Big News Out of BYU??

[//r00t 4 Jazz]

MWC would never allow that. If the MWC was willing to have all the cougs sports besides football then the whole WAC fiasco would have never happened.

The way I see it, byu's choices now are...

a) Go independent in football and go to the WCC in other sports. This would mean filling their schedule with the likes of, "South Eastern Montana State University College School of Performing Arts" in the latter parts of the football season. Oh, and it would likely kill every other sports program too.

b) Crawl back to the MWC and make no demands. (best option imo)

c) Purchase a time machine, go back to the early 80's and just tear **** up again.

Sorry I may have not made clear what I meant, I was agree'ing in that the MWC WOULDN"T let them go independent and keep their other sports. I meant the MWC may make a smaller concession in reworking the TV deal to keep the Y if indeed the kicker has been met .

*Edit yes Bronco you're correct I thought I had sent this post awhile ago but guess I didn't click post reply button*

 

[calijazz]

Also interesting to note in this, is that Utah State supposedly turned down an invitation to join the MWC. They claim they were the first ones invited, out of three:

"When the possibility of BYU leaving became known, MWC leadership contacted three WAC members inquiring about their interest in joining the MWC. Utah State was the first of these three contacts," Barnes, who did not return numerous phone calls and text messages Wednesday and Thursday, said in an open letter. "At the point in time when Utah State was contacted by the MWC we had a binding agreement with the WAC and were well positioned with nine members, which included BYU. We were simply committed to uphold our agreement with fellow WAC members. We respectfully declined MWC interest and believed all WAC members would remain committed to our agreement."

https://www.deseretnews.com/article/700058552/Report-Utah-State-turned-down-MWC-membership.html

Some part of me believes that if Utah St. had a bigger budget, they would be in the MWC. If this all true, that is.

As a Fresno, I'll admit the way they left the WAC slightly bothers me. But they did what they had to do to advance their program.

 

[calijazz]

BYU AD Tom Holmoe:

Asked how the move of Fresno State and Nevada from the WAC to the MWC affects BYU's strategy, Holmoe said, "Does what Fresno State does affect us? It does."

"I don't think that's a secret of our strategy," he said. "We have a great relationship with ESPN ... It's very difficult for us to get teams to come play us at the Marriott Center and LaVell Edwards Stadium. They don't want to come. They'll come if they're on ESPN. So that's the thing. We have a great relationship with ESPN and it will continue, regardless of how things go."

https://www.deseretnews.com/article/700058532/BYU-football-Holmoe-Things-are-playing-out.html?pg=1

Also, contrary to what was previously reported, BYU did NOT participate at all in the vote to bring in Fresno and Nevada.

Boise State president Bob Kustra said Thursday that he learned of BYU’s interest in becoming a football independent Tuesday morning during a Mountain West conference call.

“I think the entire Mountain West membership was caught off-guard by the first teleconference,” Kustra said. “… (BYU president Cecil Samuelson) explained his frustrations over the (TV) access issue and asked for some redress of grievances.”

BYU’s desire to leave the Mountain West stems from unhappiness with the league’s TV contract with Comcast and CBS, Kustra said.

BYU, of course, helped create the unique deal when the Mountain West decided to split with ESPN. Mountain West games air on Versus, CBS College Sports and The Mtn. The Mtn. is co-owned by CBS and Comcast.

“It all has to do with the media contract,” Kustra said. “They’d like to have more visibility.”

The Mountain West presidents spoke again Wednesday to discuss what the TV partners said could be done to accommodate BYU, Kustra said.

Samuelson didn’t participate in the decision to invite Fresno State and Nevada, Kustra said.

“Dr. Samuelson still seemed to be concerned about the commitment that he was getting from the media companies and still was feeling that he wanted to explore other options,” Kustra said, “so he left the conference call and at that point there was discussion of what other options were viable — that it appeared BYU was leaving the conference.”

Read more: https://voices.idahostatesman.com/2..._mountain_west_caught_offguard_#ixzz0xAkzEpXc

This thing has more twists and turns than a frickin' soap opera.

 

[GVC]

This thing has more twists and turns than a frickin' soap opera.

Just the way Jesus likes it.

