Academics were on the agenda at the latest Mountain West Conference Board of Directors meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo. - expansion was not.
Contrary to recent rumors the board did not discuss expanding the eight-team league, ending speculation that conference would invite either Fresno State University, the University of Hawaii or both schools. Both currently compete in the Western Athletic Conference.
In a teleconference Tuesday, MWC commissioner Craig Thompson said expansion was not discussed.
"We've got eight institutions. Those eight institutions reaffirmed their commitment to each other through our strategic planning and benchmarks, but (there was) no great interest at this point in expansion," he said.
The board did approve guidelines that would prohibit MWC schools from recruiting "non-qualifying" student athletes - students who were unable to maintain a 2.0 GPA in high school or score high enough on college entrance exams such as the ACT or SAT. The guideline take effect in the 2003-04 academic year.
The board also discussed recently approved NCAA guidelines that govern membership in Division I football, the highest level of competition the NCAA sanctions. The guidelines state that all Division I schools must have an average attendance of 15,000 people at home games, must schedule five home games against Division I opponents, offer a total of 2,000 athletic scholarships, or the financial equivalency of that number, and sponsor 16 team sports - six men's sports, eight women's and two of either. The guidelines go into effect in 2004.
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According to Thompson, two schools, San Diego State University and Colorado State University, are currently deficient on the final guideline governing the amount of team sports they sponsor. Both schools need to add one men's sport that is sanctioned by the MWC. SDSU meets the requirement of six men's teams, but its men's soccer team competes in the Mountain-Pacific Sports Federation. CSU only sponsors five men's sports.
The MWC Board of Directors is scheduled to meet again in October.
