The University of Utah Board of Regents will meet on Thursday to approve a move to the Pac-10 conference, per the Salt Lake Tribune.
Utah Announces Meeting On Pac-10 Expansion, Expected To Leave MWC
This marks the final step in this phase of conference expansion now that the Big 12 has stabilized at ten teams and the Pac-10 has shown no signs of expanding any further. Utah will leave the Mountain West Conference and join Colorado as the rookies in the division, and if they follow CU’s lead will attempt to push the timetable to play in conference in 2011.
Read Article >Pac-10 Has Yet To Contact Utah About Joining The Pac-10
With the way expansion rumors were flying last week it has seemed as if an eternity has passed since Texas decided to save the Big XII to now with the next expected domino to fall which is Utah to the Pac-10. So far, there has been little to no news on that front as Mountain West Conference commissioner Craig Thompson said he has not been contacted by the Pac-10 about their intentions to take Utah:
The reason the Pac-10 is not in any hurry to add Utah is because according to the Mountain West bylaws a team only needs to give notice by September 1st to begin play the following year in a new league.
Read Article >Utah Informs Mountain West Of Imminent Departure, Per Rivals
This works a lot like math at this point: now that the Big 12 has survived in one form or another, the Pac-10 can now move to Plan B, the acquisition of the Utah Utes in its expansion to 12 teams. Order of operations is important here: with the Big Expansion scuttled, the Little Expansion is now underway.
That appears to be the case, if Rivals’ Utah site is to be believed. They are reporting that Utah has informed the Mountain West that they are leaving the conference and accepting a membership bid from the Pac-10.
Read Article >Utah Awaiting Invitation From Pac-10, Reportedly Tells MWC Of Intentions
With the Texas and Oklahoma schools deciding to stay in the Big 12 rather than jump to the Pac-10, many folks are taking it as a sign that the Great Conference Armageddon Of 2010 is reaching its conclusion. That might be the case but if no major revelations remain, there is still one issue that needs to be resolved.
The Pac-10 didn’t take on Colorado just so it could expand to eleven teams. It wants to get to at least twelve to reach the magic number that qualifies them for a conference championship game. That means there’s at least one more team that’s going to switch conferences and the smart money seems to be on Utah.
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