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Sentiments for a New Conference

by Cougarfan87 · 5/7/2012

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Cougarfan87
With the college landscape changing all the time, I was wondering what the sentiments are out there for BYU creating a conference of its own, like it did with the MWC. Assuming that the new playoff system takes the Top 4 teams and there are no longer any more "BCS" Conferences, I feel a little nostalgic for some of the old games (teams listed in pairs with their conference "rivals"):



BYU, Utah State, CSU, Air Force, Boise State, University of Nevada (Reno), Fresno State, and Hawaii.



That is a conference of eight, which would provide a pretty good late season schedule (Boise State should always be our last game since Utah State is conference weekend).



That would also leave five games for us to have the freedom to play games all over the country in the early part of the season (when we don't seem to have a problem getting games) and ESPN can broker some great games for us. It also allows us to beef up the schedule for national rankings purposes, but have something worth playing for if it didn't work out. Also, I have left off the true dregs of the MWC --Wyoming, UNLV, and New Mexico (basketball can only take you so far)--and let Suck Dog State have fun travelling all over the country to play football.



I think the only team that would take a lot of arm twisting to do this would be Boise State since they are signed up for the Big Least. The others would probably see it as a good conference with--and I know this sounds crazy, a natural geograhpic fit.



I don't know. Call me crazy, but I miss caring about games other than BYU's and following how the wins and losses affect the conference standings.
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tmoney35
I actually really like that idea, if for no other reason then we'd able to continue playing great schools from across the county in September while not having to suffer through playing the dregs of college football in November. Plus, I grew up in Nevada so I would love to play UNR every year.



It looks like you wouldn't have to twist Boise St.'s arm too much after reading this article:



http://www.kivitv.com/news/topfive/150386415.html



With the WAC on the verge of death, Boise will have nowhere to put its non-football sports, and the BE won't take them. I bet they would jump at the chance to join a conference like this, especially since AQ looks to be going out the window.
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Guest
I would never support it including Nevada or Fresno State. Those two schools deserve the death warrant they signed for themselves when they jumped all over themselves to screw BYU.
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Cougarfan87
hawkwing wrote:
I would never support it including Nevada or Fresno State. Those two schools deserve the death warrant they signed for themselves when they jumped all over themselves to screw BYU.


Unlike SDSU, I don't think their thought process was "what can we do to screw BYU." I think they looked out for their best interests and moving to the MWC was much better for them then staying in the WAC. I could be remembering it wrong though. At any rate, it was incumbent upon BYU to protect its own interests and stop making decisions based on others best intentions. I would have thought that lesson was captured loud and clear after the whole MTN debacle.
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CougarClaw
hawkwing wrote:
I would never support it including Nevada or Fresno State. Those two schools deserve the death warrant they signed for themselves when they jumped all over themselves to screw BYU.


this is exactly what I was gong to post. Those liars PROMISED Utah State and the WAC that they would stay in conference and then 48 hours later jumped ship and tried to spin it as if they never had.



BYU may have a reputation for being difficult to work with; but we're not lying, opportunistic money-grabbing, stab-you-in-the-back, cheating, nefarious nerf-herders. Not only do I not want to be in a conference with them, I'm fine never scheduling them until well after their management group is replaced. What they did to us was cruel. What they did to the WAC was... astounding.
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Cougarfan87
CougarClaw wrote:
I would never support it including Nevada or Fresno State. Those two schools deserve the death warrant they signed for themselves when they jumped all over themselves to screw BYU.


this is exactly what I was gong to post. Those liars PROMISED Utah State and the WAC that they would stay in conference and then 48 hours later jumped ship and tried to spin it as if they never had.



BYU may have a reputation for being difficult to work with; but we're not lying, opportunistic money-grabbing, stab-you-in-the-back, cheating, nefarious nerf-herders. Not only do I not want to be in a conference with them, I'm fine never scheduling them until well after their management group is replaced. What they did to us was cruel. What they did to the WAC was... astounding.


Then we should take it out on them on the football field. The problem is, without those two schools, who do you realistically replace them with in the same region that has a respectable football program?
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CougarClaw
I don't see us replacing them.



I don't see them wanting to join us, and the feeling is more than mutual. I guess that nixes the Conference idea.
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Cougarfan87
CougarClaw wrote:
I don't see us replacing them.



I don't see them wanting to join us, and the feeling is more than mutual. I guess that nixes the Conference idea.




Well, that sucks because I was about to nominate myself the commisioner of the new WACKY-8 conference (Western Athletic Conference Killin' Yewts). :lol:



I'll ask my source inside the program if BYU really still has an issue with UNR and Fresno State. Sometimes the fans are a little more emotional about it than the decision makers--as I was. But I would be willing to move on for the sake of a better late season schedule and a conference we'd have a chance at winning.
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Isola
I agree that it is nice to have some familiar faces on the schedule each year and it would be nice to beef up the late season schedule, but there are too many problems with your conference idea.



