You take whatever BYU's strengths are and somehow try to frame those and manipulate them to be the main criteria for expansion. Even then, I don't think your case is as strong as you think it is.

That's not how it works. The Pac did their homework. I don't think anybody questions Larry Scott or his vision for expansion. Not anymore.

Let's break your logic down.


1) a. BYU and Utah brought the same market. Period. The household reach of both programs is identical to the networks offering the contract. The new deal the Pac-12 just signed would be no different with BYU in Utah's place. So the #1 reason you state BYU should've been selected is completely irrelevant.

b. BYU has a larger fan base. But that is heavily overstated on CB. Utah has a better national draw due to its recent success on the national scene. Which is a big deal. As evidenced by this past's decades bowl ratings compared to BYU's. (It's so awkward to hear BYU fans try to explain that away.)

2)a. BYU has more tradition. But their notable absence from the BCS has cost their perception dearly. No one really cares about WAC championships from two decades ago. BYU is also known as the team that dominated lowly WAC teams but could never hang with the big boys. Yes, BYU actually helped shape that BCS mindset. Luckily, Utah was the one of the few that have helped change it.

Do you really think the nation respected BYU and Detmer much after they lost to 5 straight BCS teams, Oregon, A&M, FSU, PSU, UCLA?

b. Utah has a better national brand right now. Teams who've been to the BCS understand this. Teams who haven't, have no idea. It's like comparing the attention BYU got with Jimmer this year vs. BYU at the peak of the Travis Hansen era, there's no comparison. But you wouldn't know it until you've experienced it. Same with the BCS.

Frankly, BYU fans shouldn't complain about anything until they get there. It's not THAT hard. 7 different non-BCS teams have made it now. Even Hawaii.

Also, Utah clobbered an SEC powerhouse on national TV in front of 10M + viewers. Between you and me, there are a lot of CFB fans who HATE the SEC. With a passion. Utah gained a lot of respect and a lot of new fans that night. I don't think anything BYU has done in over 20 years equals the amount of street cred gained by that victory.

3) expansion was all about football. Other sports are irrelevant entirely. Yes, even women's tennis.


4) at the time of expansion, Utah was one year removed from a 5-seed and 6 years removed from a sweet 16, POY and #1 draft pick. 12 years removed from the Final FOur. Which is a long time but even that's more recent than BYU football's last top 10 AP finish. Plus, at the time of expansion BYU had one of the worst NCAA track records in the country. Not sure how that merits superiority.

5)Utah has had the better decade hands down. Why use 6 years? So odd, do you think the Pac 10 looked at football performance on a 6 year scale? Not just that, BYU hasn't distinguished itself at all as an elite non-BCS program. Utah will always be the original, the only to break the system back when there were only 4 bowls. They'll also be the only to have dominated both BCS Bowl appearances.

Religion may have played a role. But it's irrelevant b/c BYU really hadn't distinguished itself of late as a non-BCS elite. There was nothing that really compelled BCS conferences that said hey, you have to take us or you're missing out. Look at TCU for example. They have a small fan base, terrible basketball program and yet they willed their way to a Big East invite. Watch! I guarantee you if BYU wins a BCS bowl in the next 2 years, they'll have a BCS invite within months. I'm not saying that's the sole criteria but in an era where conf prestige is such a hot commodity, it tends to expedite the approval process.


The criteria for expansion went more like this: fit (cultural/academic/geographical), prestige, market. Utah beats BYU easily for #1, has a close edge over BYU for #2 and both tie for #3. At least Utah can say that during the BCS era, they had more wins vs. BCS teams, more dominating BCS bowl wins, more bowl wins and more NFL draftees than ANY other non-BCS program.

You really shouldn't take anything away from Utah.