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Brigham Young University will leave the Mountain West Conference, go independent in football and rejoin the Western Athletic Conference in all non-football sports beginning in the fall of 2011, The Salt Lake Tribune confirmed Wednesday morning.

According to a source in the WAC office, BYU will seek final approval for the moves from its owner, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, either today or Thursday. Pending approval, a press conference is planned for early next week. But because of media reports that broke late Tuesday night, that timetable may change.

“In light of the media leaks, it may be expedited a bit,” the source told The Tribune.

BYU’s move to leave the MWC, become a football independent and rejoin the WAC — which it belonged to for nearly four decades before departing with Utah and six other schools to joint the Mountain West — has been in the works for the past month, according to the source.

BYU declined to confirm reports of the pending move. School officials are aware of “the ton of rumors flying around out there,” BYU associate athletic director Duff Tittle said Wednesday morning, but that doesn’t mean the reports have validity regarding the school’s future in the Mountain West Conference.

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Just recently, it is being reported on ESPN and multiple other outlets that
Nevada and Fresno State have accepted invitations to join the Mountain West
Conference.

Utah St. Athletic Director, Scott Barnes. Apparently, before Fresno St. and Nevada received invitations from the Mountain West, Utah St. got the first and quickly rejected it. In their eyes, they assumed they'd be strong with 8 members and BYU joining for non-football sports. Utah St. never considered that other WAC schools would take the invitation.

Ouch.

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Thompson bested BYU.

I love it. CSU needs all the help they can get, keep getting rid of good teams.

A thunderous summer of off-the-field news continues …

* We’ll hear more about this in the next 24 hours, but clearly BYU found a way to put together a football schedule for 2011 without the ready-made inventory of WAC games that had been lined up before Fresno State and Nevada blew town.

That was a huge obstacle, perhaps the biggest, in the drive for independence. My guess is that BYU fans won’t be thrilled with the ‘11 schedule, or even the ‘12 lineup. But there simply aren’t many options — most schools are booked solid for several years.

But I’d also guess that BYU fans will love the schedules starting in ‘13 or ‘14, when teams from AQ conferences have open dates to fill and ESPN can broker as many games as it pleases.


* BYU fans don’t want to hear it, and they don’t agree with it, but I’ve said all along that ego was the prime motivator behind the push for football independence, and nothing has made me think otherwise.

Put it this way: Would the Cougars really have gone independent, and put 11 teams in the WCC, if Utah hadn’t bolted for the Pac-10? No. Chance.

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No financial terms have been disclosed, but it's a good bet that ESPN got a deal on a growing power with a national following while BYU got a bigger slice of TV revenue that its previous deal provided.

That's only part of BYU's great day, though: The school also announced a six-game series with Notre Dame that will run through 2020.

For a school that has been arguably the second-best football team in its state for the latter half of the last decade, this is a haul. And because football is still the tail that wags the dog, BYU's non-gridiron programs might also see a surge in cash if the partnership with ESPN proves fruitful.

It's probably a path other schools can't follow—just as Notre Dame leveraged its appeal among Catholics before it, BYU's unique position as a representative of the Church of Latter-Day Saints probably helped secure this deal—but it's certainly one that looks to be the right road at this moment.

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WAC to Begin Looking for New Teams as Membership Committee Established

DENVER – Western Athletic Conference Commissioner Karl Benson has announced the establishment of a membership committee as the league looks to expand following the 2011-12 season.
The commitee, which consists of the Directors of Athletics from Hawai‘i, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, San Jose State and Utah State, will begin to identify and evaluate potential members that are located within the WAC “footprint”.

“I’m confident that there are teams that will add value to the WAC in the future,” stated Benson. “History has shown that teams that have joined the WAC have provided immediate benefits to the league, and have themselves, become better programs in a short time.”

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The Western Athletic Conference and Brigham Young University have entered into a scheduling agreement as announced today by WAC Commissioner Karl Benson. With BYU declaring that it will be an independent in the sport of football effective with the 2011 season, five WAC teams – Hawai‘i, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State and San Jose State – will provide the Cougars with five games in the 2011 season and four games in the 2012 season.

