Transition Outlook: Boise State Broncos

We finish our look at western teams transitioning to new conferences with an overview of Boise State. The Broncos posted the most wins in all of college football last decade and have risen from FCS call-up to national power. What scenarios could play out for the boys in blue as they move to the Mountain West?

Lunchtime Links: June 29

Some news for June 29th:

Transition Outlook: BYU Cougars

Continuing our series of examining the western schools who are changing conference affiliation, today we focus on Brigham Young University. The Cougars are striking out on their own in the first such move by a major program in this era. What is ahead of BYU as they declare independence?

Transition Outlook: Colorado Buffaloes

We continue our series highlighting the western teams who are changing conference affiliations with a look at Boulder's Buffaloes. For the first time since 1948, Colorado will be in a different conference than Kansas, Kansas State, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Iowa State, and Missouri, which is when they began competition in the Big 7. What awaits Colorado in the Pac-12?

Transition Outlook: Utah Utes

Today starts the first part in our four-part series highlighting the transitions of the four western schools who are changing conference affiliations. We first take a look at Utah, who got its call up to the Pac-12 conference. What is ahead of the Utes in the coming season? I'll take a look at the possible scenarios for Utah in its first year at the big boys' table.

Boise State uniform update

At the beginning of our Rate That Uni series, we evaluated Boise State's set of uniforms. We were notified not too long after posting it that the Broncos would be switching to a uniform set like the jerseys they wore in the Las Vegas Bowl against Utah -- namely, they are the same set, just without all the accent marks on the shoulders and butt.  Yesterday, we were made aware of an update, including pictures. What will Boise's new uniforms look like?

Rate That Uni: Final WAC Rankings

Votes are final and the rankings for WAC uniforms are complete. Did you agree with our panelists? Or is our panel out of touch? See where your favorite WAC team finished in our final rankings.

Links from the Weekend: June 18-20

Here are stories from the over the weekend and from this morning:

How Twitter Changed My Sports Fandom, Pt. 2

About a month ago, Zach shared how Twitter changed how he follows sports. I had been thinking more on this topic and wanted to share some of my own thoughts. The sports network on Twitter has certainly changed how I follow sports and root for teams as well.

Nevada WR Wimberly shot, football career over

If you missed the news over the weekend, Nevada junior wide receiver Brandon Wimberly was shot in the stomach near downtown Reno early Saturday morning. While his life is not in danger, Wimberly suffered extensive damage to his intestines and colon, and it is very unlikely he will play football again.

Lunchtime Links: June 17

Here are some of today's stories:

• The bowl schedule for the 2011 season was released today. No New Year's games as it falls on a Sunday. TV destinations remain the same.
• Athlon released its Pac 12 predictions.
• Kyle Kensing of Saturday Blitz posted his watch list for The Detmer, the award for the best non-AQ player.
• Colorado center Mike Iltis is stepping away from football for his senior year. His decision marks the 18th player with eligibility left to leave the program this offseason.

Rate That Uni: Utah State

Today we finish up the WAC ratings with Utah State. The Aggies are slowly building back into a contender, but do their uniforms stack up with the best of their compadres? Make sure to cast your vote at the bottom after reading our thoughts. Next week we will tally up all the votes and provide final rankings for the WAC.

Recap of Big Sky Commissioner on Hawaii radio

Big Sky Commissioner Doug Fullerton joined Josh Pacheco of ESPN 790/850 in Hawaii to discuss conference expansion and his recent comments on the WAC's contact with members of his conference. A recap of some of his comments are below:

Rate That Uni: New Mexico State

Here are the uniforms for New Mexico State. The Aggies have had a rough go on the field, and things aren't getting better with our evaluations here. Read our opinions and cast your vote at the bottom.

(Audio) Quick Slant: Pac-12 Quarterback Prospectus

There is no conference in the country with a better group of quarterback than the Pac-12. The return of Heisman Trophy runner-up Andrew Luck headlines a list of talented signal callers who have the capability of leading their teams to victory on any given Saturday. Our own Zach Bloxham discusses each starting quarterback and their respective outlook on the season. (TOTAL TIME: 12:03)

Rate That Uni: San Jose State

San Jose State was quite possibly the worst team in FBS last season. They went 1-11, including a loss to FCS UC-Davis.  SJSU's only win came on a 16-11, come-from-behind victory over another FCS opponent Southern Utah. Things could hardly be worse for the Spartans -- unless their uniforms match the play. See what we have to say on the uniforms, and remember to cast your vote at the bottom.

