U. now on "correct" side of dividing line

There are numerous concerns for the University of Utah in its first year in the Pac-12. But being in the wrong conference isn’t one of them.

At an informal gathering with selected media members on Wednesday, athletics director Chris Hill said he has long seen a “line in the sand” coming. He said the line would divide the big budget universities from the others.

“We are now on the correct side of that line,” he said.

He went on to say there’s “going to be another” line in the sand which will eliminate certain teams from non-AQ conferences. He didn’t mention names but everyone knows the endangered schools (read: anybody in a mid-major conference.)

Hill admitted his perspective has changed since Utah was accepted into the Pac-12. He used to tell his colleagues from automatic qualifying conferences that they were “on the dark side.” But not anymore.

Asked if he favors a playoff, Hill said, “Not so much a playoff as the fact that if you win your conference, you should have a chance to play at the highest level.”

Hill also addressed scheduling, saying with nine conference games, Utah would play three non-conference contests. “You need to play one good team” and two other teams “that you think you can beat, because our league is so tough.”

He didn’t directly address scheduling with BYU but said the Cougars are “a really good team and fit into that category” of good teams he wants to schedule as often as possible.