LOGAN, Utah - An open letter from Utah State Athletics Director Scott Barnes,
I know you have been closely following Wednesday's news that Nevada and Fresno State announced they are leaving the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) to join the Mountain West Conference (MWC). In a 12-hour period we have gone from looking forward to participating in an expanded WAC with a bright and prosperous future to one of some uncertainty.
Recently, Utah State, under President Stan Albrecht's strong leadership, played a major role in exploring the possibility of bringing BYU into the WAC. As of Tuesday, BYU was on the verge of joining the WAC in all sports but football.
As part of the WAC's conversations with BYU, the current eight conference members (excluding departing Boise State) agreed to remain together as a conference for at least five years. This stability was important to BYU, to other current members, and would have been critical as other expansion options were explored. WAC members signed a letter of commitment that included a $5M membership buyout. When the possibility of BYU leaving became known, MWC leadership contacted three WAC members inquiring about their interest in joining the MWC. Utah State was the first of these three contacts.
At the point in time when Utah State was contacted by the MWC we had a binding agreement with the WAC and were well positioned with nine members, which included BYU. We were simply committed to uphold our agreement with fellow WAC members. We respectfully declined MWC interest and believed all WAC members would remain committed to our agreement.