BroadwayVik
Active member
Buoyed by the announcement of the new basketball pavillion, I reiterate that the MWC is where the Vikings belong. This is the conference where PSU peers can be engaged and with whom PSU can be competitive and grow healthily. Barring coastal affiliation, a wide open West is the next best thing.
Boise State and San Diego State left the conference to better their fortunes in the Big East. The MWC barred them from housing all-other-sports-than-football and so they have sought secondary affiliation elsewhere – SDSU gained membership in the Big West, Boise in the WAC (though they'd prefer the Big West).
Utah State and San Jose State were invited in to fill the gap, raising membership back to ten. Mike Price at UTEP has announced his team's intention to join the conference as well. Tulsa is also looking to join to fill in the twelfth slot.
If Portland State goes out and wins the FCS this year, they could challenge Tulsa for that last slot. The MWC has a longstanding tradition that they prefer larger cities to smaller ones. It is quite apparent that both Idaho and New Mexico State were rejected for membership on this basis.
Tulsa is adequate but Portland is the superior candidate to Tulsa in two ways: (1) in terms of population: The metro area is more than twice Tulsa's size, and (2) the Mountain West would frankly much prefer a member of the mountainous West than one out on the prairie of Eastern Oklahoma. Quality of play is in Tulsa's favor right now.
The MWC may add Tulsa out of sheer convenience but may also have their eye on the quickly developing Vikings at Portland State. If the Viks become as vital as Tulsa, they could seriously challenge Tulsa for that last spot. Right now, I think the Viks could give Tulsa a very good game. To me, MWC affiliation feels soothing and cool to the touch, doable and worth the challenge:
San Jose State – Portland State
UNLV – Nevada
Fresno State – Hawai'i
Utah State – Air Force
Colorado State – Wyoming
New Mexico - UTEP
I think we get one shot at this: Beat Tulsa.
