The Western Athletic Conference reached an agreement with the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl that says if the Pacific-10 Conference can’t provide a bowl-eligible team, the WAC will provide a team for the game.

The Pac-10’s agreement with the bowl requires the league’s seventh-place team to play in the Poinsettia Bowl. The WAC agreement takes effect if the seventh-place Pac-10 team is not eligible. The WAC agreement is for 2008 and 2009.

The opponent plays the second selection from the Mountain West Conference. The fourth Poinsettia Bowl will be played at 5 p.m. December 23 and televised on ESPN.

MWC/MVC form challenge

The Mountain West and Missouri Valley conferences announced that they will compete in an annual challenge for men’s basketball, with all members of both leagues participating.

The event will feature head-to-head competition between nine Mountain West and nine Missouri Valley teams annually. Officials are working toward a four-year commitment with competition beginning as early as November 2009.

“The Challenge series is a positive step for both conferences,” said Missouri Valley Commissioner Doug Elgin. “Tough nonconference scheduling has always been paramount in improving our league’s stature on the national scene. The series helps institutions in both leagues achieve that goal by adding at least one game annually against quality nonconference competition. And it’s great for the fans of the Missouri Valley and the Mountain West as new rivalries are developed with nationally recognized programs that have a strong history in men’s basketball.”

Pickens adds to Oklahoma State donation

T. Boone Pickens, a longtime Oklahoma State supporter, donated another $63 million to the school for completion of improvements to the football stadium.

The billionaire gas and oil tycoon donated $165 million to the school several years ago for the development of an athletics village. Pickens disputed media reports that his gift had been lost due to the worldwide economic downturn.

“With Boone’s support and the continuing involvement of other donors, we are able to continue working toward the completion of our stadium project,” said Athletics Director Mike Holder.  “It is our No. 1 priority, and we will finish that before moving onto other athletics initiatives, including an indoor practice facility and other aspects of our athletics village.”

Miscellaneous

The Colonial Athletic Association announced that 110 men’s and women’s basketball contests will be televised this season, the most in conference history. The package includes games broadcast on various ESPN networks and Comcast regional networks … Nicholls State junior volleyball student-athlete Amy Whitehead set the school’s career assist record (2,274) in a victory over Southeastern Louisiana October 21 … Former Illinois-Chicago baseball student-athlete Curtis Granderson became the first active Major League Baseball player to promote the game in China last week. Granderson has also spent time promoting the game in Great Britain, the Netherlands and South Africa. Granderson was the Horizon League Player of the Year in 2002 with a .483 batting average, 76 runs and 23 doubles for the Flames.