Geography, Justice, and the Expansion Tsunami

There is a tsunami brewing in college football. A rolling tide which will change the landscape of the game like nothing before it. It will affect not only top-tier football programs around the country, but the middling schools teetering on the verge of declassification. This new world of Super Conferences will further cannibalize existing leagues and, in the end, separate the wheat from the tares in college football. We felt the earth shake when the Pac-10 nearly became the Pac-16 last summer. It is only a matter of time before this rushing wave alters the landscape forever.

Until then we wait. And wonder. Just what will become of the schools left out of the mix? And what led to their demise?

Rate That Uni: Nevada

Up today in the Rate That Uni series is Nevada. The Wolf Pack just finished its most successful season, posting a 13-1 record and the first end-of-season Top 25 ranking in program history. But do their uniforms match that level? Read our thoughts and cast your vote at the bottom of the post.

Lunchtime Links: June 15

Stories from around college football for June 15th:

Seattle University to join WAC in 2012

Seattle University has accepted an invitation from the Western Athletic Conference to join on July 1, 2012, and to begin competition in the 2012-13 athletic season. The WAC extended an invitation Tuesday morning to Seattle. No invitations were extended to Utah Valley or Cal State Bakersfield, both of which also made presentations to WAC officials yesterday. The transaction will give the WAC nine basketball (and all non-football sports) schools. The conference remains at seven football schools.

Rate That Uni: Louisiana Tech

The Bulldogs sport a classic red, white, and blue look. What do our panelists have to say? Cast your vote at the bottom.

Rate That Uni: Idaho

Do our panelists pummel Idaho's uniforms like opponents do the team? Or, like the rise Robb Akey is building, do Idaho's uniforms stand up to the test? Cast your vote at the bottom.

The possibility of football at Utah Valley University

mock-up via Anthony Jenkins

With the WAC set to announce plans for expansion (if any) this afternoon at 2:00 p.m MT, we wanted to share some information on the subject as we await any announcements. The key players in WAC rumors have been Seattle and Utah Valley, who both made pitches to WAC brass yesterday. Some have speculated that Utah Valley's only shot to get an invitation to the WAC is to launch a football program, since the WAC will be forging ahead with only 7 football schools starting in 2012.

We obtained a report from Peter Case detailing 2008 interviews he conducted while a student at Utah Valley. The interviews were with Athletic Director Mike Jacobsen, and with Val Hale, UVU's vice president of marketing (and former BYU athletic director). The report sheds some light on the possibilities of a football program at Utah Valley University.

Non-AQ Performance in Final AP Top 25

A few gems from an in-depth study of then/now Non-AQ performance in the AP Top 25:

• BYU has been ranked in the final AP Top 25 exactly HALF (17 out of 34 times) since 1977. 
• Boise State has been ranked in the final AP Top 25 almost half (46%) of its entire time in FBS. And of those Top 25 rankings, three of those are Top 10 finishes. The other four are Top 16. 
• Utah has as many Top 10 finishes (3) as BYU. 
• TCU has finished in the Final AP Top 25 in eight of the past 11 years. Four of those ranking were in the Top 11. 
• Air Force has four Top 25 finishes since 1977.
• In that same span, Wyoming (1996) and San Diego State (1977) have one apiece. UNLV, Louisiana Tech, SJSU, New Mexico, New Mexico State and Idaho have zero. 
• Nevada's lone Top 25 finish was last season. 
• Fresno State has entered the Top 25 ten times since 1986. The Bulldogs have two Top 25 finishes in their history. 
• Colorado State has three Top 25 finishes. The Rams were ranked at one time during the season for seven straight years from 1997 to 2003. Good ol Sonny Lubick.  

Utah's new Thrett(on): Rugby crossover Palamo looks to add power to Utes' backfield

As I posted last week, the numbers show that Utah isn't returning a terribly experienced offense. The main factor is the loss of three running backs. Matt Asiata and Eddie Wide departed after successful senior seasons sharing the backfield, while promising talent Sausan Shakerin was forced to end his football career after suffering yet another concussion after returning for just three games last October. The three combined for 1,517 of Utah's 1,988 rushing yards.

Fast forward to a month ago, when I found myself enjoying some college premiere league rugby on ESPNU. Utah was playing Cal in the championship semifinals, and while eventual-champion Cal dominated the Utes, one star shone bright for Utah: Thretton Palamo.

Rate That Uni: Hawaii

Up today is the Warriors of Hawaii. Just over a decade ago, Hawaii dropped Rainbow from its nickname and became the Warriors, dropping a light-green color scheme that featured a rainbow on the helmet. The new scheme adopted a darker green and Hawaii started featuring lots of black, especially at home. How do our panelists take to Hawaii's use of black? Read our thoughts and make sure you cast your vote at the end of the post.

