Big News Out of BYU??

[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.

 

[calijazz]

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

They want to come into the league in the fall of 2011 they said last night at their press conference. But it might not happen until 2012, because the deadline to inform the WAC of leaving was in July, among other issues. I think there is a more severe buyout penalty if they come into the MWC in 2011, rather than 2012. So it's still TBD. I think if the MWC steps up and helps like they said they would, they'll be coming in 2011. Just my guess though, we'll see.

 

[calijazz]

My interpretation of Patterson's comments was the MWC possibly adding a 12th team (assuming BYU stays) in an effort to create a championship game and increase the chances becoming an AQ conference. Not necessarily BYU and TCU leaving to the Big 12. I think they are set with 10 for now.

It's also interesting to note in this, is that the conference voted unanimously to have Fresno and Nevada join the MWC. This includes BYU. Why would BYU vote to bring the members in that they wanted to play in the WAC? Seems like a hint to me, but we'll see, stranger things have happened to say the least.

 

[Bronco70]

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).

Is it possible that BYU is playing the MWC, the way Texas played the Big 12?

 

[NAOS]

I've read about 10 posts in this thread and noticed a very obvious hole in y'alls thinking...


BYU hums on camel balls. Suck it, losers.