THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Pac-12's next gamble is with UNLV

Make a trip to Vegas, and it will be no surprise if you discover your fate in someone else’s hands. 

Why shouldn’t that be true at the institutional level? 

Why not with the local university? 

Administrators at UNLV have watched the local business strategy succeed again and again. 

Ask the Oakland A’s. 

Simply waiting and watching, like a bird of prey gazing from a branch, has put UNLV in the unique position in the world of college sports realignment. 

The Rebels now have enough clout to save the Mountain West Conference, or they can head in the other direction. How about sharing a wonderful meal with fellow predators from the hungrily building Pac-12, and leaving the MWC to face possible starvation in the desert. 

That’s where the insane world of realignment sits at the moment. 

Utah State’s shocking departure from the Mountain West has left that conference with just seven schools — and a minimum of eight is necessary for recognition as a school competing in the FBS and NCAA. 

The Pac-12 now also has seven, with five Mountain West members having signed on to join Oregon State and Washington State in their now-potent rebuilding project. 

HOWEVER, the two conferences are in vastly different situations. 

Mostly, it’s about money. 

The Pac-12, even reconstructed from spare parts after the departure of 10 schools, will be worth more to media partners — both over-the-air and streaming companies. 

But there’s more, as the Pac-12 brand has history and glamor, the sort of buzz that makes fans (yes, even neutrals) tune in to “Pac-12 After Dark” for a shootout between Wazzu and previously unbeaten San Jose State. 

When you put together the lure of cash and a national name attached to most of the “new Pac-12” schools, the Mountain West is fighting a battleship with a rowboat. 

There are media company executives who don’t understand how Washington State — and Oregon State, to a slightly lesser degree — were left out of the powerhouse-conference play last summer. 

Wazzu drew more viewers than any Big 12 school (discounting games involved Texas and Oklahoma, who have since departed), which startles most people who aren’t connected to the business. 

Maybe the Cougs will ultimately wind up with the big boys, possibly when the entire sport is slashed to three, or perhaps just two, mega-conferences. 

The Mountain West, on the other hand, has lost most of its top programs. 

JUST TWO days ago, the MWC seemed to be on solid ground. 

San Jose State, Wyoming, Air Force, Hawai’i, New Mexico and Nevada were considered locks, which meant two schools which were in the Pac-12 crosshairs — Utah State and UNLV — needed to join the group. 

Utah State was believed to be waiting to see which way UNLV would jump. 

But then came a shocker. 

The Aggies respectfully declined their MWC membership, and announced that they were leaving for the Pac-12. 

It’s hard to imagine, given all the background here, that UNLV won’t make the same move. 

On Tuesday, UNLV football coach Barry Odom made it clear that the Rebels — who are 3-0 and on the edge of an AP ranking for the first time in history — are gunning to play in top company. 

“I’m excited about the leadership of our president and athletic director,” Odom said.  

“I know we’re on the right path. They are doing everything they can for the good of UNLV. I have very strong belief in that.  

“I know that the ability for us to continue to build a program on a national level is what my mindset is, and how can we do that in every single area for our student athletes.  

“We’re moving in the right direction to get this program on the national scope for years to come.” 

Everyone involved in this realignment scramble understands the game. 

Hey. 

You can argue that the Big Sky, with its laid-back Saturdays, is really much more fun.

Ask Idaho, which stepped off the merry-go-round. 

Or decided on a cheaper and less frantic version. 

Maybe everyone can find the right neighborhood in the end.

But it hasn’t been easy. 

And it WON’T be easy. 

Email: scameron@cdapress.com 

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens. 

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”