your post, so I'll just sum it up. Utah was a better fit for the PAC12. That's why they were chosen over BYU. Utah was chosen because their research and academic emphasis is aligned with the other PAC10 schools, and also because they have a decent athletic representation, particularly in football. The whole religion factor may have been a factor, but it's erroneous to think that it was the only thing holding the PAC back from taking BYU.
In the end, it's all about money, and bringing in Utah helped them with that, or they wouldn't have done it.