Just like moving from the bloated 16-team WAC was the right move in 1998, getting out of the Hair Thompson-guided MWC would have been the right move in 2008. In 2008, BYU could have taken a good group of teams with them:

Boise
Fresno State
San Diego State
TCU
UNLV (yes, they suck in FB, but they have always been good in BB and every conference needs a bottom-feeder)
Utah
Houston (yes, Houston, to appease TCU)

This new conference would have been a strong football conference with only one really weak member (UNLV). "So what?" you say? Utah and TCU still left for the PAC10+2 and the Big12 in 2010.

I say, "So what?" At the same time this new conference was getting pillaged, so was the Big12 (MINUS Colorado, Nebraska, Missouri, aTm PLUS TCU, WVU) and the Big East/American (MINUS Louisville, Rutgers, Pitt, Syracuse). This new conference could have swallowed up the remaining BigEast football schools (Cincinnati, South Florida, UConn) and added UCF and East Carolina and invited either CSU or AFA to join.

Doing so would leave BYU in a conference like this:

West: Boise, BYU, CSU/AFA, Fresno State, SDSU, UNLV
East: Central Florida, Cincinnati, UConn, East Carolina, Houston, South Florida

In this conference BYU would still have four former BCS teams (Boise, UCF, Cincinnati, and UConn). BYU would still have maintained strong western rivalries. BYU would still be playing for a conference title every year. And, BYU would play across all four time zones, just like they do now, every year.

Skewer me if you want, but I (for one) am not a big fan of independence. Sure, Independence >>>> MWC. I get that. But, there were options on the table and BYU could have been more aggressive in 2008-2010 like they were in 1997-1998 when BYU spearheaded the formation of the MWC. BYU admins were too conservative and too in love with BYUtv. We, the fans, the FB team, and the BB team are all paying the price for it now.

Sure, BYU is now doing its best to make lemonade out of the lemons it was dealt. But, let's not forget one important fact: no one made BYU buy the lemons in the first place. It's like BYU bypassed the ribeye for a chopped steak because they were afraid the ribeye might have too much fat on it. Sure, the ribeye isn't a filet mignon (P5), but the conference outlined above (ribeye) will always be better than a sirloin (independence) or chopped steak (MWC).

Here's one other thought on this to end my rant. If BYU had done what I outlined above, there WOULD BE NO American Athletic Conference. The WAC would still have consolidated with MWC and still be as bad as it is today and CUSA and the MAC would still be right where they are. BYU would be in what would arguably be the 6th best conference, whose team would now be in the best position to get the NY6 bowl invite 9 out of every 10 years.

Okay, rant over.