 

[Duck Rodgers]

Some of these rumors are downright scary, such as the Conference USA/MWC cluster ****. Oh well, hopefully they sort this stuff out this weekend and have the finished product ready to go for a Monday press conference. I'm going to try to avoid the Internet as much as I can this weekend.

 

[UGLI baby]

Sorry I may have not made clear what I meant, I was agree'ing in that the MWC WOULDN"T let them go independent and keep their other sports. I meant the MWC may make a smaller concession in reworking the TV deal to keep the Y if indeed the kicker has been met .

*Edit yes Bronco you're correct I thought I had sent this post awhile ago but guess I didn't click post reply button*

Ok I read it again and I see what u were saying. I agree. I think byu stays in the mwc and gets better tv options.

 

[prodigy]

reading this thread and trying to make sense of it all is giving me a headache. i'm just gonna wait till all this stuff get's cleared up.

 

[Stifle Tower]

Ok I read it again and I see what u were saying. I agree. I think byu stays in the mwc and gets better tv options.

I agree. I just hate the fact that BYU is going to be known as the school that destroyed the WAC. Poor Karl Benson - one minute he's basking in the sun, the next he's thrust down to the depths of irrelevancy. And poor Utah State - doomed to be the ugly, shunned stepchild again.

But I suspect in the next 4-5 years, the currrent landscape will be almost unrecognizable. There will be 16-team Super Conferences. The Pac-12, Big 12 and Big 10 will all gobble up some schools and force a merger between what's left of the ACC and SEC to form the 4th conference. Both the MWC and WAC will be left begging for the dregs. I really believe BYU, TCU and perhaps Boise State will be headed to the Big 12 in a few years. With Colorado and Nebraska defecting, they need a couple more big-name programs. Or maybe TCU goes to the Big 10 to avoid loading up the Big 12 with too many Texas schools.

And to think Utah was one of the driving forces for all these changes. Nebraska, Colrado and Utah switching conferences - and the power play by Texas - were the driving forces that put all these wheels in motion. The BCS system had to be changed. Looks like it's finally gonna happen.

 

[calijazz]

I agree. I just hate the fact that BYU is going to be known as the school that destroyed the WAC. Poor Karl Benson - one minute he's basking in the sun, the next he's thrust down to the depths of irrelevancy. And poor Utah State - doomed to be the ugly, shunned stepchild again.

Well, I don't think you're going to have to worry about BYU being known for destroying the WAC. Fresno and Nevada are going to take the heat for that with the way they just left. Benson roasted both of them the other day, saying their actions were "selfish" and the WAC went from being "prosperous" with BYU to "not knowing what they future holds". I don't blame him for being bitter, but I don't think anyone can really truly blame Fresno or Nevada for being "selfish". Schools are supposed to look out for their own best interests...or this whole conference re-alignment wouldn't have happened to begin with.

Also, if you believe the Utah St. AD, they weren't spurned by the MWC, they turned them down in order to lure BYU to the WAC. Who the hell knows if that's actually true.

 

[7StraightIsGreat]

Quick question on Utah ST: If they were indeed called first by the MWC, I wonder if they would still be considered an option if the WAC were to fold because of all this?

Even if the MWC retains BYU, it's probably just for the short term until the Big 12 comes calling. While Utah St isn't that big of a deal in football, it would still give the Mountain West a presence in the state of Utah if they end up losing both Utah and BYU.

 

[fatchipper]

Looks like the WAC could go after UTSA and Texas State to make it an eight team conference again.

https://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/utsa_texas_state_work_geographically_for_wac_101211024.html

Also rumor out of Hawaii that they will now seek to be an independent.

 

[calijazz]

Quick question on Utah ST: If they were indeed called first by the MWC, I wonder if they would still be considered an option if the WAC were to fold because of all this?

Even if the MWC retains BYU, it's probably just for the short term until the Big 12 comes calling. While Utah St isn't that big of a deal in football, it would still give the Mountain West a presence in the state of Utah if they end up losing both Utah and BYU.

There's still a ton of speculation that Utah St. could still join. Them and Houston. I've also heard Hawaii rumors, but that seems a lot less likely to happen with the travel involved once every other year. I think going independent is far more likely for them. It would be better for them than sticking in the "new" WAC, that's for sure.