1. BYU will once again be the big fish in the little pond, which breeds resentment (either we feel like they are freeloading on our coat tails, or they feel like we are pushing them around, or both).

2. BYU would be the biggest media draw which means we either have to share our money with free loaders or we piss them off by refusing to share.

3. In order to fill out the conference you have to take a fair amount of teams that I can't get excited about. The only schools on that list that I really want to see on a regular basis are Utah State, Air Force, Boise State and Hawaii. Three of those already have games with us, so why play the rest every year just to get those guys.



No. What I want are scheduling alliances. Work out long term deals with 3 or 4 schools that we want to see just about every year. It would help improve our late season schedule, but we get to keep our TV money, run our own ship, and don't have to deal with the clinger-ons. The only "downside" are no conference championship (which with that conference would really just be the BYU-Boise State game).
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Cougarbib
hawkwing wrote:
I would never support it including Nevada or Fresno State. Those two schools deserve the death warrant they signed for themselves when they jumped all over themselves to screw BYU.

Actually, Hawk, as I posted in another thread or two - we should send them a thank-you note. The WAC was doomed no matter what relative to football. Perhaps, if getting BYU in basketball only somehow gave the WAC the clout to get a bunch of MWC rats to jump ship, maybe the WAC would have survived and the MWC would have died. I doubt the WAC could have even pulled that off.



But lest we forget our insignificance and the insignificance of the MWC and the WAC in the grander scheme - dominoes were set to fall with BEAST, BIG 12, ACC, SEC, Big 10, and PAC and BYU Independence in football, and Utah, BSU, TCU, SDSU, and even AFA if they wanted to, were all leaving MWC and WAC.



I think BYU other sports are far better off where they are than WAC and as well off as MWC right now.



If you disagree - time for us all to pucker up and kiss some MWC Butt and beg them to take our other sports. BSU may be begging them to do that as we speak.



If BYU could pull off a new conference and somehow get BSU in it - we should suck in our pride and take SDSU as well.



Painful as it is to face it, SDSU was vaulted to a higher plane.



Hawaii, SDSU, BSU, UNR, UNLV, USU, AFA, FSU, are teams we should be playing. Throw in Houston, SMU, and Tulsa - pretty good conference



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Lawboy
IF I was putting together a conference for BYU and would want a footprint in certain area, I would choose these teams for BYU to align with:



SDSU

Fresno

UNLV

SMU (private, Methodist)

Houston

Tulane (private, AAU member)

Tulsa (private-loose Catholic affiliation)

BSU

AFA (private)

CSU

Hawaii

BYU (private)



12 teams, in divisions, as follows:



West

Hawaii

SDSU

FSU

UNLV

BYU

BSU



East

AFA

CSU

Tulsa

SMU

Houston

Tulane



This gets BYU games in Texas and California, and LV. Also limits to 12 teams, so 8 conf games. Adds New Orleans, Houston and Dallas markets, with SD, LV, SLC. Also gives BYU a season ender vs. Boise State every year. Or a late season Hawaii game, if wanted, and a 13th game in years we go to Hawaii, so another solid OOC game.



I have no problem dumping Wyoming, UNM, USU, Nevada, etc. Let them stay in the MWC with whoever they want to add, like Idaho, etc. Plus, I like adding some other private universities into the mix, so BYU is not he only one.
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SpiffCoug
The problem is the schools you listed don't deliver the intended markets. The Houston Cougars and TCU Horny Toads don't deliver Houston and Dallas. Many if not most of the schools listed are after thoughts in their respective markets.



This is why the Mountain channel and the MWC and WAC are failing. There just aren't enough fans of those schools in markets that matter and can generate real advertising dollars to make these programs big time.
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Mars


This was my "Phoenix" conference idea, a new WAC rising up from the dust of the earth:



BYU/Hawaii/Fresno/SDSU/UNLV/Nevada

Boise/Air Force/New Mexico/UTEP/Houston/Tulsa



This would be a very, very strong basketball conference, shooting for 5 NCAA basketball teams in a season and 4 ranked football teams.
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byucougar1
I like the idea but also suggest considering keeping alive some rivalry games:



UNLV-Nevada

FSU-SJSU

SMU-Houston

Tulsa-Memphis

BYU-BSU

CSU-AFA

SDSU-HI

Tulane-LA Tech



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YNot
Mars wrote:


This was my "Phoenix" conference idea, a new WAC rising up from the dust of the earth:



BYU/Hawaii/Fresno/SDSU/UNLV/Nevada

Boise/Air Force/New Mexico/UTEP/Houston/Tulsa



This would be a very, very strong basketball conference, shooting for 5 NCAA basketball teams in a season and 4 ranked football teams.


