Nostalgic old-timers can argue that conference championships mean something. Maybe they do. But they don't mean as much as they did, and the reason why is because we had so many of them.

Did the 2006 New Mexico game sell out because it clinched the MWC? Or because we were awesome that year (after years of suckiness) and playing for national attention.

LaVell's goal was always to win the conference. Because he did it so well it became, de facto, no longer the objective, but confirmation that we could reach higher.