Rant time.
There was a time whenever the expansion topic would pop up on the boards I'd mostly ignore it because all it seemed to be was a bunch of no nothings trying to read the tea leaves. And, frankly, it still seems that way to a large degree. One insider tweets about his source. A day later, another insiders source says the opposite. And then everyone on the forums attempts to decipher it all. Meanwhile, all those old farts in the Big 12 who will actually make the decision don't do anything. And I'm still not convinced they will this time around, though it seems fairly obvious that continual delay only hurts conference as a whole.
It doesn't seem to be rocket science to me. The Big 12 has to expand to keep up with the other P5 conferences. Sticking with 10 teams indefinitely isn't a viable plan. It doesn't need to have 14 teams tomorrow but needs to add at least 2 to get 12 teams. Yeah, I'm obviously biased, but the candidates that make the most sense are BYU and Houston. Rice and SMU? Small potatoes who really bring nothing to the table. Maybe the Florida schools would bring a little more, in terms of recruiting, but the geography makes no sense. Too far away. And UConn is even farther. Cincinnati makes a little more sense geographically but still doesn't seem to be as attractive as BYU or Houston. Meanwhile we have the Texas schools squabbling over Houston. And more recently we have this ridiculous nonsense about BYU "having baggage" because of the Honor Code and "discrimination" against LGBTs.
Here's my question, has anyone other than those Iowa students with nothing better to do actually used this as an objection against BYU? Because that's where it all seemed to have started and it only seemed to snowball from there with what looked to me like a lot of assumptions about it being a deal breaker for BYU.
The issue has also reminded me, yet again, why I loathe Cougarboard. At first I thought it was simply a case of some of those guys wanting a Big 12 invite so bad they'd pimp out their own daughters. But, reading the comments, it's painfully obvious some of them genuinely don't agree with the Honor Code and that disagreement seems to grow out of an even more fundamental disagreement with Church doctrine. At least more than a few of them seem entirely too comfortable with altering the Honor Code to satisfy LGBT groups and their supporters. As if those types will ever be satisfied. And as if satisfying those groups (ie the world) is BYU's job, or by extension, what the Church is all about. "Discrimination" is the continual buzzword by folks who seem to have forgotten the Lord does discriminate. The Gospel does discriminate. Yes, all are invited but on the Lord's terms. There was one clown who argued BYU may as well change the Honor Code to allow homosexual expressions of affection because it "happens anyway." As if, just because something might be happening, the University should give its stamp of approval. This is the kind of idiocy I read on that board that makes me want to pull my hair out and is a sad reminder the Utes don't have a total lock on stupidity.
Anyway, a big reason I root for BYU is because what it stands for and the Institution it's associated with. If I just wanted to root for any college that fits nicely into the ways of the world, I'd root for Utah, who was considered by all to be a nice addition to the liberal, secular, anti-religious PAC 12. I don't believe the powers that be will sell the University out for a mess of pottage in the form of a Big 12 invite. The LGBT issue should be as non-debatable as not playing on Sunday. I'd like to join the Big 12 but, if that does end up being a deal breaker, I'm more than happy to stay independent or explore other options.
Rant over.
