perhaps it was BYU that rebuffed a possible invite because they didn't want to agree to conditions mandated by the Pac 10?
if that possibility has been discussed already, I apologize - I didn't see it.
also, I think some of you are overestimating the idea that BYU has this huge "national following" - - yeah, there are LDS folks across the US, and many of them are going to be BYU fans, but many of them will also be fans of whatever school is in their region or state, or whatever school they personally attended, and at any rate, I think it's probably a pretty small percentage of the population in most other parts of the country other than Utah and a few other areas.
Here's a pie chart showing % of religious affiliation for the midwest:
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Mormon is 0.4 % - that's a pretty trivial number compared to the other religions listed.
https://www.religionatlas.org/religion_region/MIDWEST.htm
I don't know if I would use the term "national fanbase". I know it's been used over and over again. I think most Mormons from across the country would pay attention to them and cheer for them, unless they were playing the school they actually attended. They will follow BYU whether they went there or not. I get the same impression a lot of Catholics do the same with Notre Dame, but I may be wrong.