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MWC expansion to 12? USU begging, BYU laughing

by Mars · 12/4/2010

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Mars


Hawaii and the MWC are officially in expansion discussions (football only). The Mountain West had representatives from Hawaii come to Denver this week to continue those discussions.



USU reps also came to Denver. The only difference is, they weren't invited. Sometimes you just gotta beg and hope that pity takes over.



Word on the street is that Houston and UTEP are also on the dialtone.



Oh, and where does BYU figure in? They already want us back in all of the Olympic sports, to balance out Hawaii. Good luck with that Craigothompson.





http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2010/12/01/utah-state-hawaii-making-case-for-mountain-west-conference-invi/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



" "Hawaii is not the only school that we're interested in and have had informal conversations with," SDSU president Stephen Weber told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "It's the first one that's gone far enough that we're willing to literally authorize the commissioner to begin to talk seriously... There is certainly some interest in getting to 12 if we could and contemplating perhaps a divisional setup where you'd have two six-team divisions... There's going to be a meeting in January... we'll probably be making some advances in nailing this stuff down... We might be in a position to know where we are with Hawaii, but beyond that I think we've got to figure out if we want to go to 12, whether we're prepared to see that as part of our agenda, and if we are, we've got to decide who that 12th team would be."



One theory floated by a source at a WAC school is that Hawaii would be a football-only MWC member and the conference would then attempt to persuade BYU to rejoin the MWC for its other sports while remaining an independent in football, thereby granting the Cougars the flexibility it craved in regards to scheduling and broadcasting.



Even if the MWC stays at nine, the WAC has a tenuous future at best as a football conference. There have been rumblings that Hawaii may follow BYU to football independence and San Jose State is thought to be on shaky ground, considering a drop to the FCS level or simply discontinuing the program like other Cal State schools Long Beach State and Cal State-Fullerton did almost 20 years ago. "
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gmj81
Haha, go screw yourselves MWC, Comcast and Craig Thompson. You can dwindle in mediocrity and poverty for all I care after the fury, disdain and backstabbing dealings that were unleashed upon the Cougars. We'll be perfectly happy in the WCC thank you very much.
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cscoug
gmj81 wrote:
Haha, go screw yourselves MWC, Comcast and Craig Thompson. You can dwindle in mediocrity and poverty for all I care after the fury, disdain and backstabbing dealings that were unleashed upon the Cougars. We'll be perfectly happy in the WCC thank you very much.


While Craig Thompson and the MWC are easy targets for assigning blame in BYU's decision, I really put it squarely at the feet of Comcast. They have consistently show a very adversarial approach to negotiating (see Versus a couple of years ago), hold the majority rights for the TV deal, and seemed to have overestimated their position with the mtn. Have you ever seen an owner do less to promote a new, potentially lucrative property? Think what Comcast could have done with the mtn had Utah, BYU, and TCU stayed, Boise joined, and the MWC became a qualified BCS conference.



Comcast whiffed there. Bad.
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Mars
cscoug wrote:
I really put it squarely at the feet of Comcast. They have consistently show a very adversarial approach to negotiating (see Versus a couple of years ago), hold the majority rights for the TV deal, and seemed to have overestimated their position with the mtn.

Big surprises in store, unless a person has been paying any attention at all:



Air Force's AD admits now that their TV partners will likely reduce payouts.



Even worse for the MWC, DirecTV is considering dropping the mtn., Vs., and CBS-CS in 2011...

http://www.fierceiptv.com/story/directv-tightens-programming-belt-keep-costs-down-will-dump-some-channels-2/2010-12-03" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Schmoe
cscoug wrote:
Haha, go screw yourselves MWC, Comcast and Craig Thompson. You can dwindle in mediocrity and poverty for all I care after the fury, disdain and backstabbing dealings that were unleashed upon the Cougars. We'll be perfectly happy in the WCC thank you very much.


While Craig Thompson and the MWC are easy targets for assigning blame in BYU's decision, I really put it squarely at the feet of Comcast. They have consistently show a very adversarial approach to negotiating (see Versus a couple of years ago), hold the majority rights for the TV deal, and seemed to have overestimated their position with the mtn. Have you ever seen an owner do less to promote a new, potentially lucrative property? Think what Comcast could have done with the mtn had Utah, BYU, and TCU stayed, Boise joined, and the MWC became a qualified BCS conference.



