"Now I ain’t sayin’ it’s right or it’s wrong, but maybe it’s the only way...Talk about your 'Revolution'. It’s Independence Day!" -Martina McBride
If you haven't heard the news, then you are probably the type of person who doesn't care about sports at all, and therefore wouldn't even be reading this blog entry in the first place. On Wednesday September 1st, 2010 BYU officially announced their plans to ditch the Mountain West Conference following the 2010-11 season, declare Independence in football, and join the West Coast Conference in all but three of their other sports.
Let Freedom Ring!
According to BYU Athletic Director Tom Holmoe and President Cecil Samuelson, BYU has been exploring the Independent option for a significant amount of time now. The fact that the choice was made NOW, only after the University of Utah had recently been invited into the Pacific 10 conference, leaves room for some skepticism as to how much BYU would have preferred to be in another conference rather than go Independent, but no one came calling to the Cougars, and so here we stand.
And personally, I love it!
I'll go ahead and break down the good, the bad, and the ugly of it all and tell you why, in the long run, I believe BYU will be much better off as a result of this move:
-Have No Fear, ESPN Is Here
Corvette Stingrays (feel free to substitute your dream car in place of mine) are beautiful, sexy, appealing and desirable vehicles. But without a working engine, all you can do is watch the car sit and gather dust. You can't take it around the block and show it off, causing the gutters to fill with your neighbors' drool. All you can do is hope that they will stop by your place for a visit, and then try and coax them into the garage for a peek at your baby.
But if you put the biggest, greatest, most reliable engine under the hood...well, that changes everything. All you have to do is rev it ever so slightly and watch necks break as they snap all of their attention in your direction.
That engine in this whole ordeal is ESPN.
The #1 perk of going Independent, and really, what made it even possible, is the contract agreement ESPN and BYU signed with each other. Here are the particulars:
-Over the next eight years, at least 3 BYU home football games will be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3, etc.)
-BYUtv can choose to broadcast any games ESPN does not, and will also have the rights to rebroadcast any game (originally on ESPN or not) immediately following the end of said game.
-ALL of BYU's football games will now be available on national television.
Why is ESPN the saving grace? Holmoe admitted in Wednesday's press conference that once the WAC deal (original plan was for BYU to join the WAC in all other sports before the Mountain West invited Fresno State and Nevada to join THAT conference) fell through, "we thought maybe we should wait a year or two and decide [on Independence] later." And then David Brown, ESPN Vice President of Programming, came calling, and persuaded BYU not to stand pat but to move forward, convincing Holmoe and Company that scheduling teams to play would not be a problem with ESPN's influence on board.
And so ESPN became BYU's wing man. You know, that buddy of yours that talks you into asking the cute girl at the party for her phone number rather than just staring at her all night and going home empty handed, wishing you were one of the "cool" guys (read: Utah and their Pac10 invite)who actually had the guts to talk to her.
-Bread and Water
At least for the next couple of years, BYU will indeed experience some growing pains as this decision begins to take root. The WCC is a very good fit for most of the school's other sports, particularly men's basketball as they will face St. Mary's and Gonzaga every year. But there are still three sports that will be lost if they cannot find homes elsewhere: Softball, Track and Field, and Swimming and Diving. While none of these are a cash cow by any means to BYU, they are sports that have storied success in their histories, and LDS athletes who would enroll at BYU to participate in them will now likely choose a different school to attend.
Another hitch in the new plan is the fact that in the 2011-12, 2012-13 football seasons, BYU has made deals with 5 WAC schools to help fill the Cougars' schedule those years. This means that, at least for now, BYU is trading laughable opponents such as Wyoming and New Mexico for the less than stellar likes of Louisana Tech, New Mexico State and Idaho to name a few. There will be trips to sunny Hawai'i to play the Warriors, but other than that there is no draw for Alma Mater's to travel and see the football team play on the road, nor will the turnstiles at LaVell Edwards Stadium be in need of replacing every year due to overuse.
However, while none of that is very attractive, BYU does have the end result of this project to look forward to, and that's when it will get REALLY good.
-Milk and Honey
The decision to go Independent, while not as good as, say, an invite to the Big12 would have been, is the best option currently available for BYU.
-ESPN and ESPN2 are available in 99.5 million homes, while ESPNU is available in 73 million homes nationwide itself. Add BYUtv's 55 million homes in JUST the United States, and that's A LOT of exposure you weren't getting with The Mountain TV channel. BYU has just gone from the "Roadshow" to "THE Show".
Also, BYU's biggest goal has always been to use their sports as a way to get the LDS church into homes that may have otherwise rejected their message. Obviously, when you add ESPN's audiences to the mix, you are opening yourself up to opportunities that would have otherwise not been available. Not to mention the major deals you'll see happen with Notre Dame, Texas, Clemson, Texas Tech, etc. When BYU rolls into town regularly against those teams, people will take note and become curious about BYU, thus becoming more familiar with the school and consequently the LDS church.
-The West Coast Conference offers a wonderful spot for BYU to place their other sports, especially men's basketball. With the likes of Gonzaga, St. Mary's and San Diego, Dave Rose's team should be able to gain as much, if not more, respect and competition as they've had in the MWC.
The WCC also offers 8 other private institutions who are backed by Christian churches, just like BYU. The schedules will be redone so that BYU won't have to play on Sunday, and they will be able to accomplish the school's mission of being a missionary tool in the LDS church's hands in both exposure and recruitment. (Not to mention, Holmoe noted that 58% of BYU's alumni lives in the West Coast Conference's cities) And as far as traveling to road games is concerned, who doesn't want to go to the west coast during the dead of winter in Provo? I am thinking these two factors will lead to a lot of blue and white being in the crowds at ALL games BYU plays in, both home AND away.
-And finally, with greater risk comes the chance of greater reward. While Holmoe denied that this decision had much to do with monetary gain, logic begs to differ. By jumping the MWC ship and getting their own broadcasting system in place, partnered with juggernaut ESPN, BYU undoubtedly is in control of their own destiny money-wise. The risk: Football Independence could fail, and leave BYU worse off than they were with the MWC. The reward (and most likely outcome): More money, more exposure, more missionary opportunities.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
As you enter the gates at BYU, there is a large sign that reads: "The World Is Our Campus."
Ironic (or convenient), then, that ESPN's motto is: "The World Wide Leader In Sports."
World domination seems to be a common goal for both entities; and as long as this blue marble in the sky has enough room for both of them, I believe "Independence Day" will be a much celebrated day in Cougar Nation for years and years yet to come.
And that's the bottom line.
Austin's Sports Blog (the one place where he is ALWAYS right)
