Thompson said talks have been primarily focused on the 2009 game and beyond, but said "there might be an outside shot we could get in this year."
The Humanitarian Bowl's contracts with the Western Athletic Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference expire after 2009, said executive director Kevin McDonald, who attended Tuesday's media gathering. He acknowledged that the bowl game is working with the MWC as a possible replacement for the ACC, which does not want to renew the agreement to send a seventh team (after a BCS pick) out to Boise.
"I think we have a good chance of putting something together," McDonald said. "Hopefully we will have something put together soon."
McDonald said talks right now with the MWC are for the 2009 game only because almost every conference-bowl game contract in the country expires after that year. The Humanitarian Bowl committee will talk about 2010 and beyond with the MWC, the Pac-10 and perhaps one or two other conferences, he said.
"We will talk first about 2009, and see how that goes and leads into [future years]," McDonald said.
Thompson said if the ACC is unable to provide a team with a 6-6 record or better this year, the MWC might be part of a "contingency agreement" to provide a team to the Humanitarian Bowl this year, just as it had with the Texas Bowl in Houston last year.
The commissioner also noted in his address Tuesday morning that some conference football games may be televised nationally or at least regionally by CBS in the future. The catch is that the games would like start at 10 a.m. MT so as to no interfere with the national network's deal to televise SEC games that begin at 1 p.m. MT.
