Utah to the PAC 10? Not BYU? It could happen

Updated: 2/09/2010 2:24 pm | Published: 2/08/2010 6:33 pm

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SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 Sports) - The University of Utah to the PAC 10? BYU to the Big 12?? It could happen.

This is all speculation...but sources are telling ABC 4 Sports that Utah will be invited to join the PAC 10 conference, but not BYU. The Cougars could wind up in the Big 12...or staying put in the MWC.

Several dominoes have to fall first, but here's how it could all play out...

The Big 10 wants to expand to a 12 team league..giving them a conference championship game in football, like the SEC and Big 12. Pittsburgh could be asked to join the Big 10..or possibly Rutgers.

The PAC 10 would then follow suit, and it would need to invite 2 schools, and it could be Utah and Colorado.

BYU would not be invited, primarily because they don't play on Sunday...and the PAC 10 has a lot of Sunday games. Officially, the PAC 10 would say Utah is a better fit, because it's a research institution and has a medical school, like most of the other PAC 10 schools...and BYU does not.

Again, this is all speculation, but the PAC 10 TV deal is about to expire, and a new TV partner would want the league to have a football championship game, which requires the league to have 12 teams.

According to Mercurynews.com reporter Jon Wilner's blog, PAC 10 commissioner Larry Scott said today, "We're looking at it very seriously. If we were ever going to look at expansion, this would be the logical time."

Utah and Colorado would be good fits for the PAC 10, giving the league exposure in 2 new, top 35 markets.

Utah would make that jump for several reasons, the 2 biggest being it would get them into a BCS conference, and it would be a huge boost for recruiting.

As for BYU, the Cougars could stay in the MWC, or accept an invitation to the Big 12 to fill Colorado's spot, although the Big 12 also has some Sunday competition.

If a team was to leave a conference, they would have to give a 1 year notice, so if a school was invited to join a new conference by June of 2010, it would play the 2010--2011 season in the old conference, then begin play in the new conference in the fall of 2011.

And again, if this happened, there would be more dominoes to fall. Would Boise State join the MWC...would Utah State be asked to join??? Would the MWC fall apart without Utah and BYU? It's all speculation, but once the dominos start falling, it could be very interesting.

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The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of ABC4

kasiki28 - 2/9/2010 8:52 PM

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Nothing against BYU but if things play out like the author says then wouldn't it make more sense to take TCU instead of BYU? Or would that put too many Texas schools in the Big 12? I like the way the MWC is and don't want to see it broken up but I wouldn't blame Utah if they left. The Mountain TV deal just sucks as far as exposure and production.

lezoave - 2/9/2010 7:11 PM

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I'd rather be in the Big XII than in the snobby PAC-10. Can he use the word "speculation" one more time in this story though?

stevest - 2/9/2010 6:18 PM

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This speculation is absurd. If the PAC-10 were to invite one Utah school, it would be BYU, and not Utah. BYU competes in more sports, has had a longer consistent history of success in those sports, has better facilities, greater attendance, and gets higher TV ratings than the utes. Not to mention the fact that BYU has a large following in the 4 states where the PAC-10 exists, while the utes have little or none. The chatter about Sunday play and research institution is nothing but camouflage for the bigger problem of religious bigotry. BYU is more competitive academically and ranks higher in most areas (medicine is the one noticeable exception). Even the upstart BYU law school is now ranked higher than the U's. If the PAC-10 chooses to expand it will almost certainly invite both schools to preserve the rivalry and the dual structure that exists with the other schools that are part of the conference. Utah alone would just become another Washington State--an inferior academic institution that cannot compete consistently with the rest of the conference.

