7StraightIsGreat
Well-Known Member
With Whittingham coming out and saying that Utah's program is "bigger" than the rivalry, the talk has started up again that the rivalry game may be coming to an end. For the record, I bristled when I heard Whit say that. Even as a Ute fan, I have to admit that it sounded smug and arrogant. I did like hearing a radio interview yesterday in which he backtracked a bit and apologized for his choice of words. While I would rather see the rivalry continue, I can at least see why it makes sense for Utah (and in some cases, BYU as well) to stop playing the game. I'm gonna lay out the logical reasons that would lead to Utah ending the series, and I'm hoping some BYU fans will chime in and give honest feedback as to whether or not some of these following reasons make sense to them:
-While Utah is now in the PAC 12, their athletic budget is still far behind that of all the other schools in the conference. One way Utah can get some extra $$$ out of their athletics is an extra home game. It sounds as if Utah would ideally like to play 7 home games per season. That makes out of conference scheduling tricky considering that they are already locked into 9 conference games per year. It makes it even more tricky with BYU when you consider the Cougs won't be accepting any 2-for-1's (nor should they).
-Considering that Utah does have the 9 conference games, it makes it almost impossible to maintain a 7 game home schedule and play both BYU and Utah St. each and every year. Granted, BYU is a much bigger game for Utah, but should the up and coming Aggies automatically be the odd man out? Should Utah play each one every other year in an effort to appease everybody?
-The recruiting implications of Utah expanding their schedule (IMO, probably the biggest factor in all of this). With BYU being BYU, and Utah now sporting Pac 12 name value, in-state recruiting for either school is not going to be a problem whether this game is played or not. However, if Utah is thinking of dropping BYU in favor of adding some Texas, Flordia, and/or some midwest schools in an effort to increase and improve their recruiting footprint, can you really blame them? As an independent, BYU has touted their ability to have the flexibility to play teams from all over the country and how that will help them in the long run. While Utah gets many benefits from Pac 12 membership, scheduling flexibility is not one of them. I would argue that BYU playing the likes of Oklahoma or TCU at Texas Stadium helps them recruiting wise more than a game against Utah does. Isn't it only fair to say that Utah would benefit more from those type of games as well?
-Is it good for the rivalry to go away because fans have simply gotten too nasty? Mark my words, this thread will be full of BYU fans who will be able to answer these questions respectfully, even if we disagree, but it's only a matter of time before a Ute or Cougar fan comes in here and turns this thread to ****. Sure, it's just an internet message board, but IMO it serves as a small microcosm of what's going on out there on a bigger scale. Could the rivalry benefit from a cooling off period, or would that only make it worse?
In the end, I think the Pac 12 is going to end up dropping the 9 game conference schedule and hopefully allow for an exemption so this game can be played later in the year. But those changes are a few years down the road. Until then, I can at least see logical reasons as to why Utah might not be interested in playing the rivalry game every year. I'm wondering if BYU fans can see that as well, or if they all just simply see it as arrogance or fear on Utah's part.
-While Utah is now in the PAC 12, their athletic budget is still far behind that of all the other schools in the conference. One way Utah can get some extra $$$ out of their athletics is an extra home game. It sounds as if Utah would ideally like to play 7 home games per season. That makes out of conference scheduling tricky considering that they are already locked into 9 conference games per year. It makes it even more tricky with BYU when you consider the Cougs won't be accepting any 2-for-1's (nor should they).
-Considering that Utah does have the 9 conference games, it makes it almost impossible to maintain a 7 game home schedule and play both BYU and Utah St. each and every year. Granted, BYU is a much bigger game for Utah, but should the up and coming Aggies automatically be the odd man out? Should Utah play each one every other year in an effort to appease everybody?
-The recruiting implications of Utah expanding their schedule (IMO, probably the biggest factor in all of this). With BYU being BYU, and Utah now sporting Pac 12 name value, in-state recruiting for either school is not going to be a problem whether this game is played or not. However, if Utah is thinking of dropping BYU in favor of adding some Texas, Flordia, and/or some midwest schools in an effort to increase and improve their recruiting footprint, can you really blame them? As an independent, BYU has touted their ability to have the flexibility to play teams from all over the country and how that will help them in the long run. While Utah gets many benefits from Pac 12 membership, scheduling flexibility is not one of them. I would argue that BYU playing the likes of Oklahoma or TCU at Texas Stadium helps them recruiting wise more than a game against Utah does. Isn't it only fair to say that Utah would benefit more from those type of games as well?
-Is it good for the rivalry to go away because fans have simply gotten too nasty? Mark my words, this thread will be full of BYU fans who will be able to answer these questions respectfully, even if we disagree, but it's only a matter of time before a Ute or Cougar fan comes in here and turns this thread to ****. Sure, it's just an internet message board, but IMO it serves as a small microcosm of what's going on out there on a bigger scale. Could the rivalry benefit from a cooling off period, or would that only make it worse?
In the end, I think the Pac 12 is going to end up dropping the 9 game conference schedule and hopefully allow for an exemption so this game can be played later in the year. But those changes are a few years down the road. Until then, I can at least see logical reasons as to why Utah might not be interested in playing the rivalry game every year. I'm wondering if BYU fans can see that as well, or if they all just simply see it as arrogance or fear on Utah's part.
