The Air Force Falcons will be part of a 16-team football conference in 2013. (Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Jeremy Lock)
Consolidation. Improved “stability.” An “exciting new venture.”
Sure, it sounds like the spin the military might put on the latest budget cuts, but it’s actually the spin the Mountain West Conference is putting on the latest college-conference shakeup: A merger of schools from the MWC and Conference USA to create an as-yet-unnamed superconference starting in 2013.
Air Force will be a charter member of the new league, which is slated to have 16 football teams in its first season. According to the release, the superconference will look to expand to 18-24 teams and will be the first to set up a semifinal football playoff round in addition to a league title game.
The merger was announced Monday. There have been no announcements concerning the league’s possible division setup (Any cadets up for a trip to Hawaii every two years?) or the number of conference games each team will play.
This could trigger another round of speculation over the future of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy (Hey, Navy started it), but when asked by the Colorado Springs Gazette earlier this month about the possibility of an end to the Navy-Air Force game, Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun was fairly clear: “I don’t think so.”
