Dissolve the MWC...

[westidahocougar]

OK I got the responses I figured I would on this thread, and I agree with some but disagree with others.

My main reasoning for posting is because I have to admit as a BYU fan that I feel like we have 2 conference games every season that are worth looking forward to. The rest are sleep inducing blowouts (and have been nearly forever).

I also think there is good football in the "Mountain West" region and to not capitalize on it and proactively take steps to become what we want to (AQ school, football power, in a great conference, etc., etc.) will in time actually destroy momentum created by the current MWC. At least that is what I want. Though the MWC provides some of that, we are still on the outside looking in, and the bottom 2/3 is crap, regardless of tradition, location, etc.

So here is my analysis of some of the discussion around this topic:

MWC has established brand name and reputation
Utah, BYU, and TCU have established this, everyone else is living off the big three. The reputation will follow the big three, regardless of conference name, brand image, etc.

Hawaii is too far
It is a long way, but if we want to argue that playing SDSU is crucial to fertile recruiting grounds, than how does that same argument not hold water for Hawaii. They are good, and would pose challenges every year. It is already a bitter rivalry. Why not play them in conference? We would also benefit greatly from the extra game every other year.

We would have no bowl games
Well, do we have great ones now? An autobid to the BCS would be a step up from where we are now (which would happen with this reorganized conference) and the other bowls would fall into place quickly.

MWC is already the 3rd best conference in the country
The top is great, but the bottom and middle are statistically keeping us at 7th, not 3rd.

Losing SDSU would hurt recruiting
Not sure about this. I lived in San Diego for years, and many other teams seem to recruit SoCal without playing SDSU every year. I would not be surprised if SDSU football died if the Chargers moved. No stadium, no funds, no fan support, etc. They may hopefully be on the upward trend, but trust me, only 12,000 people in San Diego care.

Fresno State would bring nothing to the table
They have some how captured quite a bit of media attention by winning big OOC games (though not in the last couple of years). They have a brand name, a reputation, and have consistently produced good NFL talent. They have a fan base, and are from another recruiting hotbed (northern california).

Tradition
How many of you really (honestly and truly) get really excited and pumped for our big games against Wyoming or New Mexico? How many of us road trip to these games? I could also ask the same about UNLV and SDSU, but since they at least have the beach and Vegas they are good locations, but bad football. I say break tradition and create new ones that in a year or two would be better than what we had.

Tulsa
I am not big on Tulsa. They did beat us a few years back, but they to Oklahoma as UVU is to BYU. Not a good fit.

Houston
Maybe. They really dont have a big share of the market on entertainment in Houston. They are also not consistently good. Maybe it would help recruiting, but who knows.

Nevada/UNLV
This was my pick...still very uneasy about this. Nevada has been good in football, but they dont have tons of support. UNLV is in the same situation, but they have not been good in football. Maybe these two should just play basketball.

Utah State
The more I think about this, the more I like it. Easy road trip, good rivalry, dont have to play them OOC every year. Somebody has to be last place....plus, playing in the fertile recruiting grounds of Logan every other year could only help us get better....

I really just think somebody needs to strike while the iron is hot and while the timing is correct to guarantee us an auto BCS bid while we have the opportunity. While both MWC and WAC seem to be benefitting from the non-AQ rule currently, it has yet to be seen if a one loss team has a chance of getting in the show. Becoming an AQ conference with better regular season games would make BYU football much more fun. Just my two, maybe three cents......

[hawkwing]

My main reasoning for posting is because I have to admit as a BYU fan that I feel like we have 2 conference games every season that are worth looking forward to. The rest are sleep inducing blowouts (and have been nearly forever).

This is the most amusing statement from a big WAC and BSU supporter. I appreciate you're a BYU fan too, but do you honestly believe that there is any less of this in the WAC than the MWC? I would dare say that if the 2 leagues were combined, the bottom half of the new conference would exclusively be WAC teams.

[Mars]

I would dare say that if the 2 leagues were combined, the bottom half of the new conference would exclusively be WAC teams.

Plus New Mexico (who lost to NMSU this season).

[snoscythe]

My main reasoning for posting is because I have to admit as a BYU fan that I feel like we have 2 conference games every season that are worth looking forward to. The rest are sleep inducing blowouts (and have been nearly forever).

This is the most amusing statement from a big WAC and BSU supporter. I appreciate you're a BYU fan too, but do you honestly believe that there is any less of this in the WAC than the MWC? I would dare say that if the 2 leagues were combined, the bottom half of the new conference would exclusively be WAC teams.

What's funny is, given recent history, I thought he was referring to Utah and UNM, given the fact that all other BYU MWC games have been "sleep-inducing blowouts" over the past two years.

[scott715]

Why not bring in Navy? good team and a military team to match AFA. The problem is that they are East coast. If Hawaii is a long distance why not Navy. New tv market and a national presence with their alumni.

Also what about SMU? they have been a nobody but this year they are in a bowl. With June Jones as coach they should get better. Also a religious name to match BYU and TCU.

[byutx]

BSU, Nevada yes
Fresno, Hawaii, heck no

[westidahocougar]

BSU, Nevada yes
Fresno, Hawaii, heck no

I actually heard today on the radio that the only three teams in the WAC that average over 30k attendance are Boise, Fresno, and Hawaii....

The more I think about Nevada the more I dislike them. Fresno and Hawaii both have good football tradition and are dedicated to football.

As far as being a BSU and WAC homer, I dont think I am out of line saying that as a BSU fan I do get bored with many conference games. I feel the same way about BYU's games too though. That was my whole reason for starting the thread.

Nothing to do with the WAC or BSU, just trying to improve BYU's situation, which could be improved by having a conference with teams historically and recently dedicated to winning football. That would make my BYU fan experience much much better than it is.

It would be great if we were in an AQ conference, and it isnt going to happen unless there is some reorganization, so why not do it right if you are going to do it at all......

[cougdoc]

My main reasoning for posting is because I have to admit as a BYU fan that I feel like we have 2 conference games every season that are worth looking forward to. The rest are sleep inducing blowouts (and have been nearly forever).

This is the most amusing statement from a big WAC and BSU supporter. I appreciate you're a BYU fan too, but do you honestly believe that there is any less of this in the WAC than the MWC? I would dare say that if the 2 leagues were combined, the bottom half of the new conference would exclusively be WAC teams.

I am also surprised by westidahocougar's sentiment. As I look around the AQ conferences over the past several years, it seems to me that teams who do not have a good number of "boring" conference games tend to finish near the bottom. Ask Texas fans or Cincinatti fans how many of their conference games this year have really gotten them excited. Probably about as many as interestered a lot of Cougar fans this year. Beating up on bad teams is the mark of every great team. Now if you want to criticize the number of NON-conference snoozers, that would be a different thing.

[Cougy_Monster]

Do you guys really think the MWC is the only conference with boring conference games?

Haven't any of you watched a Big-10 game this year?

Every conference has to have losers, and if we replace our current bottom feeders with good teams from the WAC, we'll just change the names of the bottom feeders.

However, I am in favor of any expansion or dissolution that results in a conference that mathematically qualifies as a BCS AQ conference.

[BroncoBot]

Do you guys really think the MWC is the only conference with boring conference games?

Haven't any of you watched a Big-10 game this year?

Every conference has to have losers, and if we replace our current bottom feeders with good teams from the WAC, we'll just change the names of the bottom feeders.

However, I am in favor of any expansion or dissolution that results in a conference that mathematically qualifies as a BCS AQ conference.

What are you talking about, you mean to tell me you found those Iowa, come from behind, need 4 turnovers in one quarter from the other team, games boring?

You're right, me too.