KingCoug wrote: ↑Wed Nov 22, 2017 9:55 pm
ABYUFAN wrote: ↑Wed Nov 22, 2017 4:46 pm
Dave Checketts is a moron if this quote is accurate:
"It feels like the decision to be independent clearly has not worked,” said Dave Checketts, a BYU alumnus and the former general manager of the Utah Jazz and president of the New York Knicks who has maintained close ties with BYU. “It feels like they need a conference, like it’s a necessity. It’s no secret it hurts them in every way. … They thought they would be invited into a conference sooner rather than later when they left the Mountain West. … What are their choices — go back to the Mountain West?”
Hurts BYU in "every way"? That is simply stupid. The only way that it has "hurt" BYU is that in this year of colossal suckage, every game has been on TV. Other than that, we've never been denied a Bowl that we were entitled to. Our Basketball program has actually been treated BETTER by the NCAA in seeding while in the WCC and we no longer have the MWC paying us less money and making stupid decisions that cost us money or micromanaging our program (like they did to BSU where they got to decide what football uniforms the team wore while playing at home) There are many many things that would be better in a P5 conference, but not one single thing would be improved by being in a G5 conference. Not one.
Agreed. We get diddly squat going back to the MWC. Unless you like living under the rule of Hair Thompson, playing Wyoming every year, hoping for a billionth MWC title (whoopee), and going to the Las Vegas Bowl.
Big 12>Independence>MWC
Its time for all of us to take a more objective look at things. The questions should be as follows: (1) Is BYU going to get an invite to a P5 conference; (2) If not, do the positives of independence outweigh the negatives; and (3) would a return to a G5 conference be good for BYU?
1. Let's be honest, a P5 invite is not coming. The Big 12 has looked at expansion three times now, and every time has come to the conclusion that the available teams don't give them any more than they have right now. The Big 12 is literally the only P5 option that would even let BYU into the conversation, and they are saying "no".
2. So with that in place, the positives of independence have been money, tv coverage, and a few more nice games against the P5. These are real benefits, and should not be rejected outright. I mean, BYU has a better TV package than the PAC-12 for the most part. And that package has resulted in revenues well above G5 levels. But these positives are starting to fade over time. The negatives are growing: irrelevance, a decided disadvantage in recruiting, front-loaded scheduling that leaves us wounded and out of any conversation by October, no bowl game contracts, and November scheduling that is simply abysmal. Is there anything about being independent that would lead anyone to believe that over time these negatives will be overcome? Honestly, no. And independence was always a reaction to Utah's PAC-12 invitation, not a choice we made. Had Utah not been invited to the PAC-12, we would have stayed in the MW, no question. So while independence has had some upside, that upside appears to be fading. The goal of independence was to get us closer to being a Notre Dame (not that BYU ever thought it could get to that level), but we are now starting to see us fading to being closer to a UMass.
3. Does it then follow that we should go back to a G5 conference? If there was another option, I would say yes. But there is not one. As I have thought about this, more and more, I want BYU to step up and say "We are BYU, this is who we are, and we like who we are. We are no longer going to let our actions be dictated by what Utah does, nor what the current structure of College Football is selling." Why have football if it is going to be irrelevant? I think joining a G5 conference (MW or AAC) makes sense. You complain about playing Wyoming every year? So you would rather play UMass and Liberty yearly? No. We have shown we can still fill a stadium a full 1/3 larger than Utah when we play New Mexico, SDSU, Utah State, Boise State. Yes a few of the games are less attractive, but no less so than the UMass, East Carolina, Portland State, Hawaii portion of this year's schedule, or the McNeese State, Hawaii, New Mexico State, UMass set from 2018.
Maybe another way to talk about it is this way: As an independent, will we ever make in in to the playoff or a New Year's Bowl game? Answer, it is really, really, unlikely. But as a G5, other schools have had this opportunity.
Its time to get back where we need to be.