Big News Out of BYU??

[gregbroncs]

So with the apparent demise of the WAC, it looks like BYU is down to two options:

#1- Use the West Coast Conferance as the partner that allows BYU to go independant in football while moving all their other sports there. In a way the WCC makes more sense than the WAC for BYU. It's a non-football conferance with a few schools with religious affiliations. Plus, I think it's better for basketball considering BYU would be playing the likes of Gonzaga and St. Mary's twice a year, but I'm sure the WAC was BYU's first choice because overall it was the better option for the Cougs.

or....

#2- With the additions of Fresno and Nevada, BYU figures that the MWC is even closer to Automatic Bid status and decides to stay put. This might be the better option for BYU. If winning the MWC turns into a direct path to the BCS, should BYU really walk away from that?

The big rumor was that ESPN will pick up 4-6 home games from BYU and pay 1-1.5 M each game. Right now they get 1.5M or so from the MWC for the season (according to Locke). So while staying is better for their sports, leaving is probably better for the pocket book.

 

[Scat]

So it sounds like Neveda and Fresno St are joining the MWC.

Wow, you have to be partially retarded to be out-done by the MWC. Well done BYU.

Perhaps BYU's whole, "We're going independent" was a ploy to force the MWC to upgrade its conference and to allow BYU to negotiate its own TV deal ala Texas?

 

[Surely]

fact of the matter is there are only 2 sports people care about, football and men's bball. In football, it makes all the sense in the world for them to leave. Now they can be on ESPN, and keep the money to themselves. I wonder what the thinking was at Fresno and Nevada. With Boise removing themselves from the picture, there was an opening for someone to step up become the new darling, and play 8 or 9 games a year on ESPN. Now they get to play on the mountain until 2016. I think that Boise's move will come back and bite them in recruiting. How does the saying go, "Out of sight, out of mind".

 

[Bronco70]

How do you figure?... The new version of the WAC and WCC aren't exactly the most appealing options in the world....

Aside from football, what really matters? That's right, men's basketball. While the WCC isn't anyone's first choice, it is not the bottom of the barrel by any stretch of the imagination (basketball wise, it's not much of a drop, if any, from the MWC). The WCC would be just tickled to have BYU.

If Fresno and Nevada really do leave to join the MWC then there is no WAC for BYU to play the rest of their sports with. Meaning BYU is either stuck with the MWC, or finding another conference for their other sports, or going independent anyway and having a real problem with all non-football sports.

See response to above quote. Just going independent in football is going to make enough difference to negate any drop off in the other sports. It's all about the money.

 

[cowhide]

Of course it is about the money, when isn't it? I think BYU would be dumb to leave the MWC if you consider the competition. Adding BSU, FSU, and Nevada makes the MWC a much stronger conference, while going to the WAC pretty much ends any chance of competing for a national championship or getting any national respect. Yes, BYU can go to the WAC and count all their extra money but in the end going to the WAC w/o BSU, Nevada, and Fresno State will be the death of BYU respectable football program.

Who was the knucklehead at the MWC schools who signed off on this horrible TV contract? These guys should be fired. I think the bad TV deal and the fact that MWC is not a BCS contender is BYU to make this horrible decision. I think the MWC should continue the fight against the BCS and the way to do that is build a stronger conference and beat BCS schools. I think BYU is going to regret their decision to move to the WAC even if it means more money in the short term.

 

[7StraightIsGreat]

.....Yes, BYU can go to the WAC and count all their extra money but in the end going to the WAC w/o BSU, Nevada, and Fresno State will be the death of BYU respectable football program.

Obviously you've missed the main point that if BYU leaves the MWC for any conferance, the whole reason for it is so the football program can become independant.

With the news of Fresno and Nevada joining the MWC, if I were a BYU fan I'd hope that the Cougs use the "independant" threat as leverage to stay in the MWC and perhaps allow them to get some ESPN money on the side. However, Craig Thompson (who is a terrible Douche-Bag) has already gone on record as saying that the MWC will not offer special considerations to BYU in hopes to keep them.

 

[Stifle Tower]

Perhaps BYU's whole, "We're going independent" was a ploy to force the MWC to upgrade its conference and to allow BYU to negotiate its own TV deal ala Texas?

You might have a point. BYU absolutely carried the old WAC on its back in the 70's and 80's. Creating a super conference with lesser schools from supposedly big markets was a dismal failure. NO wonder that Utah, BYU and most of the "old guard" left to form a new conference. But the MWC TV deal has been a disaster.

I don't fault Utah for leaving. And why should BYU have to remain and get $1.5M in TV revenue? So maybe BYU still goes independent in football but remains a MWC member for all other sports. It is an interesting death struggle between the WAC and MWC. Could other big name schools possibly bolt the MWC for the WAC now, including Boise State going back?