Rate That Uni: Fresno State

Today we continue the Rate That Uni series by venturing into the WAC. The first stop takes us to Fresno State, where the Bulldogs have sported a more conservative look for some time. Is it conservative-classic? Or conservative-boring? Read our thoughts and cast your vote at the bottom.

Morrill signs 6-year extension with Utah State

Stew Morrill seems to always be in the rumor mill as the guy to take the next hot job and move up the so-called coaching ladder. Today, the long-time Utah State head men's basketball coach put that possibility to bed forever by signing a 6-year contract extension that will keep him coaching the Aggies through the 2016-17 season.

Morrill included the following statement in the university's official release:

"Two things I've said since I arrived at Utah State is that it's a privilege to coach here and that this will be my last coaching job, and 13 years later I feel stronger than ever about both statements."

New Mexico Bowl drops WAC, adds Pac 12 a year early

The New Mexico Bowl announced yesterday that the 2011 edition of the bowl will feature a Mountain West school and a Pac 12 school. At first, glance, I didn't think much of this, except to wonder why the New Mexico Bowl would make an announcement they had already made. Light bulb: this new announcement is for 2011, not 2012.

Needless to say, the announcement damages an already damaged WAC, who was slated to play in the bowl this season. The WAC now has three bowl tie-ins for next season (in selection order): Poinsettia Bowl, Humanitarian Bowl, and Hawaii Bowl. The Hawaii Bowl, of course, is really only a WAC tie-in if Hawaii is bowl-eligible -- and with Hawaii moving its football program to the MWC in 2012, the WAC's bowl picture is bleak. But I suppose in a 7-team football conference, you might not need more than two bowl deals anyway.

ESPN and WCC announce new 8-year TV deal

ESPN and the West Coast Conference have just announced a new 8-year basketball deal that will double the number of WCC men's basketball games appearing on the network. The new deal will also lead to increased coverage of women's basketball and WCC Olympic sports over the range of ESPN platforms (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3.com, ESPN Mobile).

We at The Upset love the new deal. We caught the Mid-Majority fever and found ourselves watching many WCC games in the late time slot. With St. Mary's developing from a good team into a solid program, the ever-strong Gonzaga, and new-comer BYU, TV viewers should be in for a treat if they have yet to partake of the goodness that is WCC basketball.

Here is the full press release from ESPN.

Texas State announces 2012 football schedule

Texas State announced its 2012 football schedule today, the first season the Bobcats will play at the FBS level and in the Western Athletic Conference.  Aside from the 6-game WAC schedule, the Bobcats will play host to Texas Tech in week 2 and Nevada in week 5. Non-conference road games include bouts against Houston, New Mexico, and Navy.

Rate That Uni: Final MWC Rankings

Ratings have been given, opinions have been opined, and votes have been cast. The final results of the Rate That Uni series for the Mountain West Conference are in the books. How did your team fare? And were our panelists in touch with you, or do they need a does of reality?

Here are the final results for the MWC:

Phil Steele releases his complete experience chart

A few days ago I played stat man and combined Phil Steele's data on the percentage of offensive yards returning, and career offensive line starts returning to say who would be the most experienced offense returning next season. I figured Mr. Steele would get to this at some point, but I wanted to jump in on the numbers and just look at the offense. Today, Phil released his complete combined experience data, which also includes number of senior starters, and percentage of tackles returning. SMU still tops the list, with UCLA at 7 and BYU at 11.

Lunchtime Links: June 7

Some good reads from around the country today:

• The Mountain West's Board of Director's meeting just concluded, and the conference adopted two significant items. The conference adopted a major penalty for leaving the conference after the June 30 deadline. Previously, teams could leave with no penalty. Today, the rule changes to a $5 million penalty, plus forfeiture of the final year's revenue, or twice the amount of the final year's revenue, whichever is greater. The conference also adopted an 8-game conference schedule well into the future, meaning each team will miss playing one other team each year--like the old Big T(11)en.
• Cowboy Altitude has started an interesting series where they realign every conference based solely on geography, starting today with the Pac 12.
• Salt Lake Tribune's Kurt Kragthorpe has a great piece today on why Utah Valley's value to the WAC is limited without football.
• Blogger Aaron Torres plays the What If? game about how West Virginia's loss to Pitt on Dec. 1, 2007 changed three different programs forever.

An End to Kickoffs In College Football?

