Conference Realignment Opinion

There are a lot of different opinions about what BYU should do with this latest round of conference realignment. Some want us to join the Big East. Some have said they'd be okay going back to MWC. Some want independence. Some still think the PAC 12 is an option someday. Some are holding out hope for the Big 12.



Here is my opinion. I don't care about access to a BCS game. I do care about access to the playoff. My first choice would be to accept a Big 12 invite if it ever came. My second choice would be to accept a Pac 12 invite if it ever came. My third choice would be to remain independent.



I believe with these three options if we are undefeated and had a strong strength of schedule we would be ranked in the top 4 and would be included in the playoff. There may be a rare year where as an independent we could be undefeated and not get in but that would require 2 or 3 other teams to be undefeated and every SEC team having 1 loss. In that case we might get left out even if we were in the Pac 12.



I'd rather play 2 or 3 BCS caliber games each year during the regular season then join the Big East or MWC just because they have automatic access to a BCS game. Sure we could get in with a 10-2 record, but I'd rather not sacrifice what we've gained as an independent just for easier BCS access. If we deserve to be in the BCS then I think we get in (undefeated or 1 loss). If we are 10-2 on an MWC record I don't think we would deserve to be there and we'd probably get killed by a team that deserves to be there. If BCS access is all we care about then we should join the Sunbelt and play a bad OOC schedule to go undefeated every year.



If the Pac 12 poaches UT, TT, OU, and OSU from the Big 12 we are never getting into the Pac 12 or Big 12. If we decide its time to join a conference I'd be in favor of creating a new conference versus joining a dying Big East or going back to MWC. Take the best remaining teams from the Big 12 and get the top teams from the MWC and Big East. I'd be excited about a new conference including:



BYU

Boise State

Kansas State

Kansas

TCU

Baylor

Iowa State

San Diego State

UNLV

Houston

Cincinnati

Louisville

Air Force

West Virginia



This would actually be a very good basketball conference as well. I don't know how many of these remaining teams would get taken by the ACC but Louisville, Cincinnati and West Virginia seem likely candidates if ACC tries to get to 16. If our new conference wants to get to 16 then go ahead and bring Utah State and Fresno State along or SMU.

Wickchad84087 wrote:
There are a lot of different opinions about what BYU should do with this latest round of conference realignment. Some want us to join the Big East. Some have said they'd be okay going back to MWC. Some want independence. Some still think the PAC 12 is an option someday. Some are holding out hope for the Big 12.



Here is my opinion. I don't care about access to a BCS game. I do care about access to the playoff. My first choice would be to accept a Big 12 invite if it ever came. My second choice would be to accept a Pac 12 invite if it ever came. My third choice would be to remain independent.



I believe with these three options if we are undefeated and had a strong strength of schedule we would be ranked in the top 4 and would be included in the playoff. There may be a rare year where as an independent we could be undefeated and not get in but that would require 2 or 3 other teams to be undefeated and every SEC team having 1 loss. In that case we might get left out even if we were in the Pac 12.



I'd rather play 2 or 3 BCS caliber games each year during the regular season then join the Big East or MWC just because they have automatic access to a BCS game. Sure we could get in with a 10-2 record, but I'd rather not sacrifice what we've gained as an independent just for easier BCS access. If we deserve to be in the BCS then I think we get in (undefeated or 1 loss). If we are 10-2 on an MWC record I don't think we would deserve to be there and we'd probably get killed by a team that deserves to be there. If BCS access is all we care about then we should join the Sunbelt and play a bad OOC schedule to go undefeated every year.



If the Pac 12 poaches UT, TT, OU, and OSU from the Big 12 we are never getting into the Pac 12 or Big 12. If we decide its time to join a conference I'd be in favor of creating a new conference versus joining a dying Big East or going back to MWC. Take the best remaining teams from the Big 12 and get the top teams from the MWC and Big East. I'd be excited about a new conference including:



BYU

Boise State

Kansas State

Kansas

TCU

Baylor

Iowa State

San Diego State

UNLV

Houston

Cincinnati

Louisville

Air Force

West Virginia



This would actually be a very good basketball conference as well. I don't know how many of these remaining teams would get taken by the ACC but Louisville, Cincinnati and West Virginia seem likely candidates if ACC tries to get to 16. If our new conference wants to get to 16 then go ahead and bring Utah State and Fresno State along or SMU.

the real problem with this is money. not being in a big conference will slowly kill everybody in them because they will be at such a huge competitive disadvantage.

+1 This may sound like a jealous BYU fan but what does a BCS game mean if we're 9-3? It means a bunch of money but that's it. If we're good enough then we'll get in being Indy. If we're not good enough, I'd rather be mediocre with our Indy schedule than mediocre with a MWC schedule. I'd imagine our bowl setup and schedule will only continue getting better as an Indy.



Big 12 is still the dream scenario.

Just be patient and wait out the changes. Once the dominoes fall and we don't get an offer, we should get a 3-5 game scheduling agreement with the Big East (ACC I doubt would give us one though it would make sense to them). Stay independent.