Comcast whiffed there. Bad.


Though Comcast has a big role in all this, Thompson has lied through his teeth time and time again and spit venom our way enough times that I would never consider rejoining anything he was a part of. Bad business deals can be fixed, bad blood can't.
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SpiffCoug
So the WAC isn't thrilled with adding Texas-San Antonio and Denver? I didn't see that coming.
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HoosierCougar
Mars wrote:
Air Force's AD admits now that their TV partners will likely reduce payouts.



Even worse for the MWC, DirecTV is considering dropping the mtn., Vs., and CBS-CS in 2011...

http://www.fierceiptv.com/story/directv-tightens-programming-belt-keep-costs-down-will-dump-some-channels-2/2010-12-03" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; [/color]


Ya think? As soon as the indi announcement was made, there was a palpable increase in DishNetwork ads in the Utah Market. It'll be interesting to see how much marketshare changes. BYUTV and ESPN are on both Dish and DirecTV. I have been talking to friends across the country that are planning to change their subscriptions for next year's football season. Especially those who felt they were opting for an inferior overall product to get the molehill.



As for all this talk about Craig Thompson, that name rings a bell. I googled the name and my internet filters alerted me that all the content was blocked by the idiocy function. I can't quite remember where I have heard of him before.



I have a sneaking suspicion that it's lost to memory somewhere between the first girl I broke up with becasue I it was clear she wanted to be with me for her purposes, but didn't care about me; and that kid I was forced to partner with in my Junior year (HS). You know, the one who couldn't be counted on to do anything to help the project, leaving me to do it all myself, then he still managed to screw me over when he ruined the presentation at the last minute by saying a bunch of stuff that wasn't relevant or accurate.



Anyway, I shan't spend more time worrying about where I know that name from.
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Guest
HoosierCougar wrote:
Air Force's AD admits now that their TV partners will likely reduce payouts.



Even worse for the MWC, DirecTV is considering dropping the mtn., Vs., and CBS-CS in 2011...

http://www.fierceiptv.com/story/directv-tightens-programming-belt-keep-costs-down-will-dump-some-channels-2/2010-12-03" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; [/color]


Ya think? As soon as the indi announcement was made, there was a palpable increase in DishNetwork ads in the Utah Market. It'll be interesting to see how much marketshare changes. BYUTV and ESPN are on both Dish and DirecTV. I have been talking to friends across the country that are planning to change their subscriptions for next year's football season. Especially those who felt they were opting for an inferior overall product to get the molehill.



As for all this talk about Craig Thompson, that name rings a bell. I googled the name and my internet filters alerted me that all the content was blocked by the idiocy function. I can't quite remember where I have heard of him before.



I have a sneaking suspicion that it's lost to memory somewhere between the first girl I broke up with becasue I it was clear she wanted to be with me for her purposes, but didn't care about me; and that kid I was forced to partner with in my Junior year (HS). You know, the one who couldn't be counted on to do anything to help the project, leaving me to do it all myself, then he still managed to screw me over when he ruined the presentation at the last minute by saying a bunch of stuff that wasn't relevant or accurate.



Anyway, I shan't spend more time worrying about where I know that name from.


Anyone that would change to Dish from DirecTV is a fool, in my book. But I'll be happy to see the mtn dropped from DirecTV and replaced with a better channel.
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CougarClaw
cscoug wrote:
Haha, go screw yourselves MWC, Comcast and Craig Thompson. You can dwindle in mediocrity and poverty for all I care after the fury, disdain and backstabbing dealings that were unleashed upon the Cougars. We'll be perfectly happy in the WCC thank you very much.


While Craig Thompson and the MWC are easy targets for assigning blame in BYU's decision, I really put it squarely at the feet of Comcast. They have consistently show a very adversarial approach to negotiating (see Versus a couple of years ago), hold the majority rights for the TV deal, and seemed to have overestimated their position with the mtn. Have you ever seen an owner do less to promote a new, potentially lucrative property? Think what Comcast could have done with the mtn had Utah, BYU, and TCU stayed, Boise joined, and the MWC became a qualified BCS conference.



Comcast whiffed there. Bad.