Or maybe another conference now steps in with a promise to BYU.

BTW, anyone know if the MWC is paying the $5M fines to the WAC on behalf of Fresno and Nevada.

 

[colton]

So maybe BYU still goes independent in football but remains a MWC member for all other sports.

That would probably be the best possible thing for BYU, but that doesn't sound like an option. I think that's the type of thing the MWC was referring to when they said they wouldn't make any special allowances for BYU.

Right now it looks like BYU's options are three:

1) Stay in the MWC, maintain status quo
2) Go independent in football, join the WAC in other sports, and try to keep the WAC afloat (they would need one or two other teams to join the WAC, it sounds like)
3) Go independent in football, join the WCC in other sports

 

[fatchipper]

conference

independent

No need to spell them wrong anymore

 

[bluenote]

Side question to the thread - if BYU goes independent, does this give the Utah/BYU rivalry more life i.e. flexibility in scheduling?

 

[Stifle Tower]

That would probably be the best possible thing for BYU, but that doesn't sound like an option. I think that's the type of thing the MWC was referring to when they said they wouldn't make any special allowances for BYU.

Right now it looks like BYU's options are three:

1) Stay in the MWC, maintain status quo
2) Go independent in football, join the WAC in other sports, and try to keep the WAC afloat (they would need one or two other teams to join the WAC, it sounds like)
3) Go independent in football, join the WCC in other sports

I think the comments by Patterson might be a revelation: "All I can tell you is this: Just wait and see in the next two weeks before you make any judgments and see what happens in the national landscape," Patterson said. "Things that I know that maybe you don't know. That's all I'm going to tell you."

Sounds like something is afoot. And I'm guessing it involves TCU and BYU. Perhaps both are headed to the Big 12. After all, the Big 12 cut a deal with Texas. BYU certainly isn't on that scale, but their TV audience would be pretty large and rabid across the nation. Maybe BYU can also cut a separate TV deal. Why not? It just means the conference would get more exposure. And after losing Colorado and Nebraska, they certainly could use it.

If I were Big 12 commissioner, I might go for broke and form the first super conference. Get TCU and BYU. That's two big-time schools. That brings the conference back up to 12 teams. The Big 12 then becomes a bit Texas-heavy, so perhaps look to other states to fill out the conference and expand market reach. Perhaps Colorado State to replace Colorado? Boise State would certainly be a possibility, although who cares about Idaho viewers? Maybe look to poach teams from the SEC. Or perhaps also invite UNLV and SDSU to join.

San Diego State has always intrigued me. So. CA market, beautiful city. Seems like that university should be a lot more successful. It would be a risk, but also a way for the Big 12 to penetrate the CA market.

 

[YB85]

The MWC just teabagged stepbrother's drum set.

 

[SaltyDawg]

So my understanding of all of this is that part of BYU's football independence would include playing 4-6 games per year against WAC teams. With the WAC totally depleted and possibly dead, does BYU still want to consider that as a valid option, let alone a requirement?

The MWC totally punked BYU. It was pretty entertaining watching the whole thing play out though. We went from BYU is leaving, to the MWC is dead- killed by BYU and the WAC, to the MWC landed a last second haymaker and killed the WAC and screwed BYU.

I don't know if BYU wants to schedule 12 teams every year without a conference. Most teams are playing conference schedules late in the season and won't want to bring BYU in, much less travel to Provo. BYU needed the WAC for those 4-6 guaranteed games every year.

My take is, either BYU stays in the MWC, or the WAC expands, or there is something eveb bigger going on behind the scenes. Patterson's comments are enough to make anyone wonder, no doubt. But if BYU leaves knowing full well they will have to get 12 teams on the scedule every single year with no help from a conference, then they must not be planning on that being the case for too long. Maybe they have something worked out with the Big 12 and they just need to be independent for a year or 2 at the most.

 

[YB85]

I don't know if BYU wants to schedule 12 teams every year without a conference. Most teams are playing conference schedules late in the season and won't want to bring BYU in, much less travel to Provo. BYU needed the WAC for those 4-6 guaranteed games every year.

I'm sure that Utah State would slobber over themselves to play BYU at any point in the season. So would Weber State, Eastern Washington, BYU Idaho, and Timpview.

 

[Duck Rodgers]

The MWC totally punked BYU. It was pretty entertaining watching the whole thing play out though. We went from BYU is leaving, to the MWC is dead- killed by BYU and the WAC, to the MWC landed a last second haymaker and killed the WAC and screwed BYU.

