...when they broke the mold in jumping. Up to this time the LDS Church had made it very clear that they felt some loyalty with Utah and that BYU would always look out for them. Pres Bateman made that clear back in the mid 90's when the Big 8 wanted BYU in their plan to expand to the Big 12. Since the Big 8 didn't want the extra dead weight they didn't offer Utah. so BYU wasn't going to leave little brother in the cold.

The Church has made it clear numerous times that BYU's fate is tied to Utahs so as a result they've been holding us back all these years. Now that Utah has finally been able to leave the nest, BYU was free to act on their own. That wouldn't have happened otherwise, BYU wouldn't have made a move unless Utah was on board with it.

Even the ESPN deal wouldn't have worked because ESPN doesn't want or care about Utah football (extra baggage) and so BYU would've missed out on this opportunity. Because BYU had started planning for this back in 2006 (after the failed launch of the Mtn. and the refusal of the MWC to make the deal better for BYU and Utah) they had their ducks in a row and was ready to make the jump when ESPN came calling. So, thanks Utah!