Conference Realignment: Is Mountain West Looking for Big 12 Leftovers?

ESPN has reported that the Mountain West Conference has been eyeing Kansas, Kansas State, and Missouri as the Big 12 continues to crumble.

Colorado has recently left the Big 12 for the Pac-10. With Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State likely following suite as early as next Tuesday. Nebraska has also left the Big 12 for the Big Ten. Texas A&M is reportedly interested in the SEC.

The Mountain West, who just picked up Boise State on Friday to make a 10-team conference, is looking to build a powerhouse conference among all of the conference realignment shaking the college football world.

Mountain West Conference commissioner released a statement to the press Friday saying "The Mountain West wants to be a national player and continue to grow in the realm" and "we are extremely interested in BCS automatic qualification."

This very well could solve their predicament, especially with the addition of Boise State on Friday.

The conference, all ready filled with powerful football programs like TCU, Utah, BYU, and now Boise State in 2011, will produce a lot of attention for the conference. Boise State will be playing TCU, BYU, and Utah every year creating a more distinct relationship to quality teams within the conference.

TCU and Boise State, who dueled it out in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl, will be one of the most anticipated match-ups year in and year out, within the conference that is.

Although Missouri, Kansas, and Kansas State are not necessarily national contenders, gaining more overall teams will likely help in their search for the automatic bid.

If all of these reports were to pan out, who would be left in the Big 12?

Iowa State and Baylor.

An option for Iowa State is the Western Athletic Conference, while Baylor is still fighting to stay or follow fellow Big 12 members. The Pac-10 is not interested in Baylor, and news broke Friday that the Mountain West is not interested as well, citing that TCU is standing in their way.

This most likely will be the end for the Big 12 Conference as we know it, namely if the three Texas schools mentioned earlier head out to the Pac-10 (or whatever it is now).

Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self expressed his thoughts on the move or stay-put option to the Kansas City Star saying that, "No matter what, I am 100 percent confident we're going to land. And we may land in a group that gives us more exposure than we ever could have before."

Although the Kansas coach is still holding optimistic to the Big 12 staying together or rebuilding the conference, his statement seems all too obvious that a move is imminent to the Mountain West.