Mountain West Conference

The restoration of the Big East football conference is contingent upon the addition of Boise State, one of the most successful programs in the country the past 10 years.

But the marriage between the football power and the shifting conference may be in jeopardy before it even begins.

LOGAN — Earlier this week, Utah State University athletic director Scott Barnes entered his kitchen and sighed deeply. He was feeling aggravated about the coming year.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Officials at Utah State and San Jose State acknowledge they are in discussions with the Mountain West Conference over realignment for 2013 yet say no formal agreement has been reached.

But the moves seem more likely with each passing day.

Notes on the margins of a tattered, battered, shattered bracket:

DALLAS -- Members of Conference USA and current and future members of the Mountain West Conference have announced that the 16 schools are working to form a new conference that would begin competing in the 2013-14 season.

BROOKINGS, S.D. -- Nate Wolters scored 31 points and South Dakota State won for the 10th time in its last 12 games, defeating Southern Utah 66-56 Saturday night.

Wolters hit 10 of 16 shots from the floor and was 11 for 13 at the free-throw line. The junior guard has surpassed the 30-point mark four times this season and is averaging 21.3 points per game.

Griffan Callahan added 10 points for the Jackrabbits (19-6, 11-2 Summit).

As the Mountain West Conference prepares to head into the great unknown, here is some encouraging news.

Sort of.

The league's 29-17 record in bowl games since the BCS era began in 1998 is the best of any league still in existence. The only conference with a better postseason winning percentage during that span is the Big West, which went 3-0 in bowls from 1998-2000 before dropping its football affiliations.