For the 2011 season, WAC schools will host two games against BYU, while three teams will travel to Provo. In 2012, BYU will play two games in WAC stadiums and host two WAC teams in Provo. Specific opponents and dates will be announced in the future.

Utah State has elected not to participate in the agreement as they are completing an existing three-game contract with BYU that will take the two schools through the 2012 season.

As another part of the scheduling agreement, Idaho and BYU have also arranged a home-and-home men’s basketball series over two years starting in 2011-12.

BYU, Texas agree to home-and-home series

PROVO — Brigham Young University and the University of Texas today announced the two schools have agreed to a home-and-home football series for the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

Two of college football’s most successful programs over the past four seasons, the Cougars and Longhorns are scheduled to meet in 2013 at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, and again in 2014 at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.

“We are excited to announce this series with Texas,” said BYU Director of Athletics Tom Holmoe. “We are always looking for opportunities to schedule storied football programs like the Longhorns. I'm really excited for our coaches, our players and the rest of Cougar Nation to have Texas visit LaVell Edwards Stadium.”

The addition of the two-game series creates three future matchups between the Cougars and Longhorns. The two schools are already slated to face each other in Austin on Sept. 10, 2011.

BYU and Texas are two of only five programs nationally to win 10 or more games each of the past four seasons. BYU is 43-9 over the last four years while Texas has achieved a 45-8 mark over the same span. Ohio State, Boise State and Virginia Tech are the only other teams with double-digit victories each of the last four seasons.

BYU holds a 2-0 advantage against Texas with wins in 1987 and 1988. The Cougars earned a 22-17 victory in the inaugural meeting in Austin on Sept. 12, 1987. BYU won the last contest on Sept. 8, 1988, earning a 47-6 home victory in Provo under Hall of Fame coach LaVell Edwards.

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Doesn't look like BYU is struggling to put together schedules. Love 'em or hate 'em, I'm thinking BYU made the right move on football independence. It's not a path for everyone, and it may not lead to gridiron success, but there's no denying that for some, it can be financially very successful.

I'd consider myself a Griz fan First and a football fan second so I like what both Utah and BYU did. It just means I can go watch some games locally now and see better teams. I'll go watch a game anywhere in the state when I can find a cheap enough ticket

GannonFan wrote:Doesn't look like BYU is struggling to put together schedules. Love 'em or hate 'em, I'm thinking BYU made the right move on football independence. It's not a path for everyone, and it may not lead to gridiron success, but there's no denying that for some, it can be financially very successful.

Yep.


While some won't like anything that BYU, because of their religious backing, I think this is a great move for them. If they can work a deal similar to that of Notre Dame in terms of getting into the BCS this is a big win for them.

UNI31f wrote:

GannonFan wrote:Doesn't look like BYU is struggling to put together schedules. Love 'em or hate 'em, I'm thinking BYU made the right move on football independence. It's not a path for everyone, and it may not lead to gridiron success, but there's no denying that for some, it can be financially very successful.

Yep.


While some won't like anything that BYU, because of their religious backing, I think this is a great move for them. If they can work a deal similar to that of Notre Dame in terms of getting into the BCS this is a big win for them.

I still really like the fact that there will be a lot of different teams now playing where I can watch them live. Utah and BYU's stadiums are both great venues and now I'll get to see some new faces in them. I bear allegiance to neither but appreciate good football.

BYU, UCF Agree to Home-and-Home Football Series

PROVO, Utah (Sept. 3, 2010) — Brigham Young University and the University of Central Florida today announced the two schools have agreed to a home-and-home football series for the 2011 and 2014 seasons.

The series with UCF starts with a home game at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Sept. 23, 2011, with the Cougars making the return trip to Orlando and Bright House Networks Stadium on Sept. 6, 2014.

“We are pleased to announce this series with Central Florida,” said BYU Director of Athletics Tom Holmoe. “With our recent move to independence we are looking to fill our schedule with quality home opponents and opportunities for our fans to see us play in different venues around the country. This series is a great fit for BYU.”

The Cougars and the Knights have never met before in football. BYU has played in the Orlando area twice, matching up against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 1985 Florida Citrus Bowl, and the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the 1976 Tangerine Bowl.

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