The Utes absolutely relished the ability to big league BYU and kick sand into our program's face while it had the decided upper hand (mostly because of their P-12 inclusion; also because of our own insistence on tying our hands behind our back. The latter has not entirely disappeared, but it has improved tremendously).
Utah tried to bury BYU, tried to blow up our ability to go independent. They tried to kill longstanding rivalry games in both major sports, relegating football from its traditional point in the season and bumping BYU from the schedule altogether some years. They skipped the basketball game under the flimsiest of paper-thin excuses (Coach 80K and "safety"--an eye roll is not nearly sufficient here). It was done with purpose, and that purpose was to diminish BYU to the minor league in-state program. BYU, perhaps in its own naivete, did nothing of the sort while holding a two-decades long strangle hold on the rivalry under Lavell Edwards.
Now that BYU is approaching a level of seriousness about competing on an actual, even playing field in terms of financial backing & investment, the Utes are thrashing about and crying foul. That's as good a sign as can be found that BYU is on the right path. BYU should turn up its efforts at precisly whatever they are doing that increases the level of whining and wailing Ute fans becoming apoplectic.