BYU: Be Careful Out There
A source told me not long ago that the night before Utah was approved by the Pac-10, there were a couple members of the conference’s Presidents Council that were wavering. But the vote went through the next day.
Late in the evening, Wednesday, Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson said he didn’t know what BYU’s plans were, saying only that at the moment, the Cougars were still in the conference. He directed inquiries to BYU. Of course, Thompson knew the Cougars weren’t talking.
Nevada and Fresno State officials confirmed that discussions to invite them into the Mountain West didn’t occur until Tuesday, and even then only on an exploratory basis. Nevada’s president Milt Glick said on Wednesday that the school had “a very casual inquiry yesterday (Tuesday)” with the MWC. Next day, the Wolfpack was in.
Things move fast when it comes to conference realignment.
While the prospect of BYU going independent in football is an exciting one for the Cougars, they should also proceed with caution. They learned as much on Wednesday, when word spread that they were going to join the WAC in sports besides football. Immediately, the MWC invited Fresno State and Nevada, thus undercutting BYU’s plan.
It’s dangerous out there.
The prevailing advice for all teams thinking of changing their status is to move quickly but carefully. Make sure all your bases are covered. BYU must have been a little surprised by the MWC’s aggressive raiding of the WAC. That left the Cougars the option to play in a watered-down conference in basketball and other sports, or look around for options.
As uncomfortable as things are right now, BYU does have the advantage of being marketable. If you’re Wyoming, New Mexico or Colorado State — or even more pointedly Idaho, Hawaii or New Mexico State — you’re twisting in the wind. You don’t have a lot of options and all you can do is wait it out and see what’s left. That has to be the most uncomfortable place to be.
Such is the state of college sports these days. The “haves” are playing their cards. The “have-nots” are trying to cover up until the storm passes. And decades-old associations are crumbling within hours.
And the sad part is, there’s not much they can do about it.