the big guys. What BSU accomplished in those bowl games is fantastic, and they really have accomplished a lot. But everybody still puts BSU in the "have-not" column of things, and BSU still brings in very little money compared with even the least of the P5 programs. BSU has no path to improving their situation. Perhaps they're satisfied where they are, or perhaps they wish they would be invited to a P5 conference. Either way, they aren't going anywhere. They're staying among the have-not G5 crowd indefinitely. Sure, they'll get to enjoy frequent NY6 games as the best program among the G5 gang, but that's their ceiling.

BYU, on the other hand, has already made inroads into being considered as a legit P5-type program. While we don't enjoy all of the money most P5 programs make (we actually do bring in as much as a few of the lesser P5 programs according to the most recently available info), we certainly bring in much more money than any G5 program. And that will help BYU compete in the upper-tier of college football. If no P5 invitation is forthcoming for BYU, BYU will just have to kick the door in by winning a bunch of games against some very tough schedules. Will it be easy? Nope. But the path is there.

So, I guess it comes down to program goals. Do we just want to play in NY6 games? Is that the ultimate goal? If so, then the AAC looks like a nice destination. On the other hand, if we want to be a legitimate P5-type program - to earn a seat at the grown-up table - then going back to a G5 conference is heading the wrong way. With independence, we don't necessarily need a P5 conference to earn our way to P5-type indie status (along the lines of what ND enjoys, although I certainly don't think we'll ever quite reach their level of income and/or participation in decision-making).