Our Cougars must get in a conference. It provides a framework and schedule worthy of recognition. It’s hard to win a conference championship and easy to get up for an occasional big game like Boise State.
all true, BYU should follow the BSU plan if they can’t get into a P5.
I don’t know. As an independent, we have played 9 games and are recognized by the real sharp sports analysts (not the ignorant bigoted CFP.
We may have only played 3 games if in a league and controlled by others.
Playing games is great but does it hurt our National image when we play patsies? The CFP committee is not impressed.
A conference is a sure path to post season bowls when we have a great team.
Cincinnati basically played patsies too. They beat an unranked UCF and we beat a ranked Boise. Yet, they didn’t fall 6 places. There was no reason except religious bigotry.
Blueinprovo: could you give us a concrete example of being in a better position by being in a non power 5 league? Please give us a list of the benefits BYU FB would get that type of arraignment.
I am not blueinprovo,
But even if BYU say went back to the MWC for example the benifits would be:
- They would have a championship to play for.
- Recruiting would be helped
- SOS would be more manageable.
- Usually most bowls games are tied to a conference.
- Scheduling games would become easier and the fact that we could focus our OCC games more on the big boys. Which is what Boise State has done to build their reputation.
Granted, being in a P5 conference would be optimum, but the problem is those P5 conferences are not allowing new schools in right now, and frankly I do not see it in the near future either.
And that’s assuming those things are benefits. We seem to be able to schedule P5’s just fine. Too many in my opinion. But, we do.
After this year, recruiting seems to be just fine. It’s the coaching that seems to be the challenge.
The scheduling is difficult this year because of COVID19. We are pretty well scheduled out for the foreseeable future.
The championship thing? Meh…
Hi Floyd!
Devils advocate on your list of good things that would come out of BYU being in a non P5 conference:
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Yes they would play a championship game. But that championship would not come with a big bowl tie-in. No G5 conferences have major bowl tie ins. And in the MWC example BYU would probably play BSU. We already play BSU on our Indy schedule. The only championship we want to play in is the CFP. Or a NY6 Bowl invite which would supersede any G5 conference bowl tie in anyway.
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I am just going to disagree with you on recruiting being helped by playing a G5 schedule. Our initial before Covid schedule was one that top recruits would come to BYU for. They get good teams to play, national tv exposure and BYU controls the re-broadcast rights for all games. The average G5 school earns about 1.3 million from TV and bowl money in a year. BYU earned about 8.8 million last year. This year if they don’t make a NY6 Bowl they will make about 6.3 million. If they get a NY6 bowl they will get about 10.5 mil.
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The SOS in G5 would be less than an Indy schedule. Not sure what more manageable means but the over all scheduling for Holmoe would be easier in a G5 conf than Indy. I give you that.
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Most bowls are tied to conferences but being tied to ESPN is better and the big bowls … which BYU wants in … aren’t tied to any conferences. They are only tied to teams who are good and win!
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If we play in a G5 like MWC or AAC we would have 10 or 11 conference games. There would be only 1 or 2 slots for a P5 team to fit in our schedule and the P5 conf would get almost all of the money from the game and it would go on their tv rights network. BYU would have no money or control of broadcast rights. Look at BSU’s original schedule this year … they play BYU and who else in the P5 arena??
Winning a conference isn’t all it is cracked up to be unless it is a P5 conf. So until we can get in P5 or until they do a realignment BYU is right where they need to be.
I would be up for a combo of some MWC and AAC teams to form a P5 type conference. Maybe we can get traction in that but BYU needs ESPN and the exposure and money more than cupcakes in the bottom half of the AAC and MWC. Only 5 out of 12 MWC teams have winning records and by the end of the season only 4 of 12 will.
The Indy money and TV rights outweigh any G5 conference IMO.
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I never said that… I said it would give the team something to play for because there is no way for them to get into the big bowl games. In past years, BYU would lose to some P5 school in the early season which means their tie in to a better bowl is now gone, with at least a championship game, they have some thing to play for besides playing the ladies of the poor schools which is usually the back end of the season games being independent.
So how did Boise State build their program as being a nationally recognized while playing in a G5 conference? BYU could do something like that as well. In fact, that is exactly how they built their national reputation.
I disagree, this year was the exception, but look at the last ten years of independence, our backend of the season has always been weak… With a conference, those lower level games (Like Troy, Northern Illinois) would be eliminated.
They tied into the CFP picture and too be honest, there is not way BYU is going to get into those bowls being independent.