As an indy if we get into the BCS, the money would all be ours. In a conference we split it.

jonnylingo wrote:

There are a lot of different opinions about what BYU should do with this latest round of conference realignment. Some want us to join the Big East. Some have said they'd be okay going back to MWC. Some want independence. Some still think the PAC 12 is an option someday. Some are holding out hope for the Big 12.



Here is my opinion. I don't care about access to a BCS game. I do care about access to the playoff. My first choice would be to accept a Big 12 invite if it ever came. My second choice would be to accept a Pac 12 invite if it ever came. My third choice would be to remain independent.



I believe with these three options if we are undefeated and had a strong strength of schedule we would be ranked in the top 4 and would be included in the playoff. There may be a rare year where as an independent we could be undefeated and not get in but that would require 2 or 3 other teams to be undefeated and every SEC team having 1 loss. In that case we might get left out even if we were in the Pac 12.



I'd rather play 2 or 3 BCS caliber games each year during the regular season then join the Big East or MWC just because they have automatic access to a BCS game. Sure we could get in with a 10-2 record, but I'd rather not sacrifice what we've gained as an independent just for easier BCS access. If we deserve to be in the BCS then I think we get in (undefeated or 1 loss). If we are 10-2 on an MWC record I don't think we would deserve to be there and we'd probably get killed by a team that deserves to be there. If BCS access is all we care about then we should join the Sunbelt and play a bad OOC schedule to go undefeated every year.



If the Pac 12 poaches UT, TT, OU, and OSU from the Big 12 we are never getting into the Pac 12 or Big 12. If we decide its time to join a conference I'd be in favor of creating a new conference versus joining a dying Big East or going back to MWC. Take the best remaining teams from the Big 12 and get the top teams from the MWC and Big East. I'd be excited about a new conference including:



BYU

Boise State

Kansas State

Kansas

TCU

Baylor

Iowa State

San Diego State

UNLV

Houston

Cincinnati

Louisville

Air Force

West Virginia



This would actually be a very good basketball conference as well. I don't know how many of these remaining teams would get taken by the ACC but Louisville, Cincinnati and West Virginia seem likely candidates if ACC tries to get to 16. If our new conference wants to get to 16 then go ahead and bring Utah State and Fresno State along or SMU.

the real problem with this is money. not being in a big conference will slowly kill everybody in them because they will be at such a huge competitive disadvantage.

This is the self fulfilling prophecy of the BCS. Unfortunatly there's nothing we can do about it. (Silver lining to the election-Maybe Mitt Romney goes back to the private sector and our BCS loses will be offest by his tithing?)

scott715 wrote:
Just be patient and wait out the changes. Once the dominoes fall and we don't get an offer, we should get a 3-5 game scheduling agreement with the Big East (ACC I doubt would give us one though it would make sense to them). Stay independent.

I don't know that we can get a formal scheduling agreement with the ACC (although I think it is still possible - especially since I don't think the ACC raid is done yet), but we can still schedule ACC teams. The upcoming ACC-Notre Dame scheduling arrangement will create 5 weeks every season where at least one ACC team doesn't have a conference game. I think many of these openings will be in October and November. BYU should be able to get 2 or 3 October or November ACC games each season.



I think TH is already planning on this strategy. He mentioned it at Education Week, but referenced the PAC 12 and Notre Dame's late season games against Stanford and USC, just as an example.

The problem with your proposed conference is the top 4-6 teams would be poached by the ACC/SEC/Big 10. If Pac goes 16, taking UT, TT, OU, OSU, then there's no way the SEC and B1G sit at 14, so they raid the remnants of the Big 12, or B1G and SEC pic off another ACC team or two, and then the ACC takes more Big 12 and Big East remnants. I think in this scenario, both Kansas schools are gone, West Virginia is gone, Louisville, TCU, and maybe CIncinnati are all gone. Leaving just the true dregs of the Big East and Big 12 - a conference equivalent to the MWC.



Face it - if Super Conferences form, BYU fans had better be hoping that it is the big 12 that survives and NOT the ACC. Because if the Big 12 fails, that means the Pac 12 will pick up their 4 teams from the Big 12, and the ACC/SEC/B1G will divide up the rest, and BYU will be on the outside looking in, maybe forever.

There are no real options out there for BYU. But being an independent allows BYU the flexibility it will need to make quick decisions going forward. Not being tied to a losing conference - and make no mistake, the Big East and MWC are losing conferences that will NOT survive when all the conference realignments are complete - is a good thing right now.

Mars wrote:


All Big XII teams are currently locked in with a 12-year Grant Of Rights (GOR). Even if the SEC wants WVU and the Big Ten wants Kansas, they're kinda screwed.

Exactly--I don't know where all this talk of the Pac 12 poaching UT, OU etc. comes from, because I sure haven't heard any of those rumors among midwest college football fans. If anything, the Big 12 will be a poacher this round.

Wickchad84087 wrote:
There are a lot of different opinions about what BYU should do with this latest round of conference realignment. Some want us to join the Big East. Some have said they'd be okay going back to MWC. Some want independence. Some still think the PAC 12 is an option someday. Some are holding out hope for the Big 12.



