Comments on: BYU Confirms WCC Move, Football Independence

By: everything is bigger in Texas????

everything is bigger in Texas???? — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 17:47:19 +0000

Didn’t Utah beat TCU a year prior? Havent they been to two BCS bowl games. Winning both? How are they second fiddle to TCU? You really have the everything is bigger in Texas mentality don’t you?

By: Jim in Texas

Jim in Texas — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 15:10:39 +0000

As a TCU alum the exit of Utah and BYU from the Mountain West produces some interesting questions. My personal perception of both of these schools is that they have a “big dog” desire and want to be the center of attention in whatever they are involved in. Kind of like Texas in the Big 12. If the world does not rotate around them they seem to pout. Both of these schools have a long track-record of difficulty making conference agreements and then sticking with them over the long haul.

It is interesting that they both make decisions to jump the Mountain West ship just when the league is about to qualify as an automatic BCS conference. Gaining BCS status would eventually lead to solving whatever monetary issues those schools have. The Mountain West adding Boise State was a great move. If BYU and Utah had to fortitude to stay the course it would have created a league with 5 or 6 schools really capable of achieving a national ranking each year.

I do not buy their stated argument that leaving the Mountain West was strictly a monetary decision. I think the thought of playing second fiddle to TCU And Boise State for years to come in football was more than they could take with their narcissistic approach themselves. Evidently, Utah would rather be second fiddle to USC, UCLA, OREGON, and a couple of others, which is what is going to happen to them. The PAC 10 is about California/West Coast schools, and those schools will always be the center of media exposure. Utah has now become a little fish in an alleged bigger pond. Over the long haul, they are not going to like that a bit.

BYU can now be independent, schedule a bunch of second rate teams and post 10 or 11 wins a year as they toot their own horn and posture for national recognition without competing for anything meaningful. By the 4th week of every season they will have exhausted the possibility of consistently getting on the schedule of any of the top BCS league teams. To be hired as the person responsible for finding BYU football opponents could become the worst sports job in America.

I think Utah and BYU have shot themselves in the foot big-time. The Mountain West football conference was on the brink of achieving new status as a BCS league. I believe the addition of Boise State would have put a lock on that possibility! I don’t think the primo donnas (BYU and Utah) were willing to sit by and watch TCU and Boise State become the primary “powers” of the Mountain West.

By: Steve-O

Steve-O — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 16:30:43 +0000

Not a bad assessment. Utah leaving the conference was the catalyst for BYU’s independence. But they have wanted to do this for years. Problem was that if they left Utah in the MWC, the Utes would have been steamed enough to end the rivalry. And there aren’t many quality DI football teams in the area.

The Utes start out in the Pac-10 on a probationary basis. They won’t get any league money for that period. To generate revenue, they will need some solid home opponents. BYU provides that.

All smack aside, BYU & Utah compliment each other for the next couple of years.

PS-I’m really tired of the talk about gay marriage. It’s a non-issue. I know proponents want to frame the issue as a clash over Civil Rights. And opponents want to frame it as a question of 1st Amendment Rights. Ultimately the issue will be solved by the total abolition of all state-sanctioned marriages.

By: Joseph Smith

Joseph Smith — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:35:28 +0000

Does it really matter? BYU has been an afterthought for decades.

By: dave b

dave b — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:18:16 +0000

The fact that BYU chose to go with the West Coast Conference is a smart move over choosing to go non-football in a now decimated Western Athletic Conference. What about comparing the WAC with the WCC in non-football sports? BYU has gone to the NCAA Basketball tournament as a MWC Champion. Now they will provide a stark new competition for Gonzaga, whose gone to the Big Dance since 1998! The WCC is a better conference choice. Good for GYU. Sad what happened to the WAC.

By: re: cougfan

re: cougfan — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 03:42:03 +0000

you are a ute fan/byuhater rather than a BYU fan. Why would moving to the WCC cause BYU sports to vanquish? All but four sports will be taken care of, and the othe four have NCAA sponsered leagues (except for swimming) that even the UCLA/Arizona’s and Utahs are a part of. Even at that, they all are meet heavy run, and you don’t need a conference.

Football programs at all schools finance the other sports, so BYU making more money going independent will only deepen the pockets of the other sports.

That arguement that BYU athletics will only disappear is an arguement from a Ute fan, not a Cougar!

By: bobby

bobby — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 02:57:27 +0000

Hey arnol and the rest of you…there is no PAC conference, unless you mean the Patroit Athlectic Conference back east. There is a APC 10, soone to be PAC 12, but there is no PAC conference.

By: Coug Fan

Coug Fan — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 01:20:54 +0000

As a BYU fan, I can’t be happy with this at all. This is the most ridiculous decision BYU has ever made. Even more ridiculous than hiring Gary Crowton in the first place. The longer BYU stays in the WCC, the sooner the school will have to drop sports completely. If you’re a BYU fan and you think this is a good idea, I have some prime real estate to sell you.

By: Re:HaHa Arnold

Re:HaHa Arnold — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:50:50 +0000

You can ignore this guy, he is a byu fan pretending to be a Utah fan. Utah fans respect others and don’t think they are better than other people.

By: HaHa Arnold

HaHa Arnold — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:36:48 +0000

You’re funny Arnold. I’m guessing from your ignorance that you’re not aware that the University of Utah was founded by Mormon prophet Brigham Young, is coached by BYU graduate and Mormon Kyle Whittingham, is largely made up of the same Mormon people BYU has, has a Mormon president at its helm, has a sizeable group of Mormon players, and so on. So you can take your “gay bashing” phobia and stew on the fact that the overwhelming majority of University of Utah folks are poured out of the same mold as BYU’s.