Brigham Young University will leave the Mountain West Conference starting next season and Chancellor Victor Boschini said he is unsure of whether the conference will make further changes in the future.
“The future of the Mountain West Conference is good…I am unsure at this time if any subsequent changes will be made by the conference after BYU’s decision,” Boschini said.
BYU will join the West Coast Conference in all sports except for football, where they will compete as an independent. BYU has been one of the Horned Frogs’ biggest competitors in football and basketball.
TCU Athletic Director Chris Del Conte said the university will continue to look after the university’s best interests.
“At TCU, our goal is to build the best athletics program we can,” Del Conte said. “This means investing in new facilities, playing top-ranked teams and recruiting outstanding student-athletes”
As a result of BYU’s departure, the Mountain West Conference will have only eight teams next season with the addition of Boise State University into the conference in 2011. The University of Utah will also leave the Mountain West for the Pac-10 Conference next season.
“Even with this challenge we are certain of one thing. TCU will continue strategically seeking opportunities to build the best athletics program possible to benefit our students, our fans and our community,” Del Conte said.
Since BYU and Utah, two of TCU’s biggest rivals in recent years, are leaving the MWC,the conference will have a new dynamic in future seasons. When Boise State joins the conference, the teams will begin new rivalries.
In 2012, the Mountain West Conference will add Fresno State University and the University of Nevada, according to ESPN.com. The additions of Nevada and FSU will strengthen the conference’s resumé. The Mountain West Conference is not currently a BCS automatic qualifying conference.
The TCU matchup against BYU this season is the last scheduled game between the two teams.
Alex Apple is a freshman political science and journalism major from Nashville, Tenn.
