Fish,
Sorry, but from what I can remember, We would be the least liked team in the MWC if we returned.
If we could go to a P5 conference, in Football only, (Pac 12 first choice), I would not resist the rest going back to the MWC or staying where they are now. I could not bare going back to a G5 conference in football. That smacks of being quitters.
This is just in terms of basketball for the moment. And the MWC is actually the 8th best conference in terms of BMI. The pac12 is 7th, the WCC is 13th. And if Gonzaga leaves for the MWC with BYU in tow, all of a sudden the MWC is far better than the WCC and comparable to the PAC.
I’d love to get an invite to a P5. But until then, the MWC gives us a better chance than the WCC without the zags.
I would say losing and money are the larger factors. Utah gives them our market. Colorado made more sense.
Floyd and Clausewitz,
Respectfully, please don’t cave into the feelers put out for us to see how we would react if we went back to the MWC.
Nobody has said that we were going back, but everyone seems to know that if there is no resistance to going back from the fan base, that would be the easiest thing to do. Please resist. G5 is mid-major. P-5 is significant. FCS is a bad joke.
If we want to be thought of as a significant team, we must look like, act like, win like, program like and be like a significant team. P5 teams each play a minimum of 9 P5 teams per season. The other 3 teams can not be FCS. They must be G5 or better.
There is no magical won that says once we are a P5 team, we will than be ready to play a full P5 schedule. We must be use to playing a p5 schedule with at least a 50% win record against those P5 teams if we are to be truly worthy of being chosen for a P5 conference in 2024.
If the zags leave, we can’t stay. We can go anywhere else but our basketball can not stay. If we can get into a better conference than the MWC, then so be it. But somebody has to say yes and on short notice there is only so much we can do to sell ourselves.
Dew and Rubicon,
I agree with you.
Craig Thompson does not like us and perhaps for good reason, the way we left.
Except for maybe UNLV, San Jose St and Fresno State, the teams of the MWC do not like us and again, perhaps for good reason.
The Desert News has it’s feelers out to see how the fan base would react if we went back to a G5 conference. Feelers are not new assignments but instead, to see how we would respond to new assignments. Now is the time to let those feelers know, that going back to a G5 conference is not an option for BYU Football. Let Basketball and Baseball and the other teams voice their own opinions, but we must let those feelers know that for Football, going back to any G5 conference is not an option.
Clausewitz,
I understand and somewhat agree with what your concerns are regarding the Zags. I would not be opposed to the basketball team and others to possibly go to to the MWC or other G5 conferences.
We have invested way too much time, effort, reputation, heart, and soul, to let our BYU Cougar Football team, give up the chance to try to be Significant.
We must remain Independent until such time as when we earn the respect to be chosen as a P5 football team. We have lots to do in such a short time.
No chance in the world until after 2024 P5 conference realignment should we consider going back to a G5 conference in football.
If we don’t make it into a P5 conference during the next relignment, than we can try for a very disappointing G5 conference. We can than say, we somewhat tried, we were not fully committed, but we did all we could do under the circumstances, so now we must accept the mid major status of not being good enough, or committed enough to be in a power conference.
Ok I can understand that position. I’d love to set ourselves up for the next round of realignments.
david Watts and dew,
Who ever came up with the idea that the MWC would give us the ability to join them without a contract and allow us to leave without penalty when the new contracts and Realignment comes up in 2024 and on top of all of that, allows us to use our own BYUtv without penalty for all of our home games???
Smoking grass is one of the unwritten no no’s in our Word of Wisdom.
Again, this is the attitude that so many of us have, that because we are BYU, everyone should give us special favors that nobody else gets.
Craig_Larimer, and dew,
Craig, you are falling into the (feelers trap). Unless you really don’t care if we are a significant football team or not, and unless you really don’t care that any G5 conference we join will label us as a Mid Major team and really not a significant P5 team, not even just for scheduling, than please don’t say anything that could be interpreted as being okay with going back to a G5 conference. That is falling into the (feelers trap).
On the other hand, if you just want to win games, and whom you play in order to win those games really doesn’t matter, than indeed, you have a right to your opinion. With tears in my eyes and a broken heart, I support you in your opinion.
I want my Cougars to be a significant team.
The main difference between the success and respect that Notre Dame has and the lack of success and respect that we now have, is commitment from the top. ND apparently has that commitment and we apparently do not.
Clausewitz,
I like your thinking. If we are not including football, as you contend that we are not, than I totally agree with you on all counts.
I also agree that time is of the essence.
I also agree that the lack of winning games and the lack of money commitment, and I would add, the lack of not having 9 P5 teams per season with none of the other 3 games being FCS teams, probably has more to do with lack of success than anything else that we may or may not be, politically, socially, or religiously.
TYLER HOPKINS AND CLAUSWITZ
I totally agree with each of you that the key variable is INVESTMENT !
ND fully invest in ND football and is fully committed to ND football and there is not a conference in the Nation that does not want them.
BYU only has a limited investment in football and only a limited commitment to it’s perfection and therefore, we only have a limited amount of success at the highest levels along with the limited respect,
OK Ron, whatever…Craig Thompson lied to BYU about BYU TV and the rights to air to cougar nation. Lied to us.
Ron - dew is my initials to David Watts but don’t like Mt DEW too much sweet caffeine 
Love Caffiene free Pepsi
I didn’t think right for contract as an example. As long BYU remain Football Independent we would still be playing those future games we already have “P5 and few others AAC, MWC, Liberty & etc.” If stay FB Ind. then it will get esier to fill those part Oct and all Nov games with MWC would be good rather playing like Idaho, NM State and UMass. If we join the mwc (football & all sports) then we would have to make a lot of football game changes and drop some games and pay those cancelation fees which are not good.