No they didn't. BYU was clearly behind the WAC's 5 million dollar buyout that was signed last week. They saw this coming. Whether they believed Fresno State and Nevada were going to be beholden to that buyout is another matter altogether. Personally with the Service Academies, Hawaii(who will play them regardless of time of the year), and Notre Dame(which needs late season games anyway and wants to start a rivalry with BYU), the conference tie-in means very little. Texas and BYU are playing next year and Texas has already agreed to more games in the future if BYU goes independent. Utah and Utah State will always be there. The MWC clubs will still want to play BYU. Couple all of that with ESPN's pull and anybody that thinks BYU is going to have problems scheduling is out of their minds. In fact, I'll go on record saying their SoS will be much higher than Utah's year in and year out if this goes down.

I think the biggest issue is the non-football sports. They still matter and BYU is a tough position geographically as far as conference options go.

 

[7StraightIsGreat]

TCU will probably never get a whiff of the Big 12. The other Texas schools will never sign off on letting them in because they don't want to compete with them for 4 and 5 star recruits. It makes sense. If you're one of the Texas schools in the Big 12, why elevate TCU to your level, thus making it that much harder to land in-state talent?

When the Big 12 goes back to 12 teams BYU probably has as good a shot as anybody, and maybe they feel like going independent for 1 or 2 years while they wait for the invite is worth it. I guess we'll soon find out if they're willing to roll the dice because the WAC going down to 6 teams seriously hampers BYU's leverage here. The more I understand about the situation, the more it seems like BYU needed that WAC-tie in for late season scheduling.

My official guess is that BYU backs away from going independent, stays with the newly reinforced MWC and finds a way to get their own TV deal on the side. Seems like a win/win.

 

[calijazz]

Aside from football, what really matters? That's right, men's basketball. While the WCC isn't anyone's first choice, it is not the bottom of the barrel by any stretch of the imagination (basketball wise, it's not much of a drop, if any, from the MWC). The WCC would be just tickled to have BYU.

I'll admit, basketball probably would survive, although the "old" WAC would have been a much more comfortable fit for their other sports. But the WAC becoming weaker also affects BYU football in a big way. BYU was planning on playing about 4 WAC teams a season if they were to become independent, as a base for their schedule yearly. Their scheduling for football just became MUCH harder. Two of the teams BYU was planning on playing regularly in football were Fresno and Nevada (in addition to Hawaii, Utah St.). That's clearly no longer an option, at least with Fresno and Nevada. Filling out an entire schedule as an independent that keeps the team relevant is not easy (there's a reason why so few programs do it). I think if BYU goes independent thinking they will get the Notre Dame treatment (teams that they want to play lining up to play them), they will be in for a rude awakening.

In my mind, the only viable option anymore for BYU is staying in the MWC. The MWC REALLY forced their hand here. If the MWC was smart, they would make concessions for BYU though (new TV contract with ESPN). If they were to do that, I think BYU would give this thing up entirely. So I really don't think it's a good idea that the MWC is trying to play hardball with BYU. You don't want one of the biggest programs in the conference to be unhappy. That could lead to something ugly down the road (like this situation all over again).

 

[calijazz]

BTW, anyone know if the MWC is paying the $5M fines to the WAC on behalf of Fresno and Nevada.

Last night, Thompson said the MWC would help Fresno and Nevada with their buyout payments. Exact figures weren't discussed, but my guess is they'll be helping with a significant portion. He said he wants them to come into the confrerence as strong as they are now.

 

[Duck Rodgers]

Cali, what have you read about the year Fresno will be coming into the MWC?

 

[calijazz]

No they didn't. BYU was clearly behind the WAC's 5 million dollar buyout that was signed last week. They saw this coming. Whether they believed Fresno State and Nevada were going to be beholden to that buyout is another matter altogether. Personally with the Service Academies, Hawaii(who will play them regardless of time of the year), and Notre Dame(which needs late season games anyway and wants to start a rivalry with BYU), the conference tie-in means very little. Texas and BYU are playing next year and Texas has already agreed to more games in the future if BYU goes independent. Utah and Utah State will always be there. The MWC clubs will still want to play BYU. Couple all of that with ESPN's pull and anybody that thinks BYU is going to have problems scheduling is out of their minds. In fact, I'll go on record saying their SoS will be much higher than Utah's year in and year out if this goes down.

I think the biggest issue is the non-football sports. They still matter and BYU is a tough position geographically as far as conference options go.

There's a reason why BYU pushed for them to sign that buyout. They NEEDED the WAC to be a viable conference for them to go independent, and it affects every sport at BYU. If it didn't matter that much and they could fill the schedule anyways, they wouldn't have forced those WAC teams to agree to it before they joined. 5 mil isn't chump change to programs like Fresno and Nevada. I seriously doubt BYU could fill out a viable independent schedule for the long term anymore, like Salty said.