They arrived in town to be interviewed by WAC presidents and one night the two went out to dinner together.
Benson got the job and Thompson went back to work as commish of the Sun Belt Conference. Five years later, neither could have envisioned the scenario they find themselves in now.
For his part, Thompson is treating the history of the WAC as if it didn't exist. "The last five months we've worried only about what we can have an influence on. I can't concern myself with how the league was formed and what happened before Jan. 1, 1999."
For Benson, ignoring and downplaying the past is almost impossible. Dealing with the fallout from the divorce is still difficult, but not as difficult as it once was. "This year will be much easier from an administrative and emotional standpoint," he said. "It will be better for everyone's sake, to completely start anew." Last year, the swan song for the 16-school WAC, Benson admits attending conference games and "not knowing who to root for."
It's been tough "having to watch the competition knowing a particular game or event is no longer under your jurisdiction," he added. "I remember watching BYU in the Liberty Bowl and the Utah-New Mexico game in the WAC tournament, realizing those schools will no longer be WAC members.
"Certainly there's a part of me that will always be interested in BYU, Utah and the other former WAC members," continued Benson, a former administrator at Utah. "I've maintained regular conversations with several Mountain West athletic directors. I have a lot of friends and acquaintances at those schools. I would expect our relationships to continue. I wish them the best."
Let the rivalry begin.
Here's a look at where both conferences are headed:
WAC
Though the WAC has changed drastically in the past 12 months (no charter members of the league, which opened in 1962, remain while five of eight members have been in the WAC only since 1996), Benson doesn't view his job much differently than before. New conference, same old hurdles.
"The WAC has had to deal with changes in the past, though not as dramatic as this one," he said. "It's a matter of changing directions. The challenges are no different, just redirected challenges. There are always issues of television, bowls and national credibility. The WAC has always had to earn it, year after year."
The big problem is the large gulf between the Texas schools and the Pacific schools. Geographically, it's a giant donut. More than ever, travel costs will be an issue. That's why Benson is advocating that the WAC expand to 12 teams with two six-team divisions. It's a topic he will discuss with WAC presidents during their annual meetings in June.
"We could very easily be a 12-team league," he said, adding that Utah State is one team preparing itself for an invitation. "Several (expansion) models certainly have Utah State included. I've had several conversations with Utah State representatives the last 90 days."
While the earliest expansion could take place is 2000-01, it is something that would help the conference in two ways. "The only way to reduce (travel) is through expansion. It will allow there to be more balance in the West. Our goal is to reduce travel demands," Benson said. "And expansion would be a sign that the WAC plans to move forward and be a viable conference. There are too many rumors and speculation about the future of the WAC. Expansion can reduce that speculation and send a message that we're in this for the long term. It can go a long way in establishing the solidarity the WAC needs to grow."
Not only that, but with 12 teams and two divisions, there is the opportunity to stage a made-for-TV conference title game.
In the last year, remaining WAC schools have examined their positions and explored options outside the conference. But now, Benson says, they are committed to making the Jenny Craig-version of the WAC a success. He anticipates that at the upcoming president's council, a contract of binding membership will be signed, signaling that the WAC is here to stay.
As for the bowl situation, the WAC champ is locked into the Las Vegas Bowl where it will likely play against the MWC runner-up. The WAC is also tied to the new bowl in Mobile, Ala. In 2000, Benson hopes the WAC will anchor the proposed Silicon Valley Bowl and is negotiating with the Aloha/Oahu Bowls as well as a proposed bowl in Houston.
"It's safe to say we'll have two automatics in 1999, and at least two or three in 2000," Benson said. "We're in a very solid position."
As for the long-term future of the WAC? Benson is confident. "A lot of can happen nationally to create membership reconfigurations that could touch any conference in the West," he said. "Regardless of what happens there will always be a WAC -- the name has lasted since 1962. There may be more changes in the future but the WAC will always be a conference."