Comcast couldn't have kept Utah, but they could have kept BYU and therefore TCU and BSU. Now, the West is an absolute mess. I think ESPN has been paying attention to this mtn thing and realized exactly what you pointed out, that the mtn could have become dangerous. It simply hadn't because of ineptitude.



makes me wonder how much of ESPN's decision to pay so much for BYU was not because they wanted BYU but because they recognized they we were a grenade pin, that once removed could blow up what should have been a major competitor. Well, things are blowing up and it's not hard to see all these schools come crawling back to ESPN's open sympathetic, Tuesday-night gaming arms.



Nice work ESPN. There's more than one reason you're still the leader in Sports.
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SenorCougar
Under the Hair man's leadership, especially after trying to put the screws to BYU and having it backfire bigtime, the only question I have left is: Will the WAC and the Big Sky pass the MWC in prestige? If so, how sweet will that be.......



Good Bye MTN. Now I can dump DirecTV as well.........



Glory, Glory, Hallelujah..............
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cscoug
CougarClaw wrote:
gmj81 wrote:
Haha, go screw yourselves MWC, Comcast and Craig Thompson. You can dwindle in mediocrity and poverty for all I care after the fury, disdain and backstabbing dealings that were unleashed upon the Cougars. We'll be perfectly happy in the WCC thank you very much.


While Craig Thompson and the MWC are easy targets for assigning blame in BYU's decision, I really put it squarely at the feet of Comcast. They have consistently show a very adversarial approach to negotiating (see Versus a couple of years ago), hold the majority rights for the TV deal, and seemed to have overestimated their position with the mtn. Have you ever seen an owner do less to promote a new, potentially lucrative property? Think what Comcast could have done with the mtn had Utah, BYU, and TCU stayed, Boise joined, and the MWC became a qualified BCS conference.



Comcast whiffed there. Bad.


Comcast couldn't have kept Utah, but they could have kept BYU and therefore TCU and BSU. Now, the West is an absolute mess. I think ESPN has been paying attention to this mtn thing and realized exactly what you pointed out, that the mtn could have become dangerous. It simply hadn't because of ineptitude.



makes me wonder how much of ESPN's decision to pay so much for BYU was not because they wanted BYU but because they recognized they we were a grenade pin, that once removed could blow up what should have been a major competitor. Well, things are blowing up and it's not hard to see all these schools come crawling back to ESPN's open sympathetic, Tuesday-night gaming arms.



Nice work ESPN. There's more than one reason you're still the leader in Sports.


I have every confidence that ESPN used this situation to weaken a competitor, and it has turned out to be a great strategic decision on their part so far. The mtn is in big trouble, and the MWC may be forced to get out of their own TV station with which they have zero control.



However, I also believe ESPN's strategy goes even farther than taking down the mtn, they did this while preparing for their negotiations with the Pac-12. They needed legitimate leverage out west--the dissolved WAC does not provide it, the folding mtn now does not provide it (but maybe ESPN finds a way to land the MWC), but maybe a strong BYU program will help some. If not, now ESPN can lean on the Big 12 to expand if they find that a 10-conference league sans a conference championship in Jerry world is somehow less financially viable than presently constituted. (It doesn't take a genius to think the Big 12 might be underestimating the financial effects of their new changes.)
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cscoug
I have already dumped DirecTV. Has anybody else?
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Guest
cscoug wrote:
I have already dumped DirecTV. Has anybody else?

I still have it, and have no plans on dumping it.
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BroncoBot
cscoug wrote:
I have already dumped DirecTV. Has anybody else?

yeah, why dump it? I don't have cable or dish, just wondering why you haven't liked it.
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snoscythe
declocoug wrote:
I have already dumped DirecTV. Has anybody else?

yeah, why dump it? I don't have cable or dish, just wondering why you haven't liked it.


I absolutely LOVE the DVR that comes with Dish. Now that BYU will be off of the mtn, that alone might be enough reason for me to go back to Dish.
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Guest
snoscythe wrote:
cscoug wrote:
I have already dumped DirecTV. Has anybody else?

yeah, why dump it? I don't have cable or dish, just wondering why you haven't liked it.


I absolutely LOVE the DVR that comes with Dish. Now that BYU will be off of the mtn, that alone might be enough reason for me to go back to Dish.