As for TV, we should have the same ESPN during home games just like Boise State. And it would be nice to have all those replays after those BYU home games. And hoping that MWC would allow BYUtv to broadcast away games when no tv are involve. MWC need to get rid of this their Premiums SN Sports Package on major cable company. I am one of those “Cut the Cord” dude. There is no time to watch cable tv in my family and too many garbage networks. Slingtv & Netflix are all I need.
You know, I am not an expert when comes to Legal stuff. I should have said nothing about contracts. If we do go back in all sports (yes including football - hope not) then fine with contract but we should leave anytime when realignment comes around (2025?) if invited to P5. If no P5, then you know those left overs from Big 12 will be in limbo and more likely would want to form a new conference - complile with MWC. CUSA and a few from Western US.
No Pot in my life which I do keep the Word of Wisdom. But I do Pottery
fish, Clauswitz, Craig_Larimer, dew, Rubicon, Floyd_Edwards,
I have been fighting for the existence of BYU Cougar Football as I had dreamed it could be, with a total commitment to the program. I have been the almost lone wolf in the wilderness with little to feed on.
I read an article, March 4th from the Mountain West Wire, that sounds to me like our joining the conference is already a done deal, but nobody is admitting at this time that it is a done deal.
Mountain West division for football.
Mountain———————————-West
Air Force————————————Boise State-
BYU——————————————Fresno State
Colorado State—————————-Hawaii
New Mexico———————————Nevada
New Mexico State————————-San Diego State
Utah State——————————— San Jose State
Wyoming————————————-UNLV
The reasons given for joining the MWC is that we will
have access to the Group of 5 at-large football bid;
Access to a New Years 6 Bowl;
Opportunity to win championships;
Ease in scheduling;
Is the MWC offering BYU an invitation to the MW and privately informing BYU that MW institutions will no longer schedule them for any sports unless they accept the offer?
Come on, don’t play with us. If it is a done deal, don’t send out feelers to see if this is what we want. Just tell us that it is a done deal. It sure sounds like it.
There is no mention of BYUtv.
There is no mention of ESPN Contract
There is no mention of our games vs. Arizona, Cal, Wisconsin, Washington, and Utah. This is 5 games with only 3 openings since the conference will consist of 9 conference games. (will exceptions be made to allow us to honor our commitment to the scheduled P5 teams?
We already have on schedule the MWC games vs. Utah St., Hawaii, Boise St. and New Mexico State.
Will exceptions to the rule be made to allow us to honor the MWC teams scheduled or will we change MWC teams to play, i.e. Colorado State instead of Hawaii; Air Force instead of Boise State;
The only cancellations would need to be vs. McNeese State,and UMASS, (A blessing)
This would not be a bad schedule for this yearl
I don’t have access to Tom Holmoe in any way and no word that BYU nor Gonzaga leaving the wcc to join mwc. Sorry pal. And I am sure other guys see that way too.
We will still be playing those Arizona, Wisconsin… Utah end of November (about time) for 2018. McNeese State are you kidding me? And as long that any mwc schools are rank higher than those other G5 will get the invite to NY6 Bowl.
Yup, Craig Thompson is a big bad wolf and a liar!
Ron,
I love your passion, but I will have to say you are off base…
You think hiring a high priced coach is going to bring glory back to BYU football and Basketball? That is NOT going to help BYU in either program.
The fact of the matter is that BYU Administration (assuming the BOT as well) has ratcheted up the academic standards for ALL students. Meaning that a lot of your coveted 4-5 star athletes CAN NOT COME to BYU because they do not meet the academic standards. It is so bad, that BYU can not even go to the JUCO level to bring in much needed experience to fill the holes we have. Why? because they do not meet the academic standards.
We do not need high priced coaches to turn things around. Lavell Edwards NEVER had a winning season in his 6 years of high school football. Was he a bad coach? what made Lavell great was his ability to find good assistant coaches who knew how to coach. Look at the coaches tree under Lavell.
Kalani/Holmoe biggest issue coming to BYU was that they hired “Former” players as coaches who had little to no coaching experience on the D-1 level and it showed in season 2. With Grimes coming in (20+ yrs) and some of the other coaches who all have at least 10 years experience coaching on a college level, you should see vast improvement.
The thing that surprised me is that lack of accountability the players had last year, Kalani spoke about it, noticed it and has changed the environment to make coaches and players accountable for what happens on the field.
As for going back to MWC in basketball, if BYU does move back in basketball, it will improve their RPI by just doing that. The competition is better, the crowds are better and more athletes will want to play in front of big crowds once again.
That may have something to do with Rose’s recruiting issues in the past.
dead on. MWC would bring BYU back in Basketball and Olympic sports only because Thompson is not going to cut off his nose just to be vengeful. BYU brings RPI way up everywhere and MWC is fighting for survival just as the AAC pulled in Houston and Memphis.
I actually agree that because of the LDS head coach restriction, we can make a bigger difference putting more money into assistants than the head coach. That said, Lavell was a lucky find.
That makes me feel better.
I don’t understand what you mean here?
Rose: Well young man we would like you come to BYU and play Basketball.
Recruit: Where do you play basketball
Rose: WCC
Recruit: Don’t those teams have small gym and less fans?
Rose: yea, but it would be like playing in a High School gym.
Recruit: yea, but no one in the NBA will ever see one of my games…
It has been reported on sports talk, that Rose has a hard time recruiting players because of the lack of exposure other conferences has.