A More Civil Rivalry
A lot of people seem to have tired of the vitriol in the BYU-Utah rivalry, so maybe this change in directions will be a good thing.
With Utah moving next year to the Pac-12 and BYU going independent, the universities announced last week that they will continue playing one another in football through 2012 and in basketball through 2014.
But what stuck out in the announcement, to me, was the sense that the universities might actually not be taking one another so much for granted. Both issued statements speaking of the importance of the rivalry. And both had to compromise to make the game happen.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700071799/Utah-BYU-football-Utes-Cougars-agree-to-home-and-home-series.html
In the past, they knew they’d play one another every year, no matter what. Now it’s not a guarantee.
CHRIS HILL
I’ve talked to some fans who feel the fact they won’t be playing for conference championships might tone the rivalry down a bit. Under the old system, fans would build toward the annual November game all year-round. Now they will realistically only concentrate on the rivalry game for a week in September.
I figure the series will continue at a pretty high level. If either team were to win those first two football games in 2011 and 2012, bragging rights could be significant. But now that they aren’t in the same conference, it’s not likely to be as personal.
Does that mean a truly civil rivalry?That might be a bit lofty. Is there really such a thing as a civil rivalry?
But it could well become more so, which is a worthy goal.
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Utah director of athletics Dr. Chris Hill met with a dozen or so media members, last year at this time, in a sort of state of the U. luncheon.
Most of the discussion was regarding the Mountain West and admission into a BCS bowl. But Hill did mention something that still intrigues me. He didn’t deny interest in the Pac-10. The Utes were working on it, though he wasn’t saying much about it.
Hill plans to hold another such media session again today. Look for commentary and information on what he has to say this year in upcoming blogs.