I've heard that before, but I've always found the DirecTV DVR better, especially the newer one.
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Cougarbib
I have Cable due to being too lazy to figure out how to circumvent home owner association rules against dishes and to keep peace with my neighbors. I dumped my telephone service and went 100% mobile on that front. Now I have high speed Internet and cable TV including ESPN and BYU TV and Versus if I ever want to watch an epic CSU VS Wyoming - TIC rivalry TIC - game. One bill and reasonable cost and happier times ahead.



But I gotta tell you I really don't understand all of the need to hate amongst BYU fans. Do we really have that much of a need to try to feel good that we need to do it by beating down those we perceive to be less? Are we really that small? Wouldn't you rather be positive, build all of them up, prove we are even better than they are in their most positive light and focus on catching and passing those perceived by the world to be better than BYU?



The world already gets that BYU is better than anyone in the 2011 and beyond MWC except BSU and better than anyone that could possibly end up in the WAC if it survives. Love Thy Neighbors folks. So I suggest that we give BSU the respect they have earned until we beat them twice in a row.



Utah and TCU are goners from the MWC. We still play Utah who has earned a modicum of respect. Since moral victories do not count - let's give them the respect they have earned and beat them twice in a row.



I don't know when we will ever play TCU again, but if they manage to go undefeated traveling East regularly, maybe we give them the respect they have earned and beat them in our first BCS Bowl.



Even after these 5 wins - let's respect even these three teams and build them up and go prove that we are better than even them even in their brightest light.



BTW - right now we are not. But we can be. And yes - let's keep striving for our 2nd NC with smarter scheduling and better execution. We have some good horses to ride - ancy to get going but - in the stable.



Sorry - I just don't see the need to hate the underdogs fighting for the scraps that fall off the BCS table. The BCS is the enemy. The SEC is the enemy. The field is tilted and the card deck is loaded - but us little guys need to stick together, build each other up, and slay Goliath (SEC) and Satan (BCS).



Go Cougs



[ Post made via Mobile Device ] http://cougarcorner.com/images/mobile.png" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">
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Cougarbib
My Take - if you feel the need to HATE



Utah leaving the MWC is the biggest reason BYU left the MWC. Comcast is the only entity or person that had a prayer of keeping BYU in the MWC once Utah left. So if you really feel badly about being out of the MWC - and you feel a need to hate - hate Utah for accepting the PAC 10 invite and hate the PAC 10 for extending said invite. Hate the PAC 10 for not inviting us and hate the Big 12 for the same reason. Go ahead and hate the BCS generally for being evil (I reserve 100% of my hate for the BCS and am happy to see Utah and TCU bust it a little and BYU to get a glimmer of hope through independence).



Hair - no matter how bad his hair is - was powerless to get Comcast to do anything as were the entire body of MWC presidents (bad contract that even BYU signed several years ago). And when fools come on here and post how Hair screwed up by trying to screw BYU and ending up losing BYU. Hair had already lost BYU. BYU was gone. Hair took the one and only shot he possibly had of keeping BYU. It failed - almost worked - pissed several of you off - but he had no choice because BYU was gone even if he did not do it and the WAC was already cooking plans to finish unraveling the entire MWC. Either the MWC or the WAC or both had to die (because the evil BCS is going to keep picking off every decent program except BYU that emerges from the mid-majors). It was inevitable. So Hair saved the MWC before the WAC could destroy the MWC. And yes, the MWC passed up a probable chance to keep our other sports. Big whoopty do. That would not have bought them much. It is all about football.



Then fools come on here and post how the MWC is willing to give Hawaii football only but would not do that for BYU. Hello. BYU did not want football only in the MWC and thus, obviously, did not ask for it. The MWC would have given BYU football only in the MWC and still probably would. Who knows - maybe if UH comes football only, the MWC might even consider BYU as non-football in that scenario. Things change and the MWC has a constant battle to make something out of nothing - as does the WAC.



The changing college football landscape apparently is not big enough for the WAC and the MWC to both survive. One had to live and one had to die. It was an epic battle. You cannot fault the MWC or FSU, or UNR, or UH, or even USU or others if the opportunity comes, for fighting to survive another season.



And watch the following happen - BSU will continue to be BSU most years - maybe not next year - FSU, UNR, AFA, UH, or someone else will rise up to become the new Utah and the new BYU and the MWC will have a new top 3 that surprisingly start to do well in the polls - see UNR this year. It cannot be avoided unless the MWC keeps taking the BCS bait and overschedules themselves. And in the off chance that BYU Independence does not work out due to scheduling issues or a few more crappy seasons, why burn our bridges - the MWC could be that safe landing pad if we ever need it and the BCS continues to snub us.



