First, I want an automatic bowl tie in for the champion of the Mountain West Conference with the Fiesta Bowl, starting with the 2014 season. This just makes sense. The game is being left out of the tie-ins with the soon-to-be-former BCS conferences. The Fiesta will get two "at-large" teams. So I ask: Will a Northern Illinois be a better draw than the MW champ? Of course not. Let the MW champ face an at-large team and watch the conference profile grow.

Before that could happen, I want more "BCS" level schools to come play MW teams on OUR turf. More games like Nebraska at Wyoming (the 2011 game was a great event), Texas at New Mexico (Lobos played both UT and Texas Tech on the road this season), Kansas State at Colorado State, Notre Dame at Air Force (coming fall of 2013!), USC at UNLV (LA vs. Vegas...awesome) and maybe Oregon AT Fresno State. We get games like this way too seldom. The MW teams have to travel 80% of the time, often times for long distances. Make it a 50-50 sort of arrangement and the MW schools would come out on top a lot more often. And the profile will grow.

I want a shiny new on-campus football stadium for Colorado State and a bowl game for Denver's Sports Authority Field. They play lots of bowl games in places with weather worse than Denver, and there's plenty to do in the football crazed Mile High City.

Staying with that theme, I want a holiday college basketball tournament to return to Pepsi Center in Denver. The return of "The Mile High Classic" circa 1989, could feature Colorado, Colorado State (for a possible second meeting each season, the first being their annual on-campus game in early December), Nebraska (now coached by former CSU head man Tim Miles) and say, Oklahoma State. If the atmosphere at the CSU - CU game in Boulder is an indicator, there is an appetite for more quality college hoops along the front range. Add in the fan fervor from Nebraska and the basketball history of Okie State, you'd have a smash hit.

I want pre-season college baseball tournaments in places like Fresno, Las Vegas and Albuquerque that bring some of the nation's best programs west. Entice some of the powerful teams from Florida and the east coast to come to MW territory for some early season tests. If the SEC and ACC schools won't venture out to play MW teams, the conference RPI will never get to where it should be.

I want a trip to Omaha for the College World Series - via bus ride of course - for Ray Birmingham and the New Mexico Lobos baseball team. Come to think of it, I want to see Tony Gwynn take the San Diego State Aztecs to Omaha, too. (My guess is they would fly...) I also want to see Mike Kazlausky and the Air Force Falcons play in the MW tournament. They deserve it.

I want baseball programs brought back at Colorado State and Wyoming. I know, it's about money and weather....but hey, we made it work when I was in school. It could work now, too. It's working at Air Force, by the way.

Finally, I want a period of quiet calm on the realignment front for Commissioner Thompson and everyone in the MW offices. They deserve it, too.

Is this asking for too much????

Hawai'i, Fresno State and Nevada officially become the newest members of the Mountain West on Sunday, but introductions are largely inessential. The Warriors (football only), Bulldogs and Wolf Pack are not only familiar with the MW landscape, they are, in many instances, tethered by well-rooted rivalries and long-standing coaching connections.

To wit:

First-year Fresno State football coach Tim DeRuyter, an Air Force graduate, not only played for the Falcons but spent a total of seven years at the Academy during two separate stints as a position coach and defensive coordinator.

New Hawai'i football coach Norm Chow spent 27 seasons as an assistant at BYU before the former MW member opted to join the independent ranks last season.

Nevada's Chris Ault, the only active FBS coach in the College Football Hall of Fame, has faced every team represented in the 2011-12 configuration of the MW at least three times since joining the Wolf Pack staff in 1976.

"Today we officially welcome Fresno State, Hawai'i and Nevada as members, ushering in a new era for the Mountain West," said Commissioner Craig Thompson. "The addition of these fine institutions helps position the Conference for a bright future, and we look forward to the contributions that Bulldog, Warrior and Wolf Pack student-athletes, coaches, fans and administrators will make to the success of the Mountain West."

Here's a look at each of the three institutions and a sampling of their athletic successes:

Fresno State

Football: The Bulldogs have failed to garner a bowl bid only twice since 2000. Fresno State went to four straight bowl games from 2007-10, with two of the contests coming against MW members Colorado State and Wyoming. Prior to DeRuyter's hire, the Bulldogs' two previous coaches --- Jim Sweeney and Pat Hill --- posted a combined winning percentage of .607 and won three conference titles.

"We're really excited about our first year in the Mountain West," said DeRuyter, a linebacker at Air Force from 1982-84. "Having some personal history in this conference, I know about the excellent programs and the excellent coaches in this league. We know this is going to be a tremendous challenge, but we're excited about it and we're looking forward to it."

Men's Basketball: The Bulldogs have won two conference titles, participated in one NCAA Tournament and two National Invitational Tournaments since 2000. Many believe second-year coach Rodney Terry has put together one of the program's top recruiting classes in years, a group led by 7-foot, 265-pound incoming freshman center Robert Upshaw, ranked No. 55 nationally in the 2012 ESPNU Top 100.

Women's Basketball: Fresno State is coming off a 2011-12 season in which it won a conference title, earned its fifth straight NCAA Tournament bid and won 28 games for the first time in program history. The Bulldogs started four underclassmen last season, including guard Ki-Ki Moore, the WAC Player of the Year.

