"BYU to the Big East is dead"

[brewcity77]

BYU not coming

I just saw this come across this morning. It looks like BYU will not be joining the Big East due to television rights. They want to retain rights to their football games, and apparently have their own television network as well (who knew?) in addition to an eight-year deal with ESPN as a football independent.

The first two replacements mentioned in the article were (of course) Temple and Memphis, but apparently that could be a sticking point with Boise State, who wants more western expansion, likely to reduce travel costs. It looks like San Diego State is the next likely target. SDSU is 954 miles from Boise, still a long trek, but far less than if Louisville (1,886 miles) were added to the proposed West half of the football slate.

If they have to go west with that last school, why not UNLV? They have a football program, are closer to Boise (628 miles) than San Diego is, and have a perennially good basketball team. SDSU's basketball is okay, but I'm not sold that they'll build a long-term program on par with UNLV.

[Tulsa Warrior]

UNLV might be a better fit than SDSU.  Other than gambling UNLV is the only game in town.  I still don't think BYU is dead.  The latest story sounds like negoiation to get the best deal possible.  Remember Texas has the Longhorn Network.  ESPN should be willing to cooperate to stay out of having executives have to testify under oath about the Cuse/Pitt situation.  We'll see a bunch of stories in the weeks and months ahead as this all plays out.

[GGGG]

UNLV might be a better fit than SDSU.  Other than gambling UNLV is the only game in town.  I still don't think BYU is dead.  The latest story sounds like negoiation to get the best deal possible.  Remember Texas has the Longhorn Network. 

But Texas isn't retaining television revenue for home conference games...which is what BYU wants.

Frankly, given some of the new BCS proposals out there, the BE is going to be screwed since there will likely be no such things as AQ conferences any longer.  Might as well just concentrate on basketball at this point.

[Aughnanure]

^This

Theres a reason why BYU to ____ Conference hasn't happened, they are too much to deal with and too demanding. I just wonder if not getting BYU makes Air Force sour on the deal, and hence Boise St.

[ringout]

^This

Theres a reason why BYU to ____ Conference hasn't happened, they are too much to deal with and too demanding. I just wonder if not getting BYU makes Air Force sour on the deal, and hence Boise St.

Isn't this a good thing for those of us who beleive that BE needs to focus on it's strength....Hoops?

[GGGG]

I wish I could find the article, but when they declared they were going independent in the summer 2010, it was more than about football and about money. 

The leadership at BYU and the LDS Church view the football program as an evangelical vehicle and a point of pride for LDS members.  And the LDS leadership these days is a little more, shall I say, "zealous" in its pursuit of converts that previous leaders were.

So if they make enough money from their television deal, and can get into a decent enough bowl game (which is pretty much assured given their fan-base) they are willing to go through the hassles of independence.

It honestly doesnt' surprise me that they turned the BE down.

[Buzz Williams' Spillproof Chiclets Cup]

Isn't this a good thing for those of us who beleive that BE needs to focus on it's strength....Hoops?

In the long term, yes, but lack of a quality conference on the football side of things makes it harder for schools like UConn and Louisville to stay put. Makes ACC and Big 12 more attractive.

The "Private School League" is a foregone conclusion in my mind. It's only an issue of how many years it takes to make it happen.