Or the MWC and WAC remnants can be schedule fillers for an Independent BYU powerhouse.



I have posted the SEC formula for success many times on CC.



Buy the best coaches the minor leagues (mid-majors) can produce

Schedule 7 or 8 home games

Play 3-4 games Vs teams worse than SJSU(almost every SEC team schedules 3 FCS teams annually and most also get to play Vandy)

Never leave your time zone

Rarely leave your state

Throw in a neutral site here and there

Have the entire conference do this to make in-conference opponents look tougher than they are

Win one or two tough games per year

Help Cam Newton's dad launch an amazing expansion of his trucking business, if necessary to attract the right talent, and

Play for the NC - EVERY SINGLE YEAR for some conference member



Lose sight of that - with scheduling - and BYU will bask eternally in mediocrity



Go Cougs
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BigCougsFan
hawkwing wrote:
declocoug wrote:
I have already dumped DirecTV. Has anybody else?

yeah, why dump it? I don't have cable or dish, just wondering why you haven't liked it.


I absolutely LOVE the DVR that comes with Dish. Now that BYU will be off of the mtn, that alone might be enough reason for me to go back to Dish.


I've heard that before, but I've always found the DirecTV DVR better, especially the newer one.


I agree with Sno. Dish's DVR is awesome. I have DirecTV now, and I hate it. I much prefer Dish. Might have to rethink some things now.
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CAFB_04-12
Cougarbib2 wrote:
I have Cable due to being too lazy to figure out how to circumvent home owner association rules against dishes and to keep peace with my neighbors.

Here. I'll make it easy for you. Your HOA may not legally prevent you from placing a satellite dish less than one meter wide on your property. They may make you place it on the rear of your house for aesthetic purposes, but they can't blanket ban OTA antennas or satellites--not legal (disclaimer: but, I'm no lawyer). Link: http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Cougarbib2 wrote:
But I gotta tell you I really don't understand all of the need to hate amongst BYU fans. Do we really have that much of a need to try to feel good that we need to do it by beating down those we perceive to be less? Are we really that small? Wouldn't you rather be positive, build all of them up, prove we are even better than they are in their most positive light and focus on catching and passing those perceived by the world to be better than BYU?

I think of it more like disliking the neighbor that dislikes you for no reason.


Cougarbib2 wrote:
The world already gets that BYU is better than anyone in the 2011 and beyond MWC except BSU and better than anyone that could possibly end up in the WAC if it survives. Love Thy Neighbors folks. So I suggest that we give BSU the respect they have earned until we beat them twice in a row.

Agreed about Boise.


Cougarbib2 wrote:
Utah and TCU are goners from the MWC. We still play Utah who has earned a modicum of respect. Since moral victories do not count - let's give them the respect they have earned and beat them twice in a row.

Utah won a game by a single point after blocking a field goal. They did not, again, earn any respect. The last classy thing I ever saw in a BYU game from a Utah player was Eric Weddle congratulating John Beck.


Cougarbib2 wrote:
I don't know when we will ever play TCU again, but if they manage to go undefeated traveling East regularly, maybe we give them the respect they have earned and beat them in our first BCS Bowl.

TCU has earned my respect. Always and forever. Always...and...forever [sniff]


Cougarbib2 wrote:
Even after these 5 wins - let's respect even these three teams and build them up and go prove that we are better than even them even in their brightest light.



BTW - right now we are not. But we can be. And yes - let's keep striving for our 2nd NC with smarter scheduling and better execution. We have some good horses to ride - ancy to get going but - in the stable.



Sorry - I just don't see the need to hate the underdogs fighting for the scraps that fall off the BCS table. The BCS is the enemy. The SEC is the enemy. The field is tilted and the card deck is loaded - but us little guys need to stick together, build each other up, and slay Goliath (SEC) and Satan (BCS).



Go Cougs

BYU will never get into a BCS championship unless they are members of an AQ conference. TCU has had back to back undefeated seasons and didn't get the chance. Boise St has lost something like one game in the past three seasons and doesn't get a chance. No way an undefeated independent BYU gets a chance. It's not enough to have an undefeated season anymore. You have to have an undefeated season is one of the chosen conferences.
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