McFeely's Tip Sheet: If (when?) WAC falls apart, Utah schools could be looking for homes in Summit, MVFC

After the Tip Sheet wrote last week that perhaps North Dakota State and the Missouri Valley Football Conference would be best served by forming a super-conference with the top Valley teams and the top Big Sky teams, a Football Championship Subdivision insider from one of those leagues gave us this piece of advice:

"Keep an eye on the WAC. When it falls apart, there will be some teams searching for homes."

Do tell more.

"The Summit League and MVFC could land some of those schools."

Like who?

"Take a look at the Utah schools and the sports they offer."

Hmm. Juicy.

So the Sheet staff did some searching and phoning. And, indeed, it makes sense.

It also makes sense, as confirmed by the insider, that current Summit League commissioner Josh Fenton could take over as commish of Valley football after Patty Viverito retires next year and the MVFC could be rebranded as Summit League football.

The smoke that Fenton could be the next Valley/Summit football commissioner continues to get thicker. It's clearly been discussed somewhere in the administrative offices of the Dakotas Summit League schools.

The WAC obviously is falling to pieces. The league re-formed a few years ago with much fanfare (and misplaced talk about moving up to FBS) when four Southland Conference schools in Texas broke off when they were upset other league schools weren't investing enough in athletics.

There were problems almost immediately. Sam Houston quickly declared it was going FBS and bolted for Conference USA along with New Mexico State. The WAC football schools paired with the newly formed Atlantic Sun Conference football schools just to be eligible for the FCS playoffs automatic qualifier bid. Lamar spent about a year in the WAC before returning to the Southland. It was clear quickly the big dreams of the WAC (and the A-Sun, which also murmured about moving to FBS) weren't going to be realized.

Three more schools recently said they're leaving the WAC. Texas-Rio Grande Valley went to the Southland while Grand Canyon and Seattle went to the basketball-strong West Coast Conference. Stephen F. Austin is openly considering a return to the Southland, too.

(On the other hand, a Utah TV station reported the WAC has had serious conversations with Denver of the Summit League.)

If SFA leaves the WAC, that might be the death blow that sends other Texas-based WAC schools like Tarleton State, Abilene Christian and Texas-Arlington to the Southland or A-Sun. Matt Brown of the Extra Points newsletter says the WCC could take Cal Baptist from the WAC.

That pretty much leaves the WAC's three Utah schools — Southern Utah, Utah Tech and Utah Valley — looking for a home.

Hello, Summit League! And, although it would be more complicated, hello MVFC!

When the Sheet talked with Fenton about expansion during the Summit League basketball tournament in Sioux Falls in March, Fenton stressed that the conference was in need of baseball and soccer teams. Well, guess what? Utah Valley and Utah Tech both sponsor baseball, women's soccer and men's soccer. Southern Utah offers women's soccer. Perfect.

Southern Utah was a member of the Summit League from 1997 to 2012.

On the MVFC side of things, Utah Tech (formerly Dixie State) and Southern Utah have football. With the loss of Missouri State, the MVFC is down to 10 teams. In this era, unfortunately, bigger is always seen as better for conference membership, so the Valley likely wouldn't mind adding two teams to get to 12.

It might be dicey given the Missouri Valley Conference schools like Illinois State, Indiana State, Southern Illinois and Murray State would likely object to the power shift to the west and the tilt toward the Summit League ... but these are odd times.

Then again, does the settlement in the House v. NCAA case lead to something wacky like the Pac-2 (Washington State and Oregon State) eventually trying to reconstitute itself and completely upending the Mountain West and all mid-majors west of the Mississippi totally re-aligning in an unforeseen manner?

Stay tuned to the Tip Sheet, as we'll continue to throw (non-libelous) stuff against the wall to see what sticks.

Something that probably won't happen, but if it does I'll look like a genius:

— Minnesota State University Moorhead, improved from a solid 7-4 season in 2023, will make the NCAA Division II football playoffs this fall.

The next fight in college sports is going to be athletes seeking and suing for more years of eligibility. Why four? Why not five, six or seven? Especially with NIL money in play now. ... Private equity firms will begin investing in the top college athletics departments. This has been reported on by national outlets, but it's being watched in the Summit League. ... There are questions in the Fargo basketball and high school communities about the Orlando prep school at which former local standout cagers Jeremiah Sem of Fargo North and James Hamilton of Fargo South intend to play. ... The expansion of the Division III football playoffs from 32 to 40 teams will get a second Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team in the field almost every year.

West Fargo Sheyenne boys basketball big man Tommy Ahneman has his first Big Ten offer. The Tip Sheet offered last week that Wisconsin of that conference was interested in Ahneman, a 6-foot-10 post. But Penn State jumped in first, offering Ahneman on Wednesday. North Dakota State also offered Ahneman this week. Ohio State is said to be interested. Ahneman is up to eight Division I offers: Penn State, NDSU, North Dakota, Northern Iowa, Omaha, Portland, Old Dominion and Weber State. ... Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, which beat NDSU in the NCAA Division II football semifinals in 2000 in the "Kitty Litter Game" before going on to win the national championship, is in a bad way. The university president announced drastic budget cuts as the school is deeply in the red and enrollment continues to languish. Just 2,700 students are enrolled. The athletic department will lose $200,000 in funding from the school and must increase its revenues by $350,000. ... WWE's Summerslam 2026 will be in Minneapolis. It'll be a two-night event, Aug. 1-2. ... Two of the three high school quarterbacks NDSU offered in its 2025 class have committed to other schools. Ryan Fitzgerald of Wilmette, Illinois, committed to Iowa recently. Earlier, Chris Denson of Plant City, Florida, committed to Coastal Carolina. That leaves Mason Drube of Gillette, Wyoming, who is said to be the Bison's top target.