In this day and age of no loyalty and getting ahead at almost any cost, the Utah State Aggies stand out. It may have cost them dearly, but they gave their word and stood by it, unlike 2 of their fellow WAC members.
It appears that BYU had talked about joining the WAC, with the stipulation that the league remain the way it is today. The schools all agreed, and even signed a $5 million dollar penalty clause if they were to leave the conference. Well, the Mountain West Conference came calling, looking for teams to replace BYU if in fact the Cougars bolt. They asked Utah State first. A tempting offer to be sure, but the Aggies said no, they were sticking to their original promise. They would remain loyal to the WAC. They thought the other schools woudl do the sme. They were wrong.
Fresno State and Nevada both said they would leave the WAC and join the MWC. WAC commissioner Karl Benson was understandably bent. He thought the schools would stay and honor their committment. I'm sure there will be some legal haggling about the $5 million dollar buyout, but it looks like those 2 schools are willing to pony up the money and leave.
Utah State loses out. They could have gone to a bigger conference. But they took the higher path. Good for them. I hope they get rewarded for it with some good karma down the road. But they sent a powerful message, one their students should learn and one their alumni and supporters can be proud of.
