Despite not having football, it looks like Denver has officially made it on the WAC radar.

With the departure of Boise St. to the Mountain West, the WAC finds itself in a position where it has only 8 schools. WAC commissioner Karl Benson did issue a statement that the league will remain at 8 members through the 2012 season. In adding Denver, it would give the conference 9 basketball members, and anther school in the WAC footprint. Nine schools might not seem ideal from a scheduling perspective, but it would give the conference some security in the future to retain their NCAA basketball automatic tournament bid if they were to lose more football schools over the next 7 years.

While instinct might make one think they need to expand with more football schools, that’s not the case. There is less of a chance now that the WAC will be losing any schools. The Pac-10 is less likely to expand with future MWC schools, so the WAC is less likely to be raided for replacements.

The one scenario that could play out could be regarding LA Tech. Should CUSA have a spot and extend an invitation, LA Tech would likely accept it. It’s also worth considering that LA Tech might one day join the Sunbelt if the quality of WAC football takes a step back with the departure of Boise St. Such a defection would leave the WAC at only 7 football/total members.