Will the MWC look to UTEP to replace SDSU?

Article by UTEPZay

   UTEP to the Mountain West has been talked about for over 10 years already, yet, here we are, with little to no progress being made to make it a reality. UTEP fans continue to push for the Miners to leave CUSA, but where would they go? The MWC has made it clear, at least for the time being, they don't want UTEP. But why?

   Over the last ten years, UTEP football has the same amount of 1-win seasons as it does winning seasons (2). And the one sport UTEP has historically prided itself on? (Men's basketball) hasn't even been to the conference championship game since 2011, when they famously fell to Memphis inside the Don Haskins Center. 

   No success in either of the big two sports already holds UTEP back from joining a conference that just sent a team to the NCAA men's basketball championship game, but so does a plethora of other things. Despite having a metropolitan population of over 900,000 people, the El Paso media market is deemed undesirable by many. Also, UTEP's facilities leave a lot to be desired, especially when compared to other Mountain West schools. And lastly, attendance. UTEP football averaged 19,134 people per game last year, which would've placed them 8th in the Mountain West, which isn't bad, but not something that pops off the paper. As for basketball, UTEP averaged 4,552 people per game and lead C-USA in attendance this past season, but that number would've placed them in 9th in the Mountain West. Again, not bad, but not something that blows you away. El Paso is a decent market, the attendance numbers aren't bad, and the facilities are solid, but none of them are attractive enough when comes to a potential move to the Mountain West.

   But this is article is titled "UTEP to the MWC is possible", and that title holds true. UTEP can make into the Mountain West. The first, and most obvious, reason it's a possibility is location. UTEP is isolated in the new CUSA, with the closest school besides NMSU being Sam Houston State, which is over 700 miles away. The Mountain West has former WAC foes and UTEP rivals such as Air Force, Wyoming, UNM, Colorado State, and Hawaii. Although I said El Paso's media market isn't great, it still gives the MWC into the great state of Texas. Along with that, San Diego State has already informed the conference they plan to leave for a Power 5 conference, and the options if the Mountain West plans to expand are low. UTEP is the most obvious FBS option, as it's unlikely that the AAC schools would jump to the Mountain West. The conference could elect to go the FCS route, where NDSU would be the most worthy adversary. However, one, would NDSU want? They're competing for national championships yearly, having battles with their regional rivals yearly. Also, adding NDSU would mean they would probably have to add SDSU as well. Would the Mountain West be willing to do that? 

  For now, I'd say UTEP is the best candidate for Mountain West, but if that's the case, would the Mountain West even want to expand? Fox Sports John Canzano reported that the Mountain West is exploring expansion, but the conference's commissioner, Gloria Nevarez said this about expansion: "We have no shortage of schools that are ready to join us, but we're in a really good position. We can be selective, and we can think about, 'If we lose any schools, what is it we're trying to replace? Do folks bring assets, strength, make us stronger or just strength in numbers?" . 

   UTEP to the Mountain West will always be mentioned, but we'll honestly never know if that will ever happen. UTEP could be working night and day behind the scenes to try and get into the Mountain West, or they could be content in CUSA. Regardless of that, if the Mountain West comes calling, UTEP will no doubt answer the phone. But will it happen? Who knows.