As the rumors continue to spin about a proposed CUSA/MWC merger to 23 schools, there’s been more clarity that instead of this drastic option, that something else could be in the works.

Reports say CUSA and Mountain West officials have met to discuss the idea of having the conference football champions meet in a championship game. The winner of the game would then be granted access to a BCS bid.

The arrangement would not include a full merger but would promote certain scheduling concessions in sports like basketball.

The proposal would be a bi win for CUSA, which has been behind the Mountain West and the WAC of late when it comes to BCS bids. For the MWC, it’s an opportunity for them to have a 50/50 chance at an automatic BCS bid rather than relying on the polls and where their top school finishes in a given year. It’s not a stretch to envision a few years where the MWC could parlay this agreement into the automatic bid for 1 school and an at-large for another school. Such an example could be if TCU won the Mountain West and championship game with a 9-2 overall record and beat an 10-1 Boise St. team that finished in the top 12 in the BCS rankings.