i understand and nearly everyone associated with BYU would agree with you, especially the coaches who would like us to believe they make magic with fewer resources.

Gonzaga has a Catholic connection with scores of serious competitors even for those few athletes who wish to restrict their choices to Catholic institutions.

But Church membership is 400% bigger than 31 years ago when somehow BYU had enough athletic talent to win the national championship. Moreover, the exceptionally athletic Poly population have matured and black American members and black Brazilians and Africans have increased to a number that must be getting close to 1,000,000 (official number in 1997 was > 500,000). Like Poly's, we should see BYU student body move closer to that Church membership distribution in the coming decades.

Most of all, BYU is the top first choice institution in the nation! That reflects a passionate base more than any other stat. IOW, a higher percentage of applicants accepted by BYU enroll at BYU. No other institution is close.

The underdog status that many desire for BYU is justified by the persecution it suffers due to it's faith based system, which we know is repugnant to the the University Presidents in the PAC12. So we will likely stay in the WCC for a good while.

But BYU's base of athletes is among the top programs in the nation, imo. When they get coaches at the level of Nick Saban, Bear Bryant, LaVelle Edwards, Coach K, or John Wooden, BYU has the athletic base to play like a top 5 team and will not miss out on Jabaris or FJs

Repeat my support for coach Rose, a good but not first order coach, but absolutely brilliant at serving the larger purpose and making friends for BYU.

That is my view which could be wrong.