Here is my opinion. I don't care about access to a BCS game. I do care about access to the playoff. My first choice would be to accept a Big 12 invite if it ever came. My second choice would be to accept a Pac 12 invite if it ever came. My third choice would be to remain independent.



I believe with these three options if we are undefeated and had a strong strength of schedule we would be ranked in the top 4 and would be included in the playoff. There may be a rare year where as an independent we could be undefeated and not get in but that would require 2 or 3 other teams to be undefeated and every SEC team having 1 loss. In that case we might get left out even if we were in the Pac 12.



I'd rather play 2 or 3 BCS caliber games each year during the regular season then join the Big East or MWC just because they have automatic access to a BCS game. Sure we could get in with a 10-2 record, but I'd rather not sacrifice what we've gained as an independent just for easier BCS access. If we deserve to be in the BCS then I think we get in (undefeated or 1 loss). If we are 10-2 on an MWC record I don't think we would deserve to be there and we'd probably get killed by a team that deserves to be there. If BCS access is all we care about then we should join the Sunbelt and play a bad OOC schedule to go undefeated every year.



If the Pac 12 poaches UT, TT, OU, and OSU from the Big 12 we are never getting into the Pac 12 or Big 12. If we decide its time to join a conference I'd be in favor of creating a new conference versus joining a dying Big East or going back to MWC. Take the best remaining teams from the Big 12 and get the top teams from the MWC and Big East. I'd be excited about a new conference including:



BYU

Boise State

Kansas State

Kansas

TCU

Baylor

Iowa State

San Diego State

UNLV

Houston

Cincinnati

Louisville

Air Force

West Virginia



This would actually be a very good basketball conference as well. I don't know how many of these remaining teams would get taken by the ACC but Louisville, Cincinnati and West Virginia seem likely candidates if ACC tries to get to 16. If our new conference wants to get to 16 then go ahead and bring Utah State and Fresno State along or SMU.

That would be a great new conference. But here is the flaw you and so many others seem to be stuck on.



Nothing is forever. Most fans would take PAC or BIG 10 or BIG 12 even if none of them know how to count. Well PAC 12 knows how to count. Big 12 used to know how to count when they went from BIG 8 to BIG 12. OK - even BIG 10 counted it correctly when first formed. The only debate here would be the pecking order for these three. I would go PAC, 10, 12 for example. But I would take any of them if available. And taking any of them would give BYU credibility to switch later to my first choice - at least more than being Independent would.



The other options are stepping stones. And inclusion eventually has almost nothing to do with wins and losses - ask CU, U, Maryland, Missouri, etc. it has everything to do with fanbase and resulting marketability and maybe beer consumption of that fan base from what I have observed about advertising spend.



An article a few months ago postulated that BIG EAST teams would get an extra $1M annually if BYU joined. Well - if you raise the average payout - you get invited. If you prove that by joining the best available conference - you might catch the eye of another conference down the line.



Things are changing. Nothing is black and white.



At the risk of getting banned again for criticizing BYU fans - BYU fanbase and LDS Church constraints are the issue. The pluses of the fanbase are not sufficient to offset the perceived negatives of Church constraints and BYU TV demands re exposure and fan access.



I suppose BYU could become a team with a cult following or a following of fans rooting for us to lose and thus - maybe beer consumption by TV viewers goes up. But BYU fans need to quit whining and sell out that stadium every week no matter who is coming to town and demand an 85,000 seat expansion. Boosters need to buy up unsold tickets and give them to customers or youth groups. BYU boosters need to cough up the stadium money. And if they do - the fans need to fill the seats. Being the wife and kids.



Donors could fund and endow a medical school and more doctoral programs.



That should do it.



Then hope we do not become the next U or KU on the field.



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Mingjai wrote:

All Big XII teams are currently locked in with a 12-year Grant Of Rights (GOR). Even if the SEC wants WVU and the Big Ten wants Kansas, they're kinda screwed.

Exactly--I don't know where all this talk of the Pac 12 poaching UT, OU etc. comes from, because I sure haven't heard any of those rumors among midwest college football fans. If anything, the Big 12 will be a poacher this round.

Did that GOR ever get signed by everyone? Is it binding? It seems that every team that jumps Confrrences negotiates down the exit fees. Conferences do not seem to have an appetite for litigation.



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Cougarbib wrote:

Mars wrote:


All Big XII teams are currently locked in with a 12-year Grant Of Rights (GOR). Even if the SEC wants WVU and the Big Ten wants Kansas, they're kinda screwed.

Exactly--I don't know where all this talk of the Pac 12 poaching UT, OU etc. comes from, because I sure haven't heard any of those rumors among midwest college football fans. If anything, the Big 12 will be a poacher this round.

Did that GOR ever get signed by everyone? Is it binding? It seems that every team that jumps Confrrences negotiates down the exit fees. Conferences do not seem to have an appetite for litigation.



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If the debacle that is college football has taught me anything over the last few years, it is that ANYTHING is negotiable. If UT and OU want out of the b12 and into the pac10.2, they will find a way to make it happen.