Greg Schiano has seen the light. In the aftermath of seeing one of his players suffer an injury that nearly cost his life on the football field, the head coach at Rutgers was bound to do something about it. Namely, the usually low-key Schiano wants to do-away with kickoff returns. Eric LeGrand was severely injured on a kickoff return during a game in 2010.

BCS takes away 2004 title from USC

The BCS announced this afternoon that it has stripped USC of its 2004 BCS national championship. It is unclear if the school will get to keep the trophy. Details will definitely be forthcoming, but here's an early story from CBSSports.com.

Despite what the BCS does, I'll still remember USC destroying the Bob Stoops Oklahoma squad like the Trojans were an NFL team...

***UPDATE: USC official says they are returning the trophy***

Mountain West releases new logo; Instant Reactions

The Mountain West Conference officially released its new logo today that will take the conference into its second era:

Rate That Uni: Wyoming

Today we finish up the uniform ratings for the Mountain West with Wyoming. Many know that that Cowboys are blessed with a rather unfortunate color scheme, but given that, how do their uniforms stack up? Have they made proper use of uniform design principles, according to our panelists? The Pokes have used most of their possible combinations of pant/top combos, so there is a lot to consider today. Read our thoughts and cast your vote below.

The Most Experienced Offense in College Football

Every year, fans and magazine pundits want to know: how many starters does ______ return? Each magazine preview will provide this number as a way to predict the coming year's success. Today, with the help of Phil Steele, I want to dig deeper into what each team returns, specifically on the offensive line. Who returns the most experienced offense in 2011?

Fresno State installing FieldTurf for 2011

The Fresno State athletic department announced this evening that installation of new artificial field turf will begin next week. Installation is expected to be completed a few weeks before the upcoming 2011 season.

Let's hope they keep that checkerboard endzone.

Rate That Uni: UNLV

Rate That Uni heads to Vegas for a look at the threads the Rebels have been wearing for the last few seasons. UNLV has been using a pretty standard set of uniforms for several years that feature large, gray shoulder panels, with only slight changes to the helmet and really no alternative jerseys. Will our panelists like the panels? Read our thoughts, and cast your vote at the bottom.

Games versus SEC teams picked up by ESPN

Some teams in the West picked up some games on ESPN for their games against SEC opponents per a release from ESPN today, and times for these games were announced.

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Network
Sat, Sep 3	Noon	Utah State at Auburn	ESPN/ESPN2
	4:45 p.m.	BYU at Mississippi	ESPN
	8 p.m.	Oregon vs. LSU (from Arlington)	ABC
	8 p.m.	Boise State vs. Georgia (from Atlanta)	ESPN
Sat, Oct 1	9:15 p.m.	Mississippi at Fresno State	ESPN2

Rate That Uni: TCU

Continuing in the MWC uniform ratings, today we have TCU. The Horned Frogs are debuting new uniforms for 2011 after using the 2010 set for just one year. Because we have only the pictures from the unveiling, we will lay out some editors notes based on what we know.  As usual, read our ratings and thoughts, and cast your vote at the bottom.

The Anatomy of Sports Hatred

From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate. - Socrates 

College athletics is a breeding ground for a special type of disdain. A contempt which bubbles and festers in the soul of all those who pledge allegiance to a specific school and its athletic success. Far from a fleeting feeling of indifference, this derision is directed at those who have aligned with what we see as the antithesis of right. Lest you think this condescension is easily defined, I asked an open-ended question on Twitter last night. It read:

I also asked for an explanation as to why this disdain goes right to the core. What followed explained the anatomy of sports hatred as well as can be imagined. Varied, layered, and complex, let us take a look at not only what makes us hate, but who we direct our vitriol toward!

Rate That Uni: San Diego State

We return the Rate That Uni series with continuation of the Mountain West Conference. Today's school: San Diego State. How do you feel about the look the Aztecs sport on Montezuma Mesa? Read our thoughts and cast your vote below.

Reviewing the Past, Predicting the future: Pac-12, MWC, and WAC

All three Division 1 football conferences of the West saw the effects of Expansion Crisis 2010. The Pac-10, Mountain West, and Western Athletic Conferences will all take on new profiles during this coming football season. The most prestigious, with help from a mad yet brilliant commissioner, placed itself at the precipice of the future.

The upstart levied a counter-punch upon its nearest rival so devastating that the effects may very well be fatal. All in all, things have changed in western college football during the past year. An important cog in understanding the implications ahead and the reasons behind it all is a proper appreciation of the attendance figures of the past year and how they will affect the future.