I agree that being in a P5 conference is better, but I do not hold much hope that a P5 conference will actually allow BYU to join… Just look at the Big 12 and see what they did to BYU.
Outside of the this past year schedule, we are able to schedule one or two P5 teams. The whole month of November schedule is usually a joke. Power houses like Troy and Northern Illinois being played in that time frame.
I would answer that this way…BYU is not a G5. BYU has a top 5% capacity stadium, a top 40 basketball team, 2nd largest venue in college basketball in the Marriott. And a ROCK solid relationship with ESPN and airs its football games to more households throughout the world then any program in the USA (including Alabama, OSU etc…)
We hare having this special year because of ESPN…Our recruiting excels because of that relationship
Would we have that ESPN relationship if BYU were to run back to the MTN or ACC?
Now, will the CFP committee reconsider it’s verdict after all the condemnation from sports media? I don’t know. ISU plays Texas, would they jump BYU as well if Texas won? I don’t know. We have a million games between now and League championships are done. Who wins, who loses?
BYU is having a magical year and I will try to enjoy it and this crazy ride. Cheers.
David, I am replying here as I have no other means to communicate with you. I am responding to your statement that you are on SSDI because you are almost totally blind. Just wondering if you know that there is a special and specific blind benefit through regular Social Security. This blind benefit will very likely be more than you get through SSDI, substantially more so for my son anyway. I know of what I say as one of my kids was blinded at work and got the specific Soc. Sec. blind benefit. You do not have to be totally blind. I believe 20/200 or worse is pretty much automatic. I would strongly recommend you check it out. Have your opthomologist advocate for you. If I am out of line, I sincerely apologize.
I hate to agree with Thawk but he’s right on all counts.
I’m agreeing with Thawk and now Fish. About time you guys made it to the elite logic and reasoning club 
That is the one thing that drives this argument. INDY= BYU has to front end it’s schedule with ranked P5s, BYU gets too many injuries to key players with these physical games and loses to a couple of patsies and Cougarnation loses interest, then we think that BYU is just an average team…while top P5s play a couple of patsies then have one or two ranked teams in conference play but by in large stay healthy for that BIG PUSH at the end of the year. Puts BYU at a true disadvantage. Run back to a G5 and we lose ESPN.
Everyone remember that the the CFP was formed after BYU won the Title.
Kind of reminds me of that poor Wildebeest at the edge of the river that has lions chasing it on one side and Crocs in the river.
One more issue that highly favors BYU being Indy right now is the current situation. If we were in the MWC we would have been forbidden from playing games by the conference administrators! BYU has more resources and more potential donors then any MWC or AAC school. But our wagon would be tied to theirs! This might be the best season in the last 20 years and if we weren’t Indy we wouldn’t have it. Tons of exposure at the beginning of the season via ESPN and we probably had a hand in forcing the Big 10, PAC 12 and MWC into playing … they hated that everyone in the national media was pointing to BYU and saying that if BYU can play “why can’t we!”
The sports budget at BYU depends on the football revenues and the church likes the exposure so IMO we will stay Indy and try to get a better and better FB team … winning solves everything
Boise State built their program by winning! They were in the WAC and only played 1 P5 a year but they sprinkled in a Utah or TCU every once in awhile. They basically built their reputation by beating the 1 P5 team and winning the bowl game… which over 5-6 years became a bigger bowl game because they kept winning and stayed high in the rankings. They never finished higher than 4th though. Only 4 top 10 finishes over the last 21 years. But 10 top 25 finishes over the last 21 years. They just consistently won games. BYU is trying to get to the CFP and the fastest and best way to do that is go Indy and schedule 5 P5 teams, 3 decent G5 teams and 3 cupcakes. We have to win, period. Beating bad G5 teams will at best put us in the old BSU shoes which never got them where they wanted to be. To break through into the CFP will taking winning and winning against a higher number of P5 teams than BSU did.
Correct and currently Texas is winning at least at the half. BYU has all the assets-because of travel-basically we are limited to two conferences and the PAC12 will never lets us in
And the PAC 12 is the worst of the P5 conferences… fortunately for BYU! But they are under the financial pinch of poor leadership so they may reach out to BYU to fill games because no other P5 conf will take the bait of playing only at the PAC-12 home, no money payout, and the worst demand of all is that the game isn’t guaranteed up until 2 days before game time. Can you imagine a Big 10 or SEC team taking that deal?