As for Benson's future? "I've resolved that I'm the right guy to lead the WAC into a new era. You always look for new challenges in life and certainly this is a new challenge for me."
MWC
Though the Mountain West is not officially a conference yet, you could have fooled Thompson. "I feel like we've been in business since January," he said.
And when the MWC becomes legit on July 1, you won't find Thompson in the conference offices in Colorado Springs. He'll be away on business. The July 1 date is just a formality. "There won't be any streamers and balloons dropping from the ceiling that day," he said.
Thompson was hired last fall and he's been busy ever since, trying to start the conference from scratch. "It's been a hectic pace and we haven't been fully staffed," he said. "The pace hasn't slowed down."
There has been a mountain of work to do and Thompson has accomplished plenty. He and his 11-member staff have almost completed the scheduling and organizing the championships in each sport except basketball. Las Vegas, Denver and Albuquerque are still bidding for the MWC basketball tournament. (And, remember, there will be no conference championship game.)
In an enormous breakthrough, the MWC struck a TV deal with ESPN late last year. The conference will receive about $7 million a year for eight teams to share. By comparison, the old WAC's pact yielded just $3.5 million a year, to be divided among 16 teams.
And Thompson is thrilled with the league's recent $1.2 million a year contract with the Liberty Bowl, which will provide a home for the MWC football champion the next three seasons. More bowl tie-ins, including the Las Vegas Bowl, are being discussed.
Not everything is going smoothly, however. The darkest cloud in the horizon is the fate of the MWC's NCAA basketball tournament automatic bid, which is in the hands of the NCAA. The 34-member Management Council meets in late July to deliberate the issue, and the NCAA Board of Directors, which will make the final decision, gather in August.
"We're closely monitoring that," Thompson said.
The crux of the issue is the interpretation of an NCAA rule that states that newly formed conferences must wait five years for its regular-season or tournament champion to earn an automatic spot to the NCAA Tournament.
"We would have hoped a resolution would have been made by now," Thompson said. "There's a precedent there that should be binding. We have seven schools that have been together 19 years."
That precedent involves the Big 12, made up of the former Big 8 and Southwest Conference schools.
In January, the MWC filed a waiver request and the Management Council consented. But that decision was challenged. In April, the Legislative Review Committee discussed the topic and heard arguments from the MWC. Interestingly, the WAC is also in the same boat since most of its members haven't been together for five years. But Benson isn't as worried about this matter since the WAC will meet the five-year requirement in 2000-01. Besides, he is optimistic that the WAC is strong enough that the champion will garner an automatic bid anyway.
The MWC doesn't want to take any chances but for now, the league is playing the waiting game. Still, Thompson says some sort of arrangement will be worked out. "If we are denied, we would have to look long and hard at other options," he said. "But I strongly believe we won't have to wait five years."
As for expansion, it is a dead issue, for now. There are no plans to add schools in the immediate future. The MWC will remain at eight, though Thompson did not rule out expansion as a possibility in a few years. Last year, after the breakup, the breakaways flirted with the idea of inviting Fresno State and Hawaii, but decided against it.
Eight schools are hard enough to publicize, and a major part of Thompson's task is promoting the conference. When he travels around the country and introduces himself as the commissioner of the Mountain West Conference, most folks don't have the foggiest clue as to what his title means.
"There is an education process," he said. "People don't recognize the name yet but that's understandable. We haven't played a game yet. People don't know the name Mountain West Conference yet, but they know the schools in it."
The MWC has organized a "Launch Committee" which is busy putting together an aggressive public relations campaign. Public service announcements, a kickoff dinner in conjunction with football media day, banners displayed at venues throughout the conference, four-color brochures and other promotional activities are in the works.
At the same time, Thompson is trying to encourage all parties involved in the conference to be on the same page.
"Our goal is to get everybody, from the presidents to administrators to the coaches, to form and develop the best intercollegiate conference we can," Thompson said. "We want to foster competitive teams and high academic standards. We feel we are one of the top eight conferences in the country right now."