Hale said that BYU made a “quiet” presentation to the PAC 10, in the early 1990s. He prepared the documents for that pitch.
The presidents/chancellors were not persuaded; they were not interested in expansion.
Bateman did not become BYU president until 1996. He wasn’t around at the time BYU approached the PAC 10 (Lee was president) so he couldn’t have impacted the push to join.