tl;dr It's great to see the majority of your fans have grown up.


With the help of statements coming from folks like Jake Murphy et al., we are seeing more and more Ute fans coming out publicly hoping that BYU gets into the Big 12. They see what that will do for the state, the amazing matchups that will take place 45 miles apart on a weekly basis, the final recognition of two great programs.

And it took the last five years for Utah fans to get here. You see, you've grown up.

No longer are you that petulant, annoying little brother measuring everything you do against what we have done. No, you've established your own highs and lows. You've got your own benchmarks to measure yourself against. Can you be better than '04, '08, '15? You don't need to give '84, '96, '01, '06, '09 any second thought. You've grown up.

And the ramifications for the state, the rivalry, and lovers of college athletics have never been higher as a result. Imagine, for the first time ever, both schools could be undisputed conference champions in the same year. Both can be successful and not at the expense of the other.

Every BYU fan should obviously want to see an invitation to join the Big 12 extended to BYU. But every Utah fan should want to see it also.

And those who've grown up already, do.