Conference Expansion: Conference USA-Mountain West Merger Coming?

Conference expansion came back to the forefront yesterday when current Conference USA member Memphis agreed to join the Big East in all sports for the 2013-2014 season.

From a basketball standpoint, it was a huge blow for Conference USA as Memphis has been the staple of the conference for many years now.

But now it looks as if a lot of teams could be replacing Memphis, as ESPN’s Andy Katz is reporting that Conference USA officials will meet this week to discuss a potential merger with the Mountain West Conference.

As we discussed yesterday, something like this was bound to happen as conference expansion has proven to have quite the domino effect. Both conferences are in need of adding new schools, so it makes a lot of sense for them to join together to create one big conference.

Does it make sense from a geographical standpoint? Not at all. But San Diego State playing in the Big East doesn’t make a whole lot of sense either, but that’s what they’ll be doing soon.

Geography means nothing in the grand scheme of things anymore. Location isn’t a priority these days.

For the major conferences, it’s a race to be the best. And for conferences like Conference USA and the Mountain West, it’s a race for survival.