The driver is the North schools wanting a compact conference, or the "old Big Sky." That is Montana, Montana State, Idaho State, Weber State, Idaho and Eastern Washington. They want to shed the Great West and California schools Northern Colorado, Southern Utah, UC Davis, Cal Poly and Sac State.

It's easy to see the North being happy to keep their core, plus Portland State and Seattle. I don't see what is in it for the South. Northern Arizona would get dropped in with the South, which would gain NMSU, GCU and CBU in Basketball. I'm not sure how UVU or UTRGV fit, but UMKC and Chicago State are probably already factored out.

While a "merger" with two Football conferences run out of the same building, 7 schools in the North (Big Sky) and 6 in the South (WAC), with 8 in the North Division for Basketball and 8 or 9 in the South Division. The problem is only one bid in non-football, and that would force a conference split. Nobody would want to be in the South and I don't believe that "division" would last very long. A couple schools would bail to other conferences and a couple would join the north group, leaving a couple others stranded. That is what I think would be the scenario by the 3rd year of such an arrangement.