Southerner - 2/9/2010 3:36 PM

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Whoa whoa whoa. I know you football meatheads can't look outside your own little globe but hopefully somebody out there realizes this is going to affect much more than the stupid game of football. There are many more athletes and many more sports in the NCAA than football. What about XC? The PAC-10 is arguably the toughest conference in the country. You just gonna throw the U of U's women's team into that ring? Swimming? I mean even basketball, for as big as it is hasn't received any attention on this issue. Please, meatheads, open your eyes for once.

bluehusky - 2/9/2010 3:28 PM

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PAC-10 schools have natural rivalries. BYU and Utah are natural rivals. Colorado has no natural in-state rival. Colorado also has little fan interest in the pacific west. I can't see CU moving into the PAC-10. BYU has a huge So Cal fan base - seemed like 25% of the Rose Bowl was packed with BYU fans for the last BYU-UCLA game. BYU is respected in the west and has good academic credentials. Utah usually ranks lower than BYU in the surveys, but is a decent school, on a par with some PAC-10 schools. The only problem I see is that BYU is a MORMON school. A religious school would be bad enough, but a MORMON school? In the VERY secular PAC-10? Ain't happening.

slate3440 - 2/9/2010 2:56 PM

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First of all let me stop a fallacy from being perpetuated. The Sunday play issue is so overblown it has gotten rediculous. All 10 BBall teams from the PAC 10 have a total of 29 Sunday games on their schedule for this season. Of the 29 games, only 12 are in conference. The traditional BBall schedule in the PAC 10 is Thursday-Saturday competition. Next, the idea that the PAC 10 is going to do what the PAC 10 wants, is silly. They will do what the TV execs tell them if they want a better TV contract. It was that attitude that helped them land the crappy TV deal they currently have. Cal can no longer afford to sit on a morale high horse. Because of budgetary issue for the State of California, funding for Cal is being decreased. Now more than ever they need a good TV deal. Where does everyone get this idea that Colorado even wants to leave the Big 12? I highly doubt the PAC 10 is going to get a better TV contract than the Big 12 has. I don't see any real pull for them to want to leave the Big 12 and head to the PAC 10. And Lastly, leave to a ute to try and run smack after losing to BYU for the 3rd time in 4 years. 2004 and 2008 were great years for the utes, but how did you do against your rival this year?

fiestaofsugar - 2/9/2010 12:45 PM

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My coworkers will tell you that I called the Sunday competition being a problem for BYU to move up. As for a national championship, there IS none. Go to the NCAA official website and find it for me. It is not there, nor is ANY Division I football team. All the NCAA can recognize is that BYU had a great, undefeated season, and beat a mediocre at best Pittsburgh team. The Utes did that, oh, and then they had 2008 too !

iWick82 - 2/9/2010 12:29 PM

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Should this speculation become reality, this would be bitter sweet. It could be the end of one of the nation's most intense and long standing rivalries. On the other hand, it would get both schools into BCS conferences and would surely strengthen both schools respective athletic programs in all sports. It may be a good thing to end the rivalry now though, as things seem to escalate more and more out of hand every year now. Perhaps each school would continue to try and keep some of they rivalry alive though by playing each other in a pre-conference game each year. Would be interesting to see how the MWC responded though. Just as they were gaining the momentum to capture a BCS bid in the next couple years. TCU will feel snubbed. The mtn would lose much of the market they've gained. Boise State and Utah State would most likely be invited to the MWC as their respective football and basketball powers could help to offset some of the strength the MWC would lose in Utah and BYU. The ripple effects would go far and wide for everyone though, for good and bad, that's for sure.

Utah fan - 2/9/2010 8:04 AM

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Wes meant no disrespect to BYU re: the "respectable research" comment. Wes is a BYU grad. He is just merely reporting the rationale that the PAC 10 would use to justify not selecting BYU. In reality it comes down to being available to play on Sunday. I would hope that the University of Utah would express the same concern re: playing on Sundays. Let the pros play on Sunday and leave the other days for college. From a business perspective, the PAC 10 wouldn't want to add BYU and Utah, they want to add schools from two different markets, not 2 schools from the same market. They want to increase exposure and their "net" for recruits etc. BYU is a very desireable university and will be a pillar in whatever conference they play in. I would miss the annual rivalry games between BYU and Utah. The key 4 words of Wes' article were: "This is all speculation". Go Utes! Go Cougars!

coog76 - 2/9/2010 6:16 AM

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The problem is the no Sunday competition rule. Otherwise BYU is a very attractive candidate for any conference. It has a great fan base via its connection to the LDS, and a great history including a national championship.

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