by others in this thread, it just seemed like the other answers were serious and you didn't like them... I thought you might be looking for a specific answer.

Assuming you're not a troll, here's my answer:

Geography is a real issue. We didn't get admitted to the pac 12 because of religious reasons.

The big 12 is open to inviting us, but not yet. They invited others first, we don't know why for sure but Bronco has said Sunday play was a factor.

What we do know is an invite hasn't come yet, though BYU wants it (we've heard).

I don't think BYU has done poorly with trying to get in, but I feel like they've done poorly with the PR side. By not being at least semi-transparent and controlling the story before others tell it, they've allowed others to speculate.

Some popular theories are that we played hardball and made the Big 12 walk away. Another is that we cared more about missionary work that we get through exposure than the football side. Neither are likely true, but because BYU hasn't told any sort of story, it allowed for such speculation.

The truth is probably that others were invited first because conferences had to move fast. As an independent, they could invite us at any time. There was a smaller window of opportunity for schools like TCU, even if we're worth more $$ than they are because we have a bigger fan base (not to mention bigger stadiums, better facilities, and a better football history).

In the end, the invite hasn't come, but it could and we look forward to that chance. ESPN seems to be slightly campaigning for us, because by all measures we deserve to be on the "in" crowd rather than with the Wyomings of college football.

Also, Tom Holmoe admitted that he did have talks with the big 12 a couple of years ago....