Baseball: Fresno State, the 2008 national champion, won its seventh straight WAC title this past year while qualifying for the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in the past seven seasons.

Softball: The Bulldogs have participated in 30 of the last 31 NCAA Tournaments and won the 1998 national title. The Bulldogs have played in more NCAA Championships than any other Division I program and rank third all-time in tournament victories with 89.

Men's Tennis: The Bulldogs enter the Mountain West having won two consecutive league titles while earning three straight NCAA Tournament bids.

Hawai'i

Football: Hawai'i became just the third non-automatic-qualifying conference team to play in a BCS bowl in 2008 when it faced Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. The Warriors were the only FBS team in the nation that year to finish the regular season undefeated. Hawai'i has appeared in a bowl game seven times since 2002, posting six winning seasons and four campaigns with double-digit victories.

"I think (the transition to the MW) is going to be extremely tough and that is what I am trying to impress upon our players, that this is a step up," Chow told the Maui News. "The schedule is extremely challenging, the non-conference games are as tough as the conference games, but if you are in this profession, you get in this profession, you enjoy challenges, and you enjoy the week-by-week work that goes with those challenges, so we are all very excited about it."

Nevada

Football: The Wolf Pack, who finished the 2010 season ranked No. 11 in the nation, have appeared in seven consecutive bowl games. The program's history includes 14 conference titles and since 2005, Nevada has had one losing season and six campaigns of seven or more wins.

"We're excited to be jumping into the Mountain West and to be part of such an elite group," said football head coach Chris Ault. Ault enters his 28th season with a win percentage of 68.5 percent (226-103-1).

Men's Basketball: The Wolf Pack won the WAC regular-season championship with a mark of 13-1 last season en route to making their fifth appearance in the National Invitation Tournament. Nevada has posted eight 20-win seasons since 2003-04, while earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament four times.

Women's Basketball: Nevada has won at least 17 games five of the last seven seasons, twice advancing to the National Invitation Tournament.

Baseball: The Wolf Pack, who won a share of the regular-season conference title in 2012, have won 30 or more games six times since 2000, while winning two league titles and making two NCAA postseason appearances.

TCU and Florida State will square off against each other in the first game of the 2010 tournament, with first pitch set for 1 p.m. CT on Saturday. The contest will air live on ESPN HD. The Horned Frogs are the first team in the 11-year history of the Mountain West Conference to advance to the Men's College World Series. Joining TCU and Florida State in their half of the bracket are UCLA and Florida. The Bruins are the tournament's sixth national seed, while the Gators are the tournament's third national seed. They will play game two on Saturday at 6 p.m. CT.

A potential match-up with Florida would pit TCU against the only other institution in the nation to play in a BCS football game, reach the Men's College World Series and win a national championship in another sport during the 2009-10 academic year. The Horned Frogs captured the NCAA title in the coed sport of rifle, becoming the first all-female squad to accomplish the feat, while the Gators are the national champs in women's swimming and diving. Last year, TCU, Florida and Texas were the only three institutions to finish in the top 10 in football and reach the super regionals in baseball.

The second bracket of the eight-team field will begin play on Sunday, June 20. That side of the bracket includes No. 1 national seed Arizona State, Oklahoma, Clemson and South Carolina. The entire Men's College World Series will be televised live in high definition on the ESPN family of networks.

Two of the nation's top pitching staffs will be going head-to-head when the Frogs and Longhorns take the field. TCU's starting rotation of Matt Purke, Kyle Winkler and Steven Maxwell is a combined 35-2 this season and leads a staff that ranks seventh nationally with a 3.48 ERA. Texas hurlers have compiled an NCAA-leading 2.44 ERA in 2010, led by starters Taylor Jungmann, Cole Green and Brandon Workman, who are a combined 30-5.

A few other notables regarding the TCU-Texas series:

• This weekend's series features a re-match of the 2009 Austin Super Regional, where TCU forced a third game with eventual College World Series runner-up Texas.

• The Horned Frogs and Longhorns each went 3-0 in their respective regionals last week. TCU outscored its three opponents (Lamar, Arizona, Baylor) by a composite 36-8 margin, while Texas was a combined 19-3 against Rider, Louisiana-Lafayette and Rice.

  

• TCU and Texas are two of three teams nationally (Florida) to have a football team finish in the top 10 and a baseball team reach the Super Regionals for two consecutive years.

• Both teams enter Friday's action with Top-25 rankings (Texas - No. 3; TCU - No. 6) and identical 49-11 records.

• TCU is riding a 10-game win streak entering the weekend, and ranks among the Top-20 nationally in nine offensive categories: doubles (170/4th); doubles per game (2.83/4th), slugging percentage (.566/6th), hits (750/9th), batting average (.345/10th), scoring (8.9/13th), runs (535/14th), home runs 990/14th) and home runs per game (1.5/18th).

• The two programs have met 276 times on the diamond with Texas leading the series 218-56-2.

Action gets underway at 2 p.m. CT Friday at Texas' Disch-Falk Field, with ESPN2 broadcasting the game. First pitch for Saturday's contest is scheduled for Noon CT and will air on ESPN. If necessary, a third game will be played on Sunday, beginning at 3 p.m. CT, and will also be televised on ESPN.