Although I actually enjoy football independence and the WCC affiliation, it's fun to dream about the "what if" scenarios....



BYU and Boise St. could be inter-divisional "rivals" that play at the end of the season each year. BYU could be sure to schedule one PAC 12/Big XII opponent each year and play Utah State and Notre Dame regularly. That could be nice.



Conference championships for football and basketball could be held on a rotation basis in Las Vegas, Arlington, and Denver. Take the Hawaii, Las Vegas, and Armed Forces bowls from the MWC/WAC and fight for some bids to bigger bowls with higher payouts and better competition, like the Holiday Bowl and the Sun Bowl.



What's the likelihood of the new conference champ finishing in the top-4 if undefeated? If one loss?
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Lawboy
SpiffCoug wrote:
The problem is the schools you listed don't deliver the intended markets. The Houston Cougars and TCU Horny Toads don't deliver Houston and Dallas. Many if not most of the schools listed are after thoughts in their respective markets.



This is why the Mountain channel and the MWC and WAC are failing. There just aren't enough fans of those schools in markets that matter and can generate real advertising dollars to make these programs big time.


The Utes also did not deliver the SLC market, but they still got in, and helped with TV numbers. You do not have to carry the market to help with calculations. Plus, those markets are so large, even a partial cover brings more $$$ to the table.



In the modern era, it is about market penetration and coverage and TV sets and electronic footprints.



It would not be BCS money, but it would beat MWC $$$ for sure. Question is, would BYU be willing to take less $$$ in this scenario to add stability for scheduling, because it is clear than an Indy/WCC BYU would make more than this new league would get. But how much is the question.
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Cougarfan87
Source says no ill feelings toward Fresno State or Nevada (Reno) that would preclude scheduling games in the future (or beginning new conference).



I do have to ask, why do some of you insist on UNLV in a new conference scenario? The idea is to take the best of what the MWC and WAC had to offer (minus Utah and TCU) and leave out the dregs, for a much better late season, but still have enough leeway to schedule those four or five games all over the country. Personally, I like the idea of an eight team league that allows us to schedule five games early in the season every year--those are the easy ones to fill but leaves good matchups late in the season (like AFA, UNR, and Boise State).



Some have suggested 12 or even 16 teams. It's just my opinion, but that's too many mouths to feed on what undoubtedly would not be that huge of a pie.
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YNot
Cougarfan87 wrote:
I do have to ask, why do some of you insist on UNLV in a new conference scenario? The idea is to take the best of what the MWC and WAC had to offer (minus Utah and TCU) and leave out the dregs, for a much better late season, but still have enough leeway to schedule those four or five games all over the country.


UNLV and New Mexico were included to make the new conference a basketball power as well. UNLV and UNM also deliver two top-50 media markets.



I like Boise St. because of their football cache. I like Houston because of decent football and basketball and the Texas and large Houston markets. Air Force brings national exposure with a service academy and SDSU brings some great weather. The only other schools I would consider are Fresno and SMU. Both can have decent football and it would be great to have a conference with two teams in each of California and Texas...for recruiting.



I would pass on Nevada, Tulsa, and UTEP. They just don't bring enough.



BYU

Air Force

Boise St.

Fresno

Houston

New Mexico

San Diego St.

SMU

UNLV



This would give you an 8-game conference schedule with Boise St. and BYU leading the way for football, but with a strong middle tier in Houston, Air Force, and Fresno. Guaranteed a game in Texas and a game in California each year.



Basketball would be great, with BYU, UNLV, SDSU, New Mexico, and Houston consistently battling at the top.
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Mars
Cougarfan87 wrote:
Why do some of you insist on UNLV in a new conference scenario? The idea is to take the best of what the MWC and WAC had to offer (minus Utah and TCU) and leave out the dregs, for a much better late season, but still have enough leeway to schedule those four or five games all over the country. Personally, I like the idea of an eight team league that allows us to schedule five games early in the season every year--those are the easy ones to fill but leaves good matchups late in the season (like AFA, UNR, and Boise State). Some have suggested 12 or even 16 teams. It's just my opinion, but that's too many mouths to feed on what undoubtedly would not be that huge of a pie.

My 8-team football-first conference is BYU, Boise State, Houston, Air Force, Nevada, Hawaii, Fresno, UTEP.
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lrey
Why UTEP over UNLV or UNM. HIstorically, UTEP has had mediocre basketball and football teams at best, and has a small LDS population (does not give BYU home field advantage on own turf, which is fun)
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