College athletics changing
The first piece of the puzzle is almost in place.
Nationwide expansion in college athletics is coming fast, with Nebraska making the first move.
The Cornhuskers are reportedly headed to the Big Ten Conference, so the Big 12 countdown has begun.
College sports never will be the same, and neither will the Mountain West Conference.
League commissioner Craig Thompson said the Mountain West would consider increasing to 16 schools if that becomes the norm among conferences.
It’s getting to that point. Nebraska’s exit means the six Big 12 schools coveted by the Pac-10 are more likely to accept invitations to join. The Dallas Morning News reported the Texas and Texas A&M boards will meet today.
Big 12 members Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa State are likely to be left behind, and Kansas chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little practically begged Nebraska on Monday to remain in the Big 12.
It was desperate and sad, but her plea shows how much of a second fiddle basketball — the Jayhawks won the national title two years ago — is to football in these discussions.
So the Mountain West could be in position to invite up to four Big 12 schools, but it had better move quickly.
What if the Big East Conference elbows in and sells itself to Kansas as a basketball hotbed? What if the Southeastern Conference picks off some Atlantic Coast Conference schools, forcing the ACC to make its own move?
Kansas and its three little sisters from the Big 12 would make the Mountain West a more visible and enticing league. But if the MWC drags its feet and misses out on a once-in-history opportunity, even adding Boise State would mean little in a landscape dominated by super conferences.
■ GRASS IS GREENER — A second UNLV head soccer coach has left to become an assistant at a more prestigious program.
Women’s coach Katherine Mertz resigned Wednesday to join Texas. Maybe she wants to coach in the Pac-16.
Men’s coach Mario Sanchez left in February for Louisville.
Head coaches leaving to become assistants elsewhere isn’t good for UNLV soccer.
Imagine Lon Kruger leaving to become an assistant at Kentucky or Bobby Hauck taking a job on Florida’s staff.
It would be a big slap in the face for both sports — and a major tool for those recruiting against the Rebels.
■ HARD TO IMPRESS — Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg drew a standing-room-only crowd of 40,315 for his major league debut in Washington on Tuesday.
The next stop for Strasburg Mania will be Cleveland, where Sunday’s game against the Nats is expected to draw the Indians’ second-largest crowd this season. Indians Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller, 91, will attend the game but didn’t sound overly excited to see Strasburg.
“Is he excited to see me? No,” Feller said. “I’ll be here. If he can throw 105 mph, I’ll tell him to throw his changeup at 102.”
COMPILED BY MARK ANDERSON
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
