http://www.statesman.com/news/sports/college-football/strengthening-will-be-key-to-big-12s-long-term-sur/nnNBX/


"...BYU is a no-brainer. I think we all can agree on that...."

"...But you can’t sacrifice brand for geography. That’s why West Virginia worked...But West Virginia football is a national brand that trumps convenience. Same with BYU and Boise State..."

"...The Big 12’s academic standing has taken a hit with the loss of Texas A&M, Nebraska, Missouri and Colorado. There are many schools that would enhance the Big 12’s academic reputation; alas, their football also would hasten the league’s demise...BYU is a prestigious university. Some in academia will not promote the attributes of BYU, but that’s mostly politics. Brigham Young by virtually any measure is an outstanding school..."

"...Cougars have a reputation of being hard to deal with from their Mountain West days. If true, I don’t see the problem. Texas is hard to deal with. OU, to a lesser extent..."

"...BYU also doesn’t compete on Sundays, and that’s non-negotiable, so don’t even try. Personally, I think it’s charming. Brigham Young tells the world that some things are not for sale. When did a little integrity ever hurt a conference?..."

The television section was most interesting too!

I was glad the author brought up the fact that by adding two teams, their number of conferences games moves from 45 to 54 games - as he puts it, "the payoff comes weekly."

In addition, he mentioned what has already been discussed: going head to head with the PAC 10 1/2's evening time slot by adding BYU and Boise with games scheduled to start at perhaps 8:00 Mountain time.

He points out, which I didn't know that the Big 12 is contracted through ESPN and Fox to provide four Thursday night games a year. OU refuses to play on Thursday! Well guess what? BYU and Boise both play on Thursday's and Friday's. This year between the two of them, they will play five non-Saturday games.

Go Cougars!!!!!!