1. BYU faces vile reaction anywhere they play when the Church is made an issue. It is a very small vocal minority and says far more about the opponent than it does BYU and it by no means is limited to the Utah's and UNLV's of the world. We cannot hide whenever this stuff shows up. It is in this situation we can show who we really are, and we have won many an admirer in this manner. I was a the Arizona game years ago and the die-hard LDS UoA fans were completely shocked with what they saw. Many LDS and non-LDS fans wrote letters to the editor and the UoA president, who then did what he could. This has played itself out many times.

2. BYU does not avoid the arms race as you call it by being independent. They only avoid the big payouts that help a school compete. BYU will operate the same in or out. We have been doing this for decades and doing just fine thank you.

3. Athletics is not the best venue to bridge religious divides. It often does not bring out the best in people, and I fully expect the anti-LDS crowds to be out in force in the WCC like anywhere we go. It may have helped US China relations at some point, but on the whole, I prefer service projects and common beliefes.

4. I think you will find some of the most grounded fans in the country in BYU's fan base. Sure, there are crazies everywhere. Everybody but like 10 people know BYU's mission and that wins and losses are secondary to it. That IS why we root for BYU. One prime example of the priorities is Priesthood session. There have been times when avid BYU would have to cut out early or late to make the football game... very rare in my experience. Church and family are way above BYU athletics. There are two sides to both those incidents you cited and neither illustrates what you are saying. Regardless, neither BYU, nor the Church claim even a shadow of perfect behaviour. Still, I think you will generally find fans that put BYU athletics quite low on the priority list when compared to other school's fans. I love a school that will put the Lord's laws ahead of all else. That is why we need BYU to compete at the highest levels and still show balance and priorites matter. Sports is entertainment and should be treated as such. We can compete in a BCS conference. I don't think a step back is required.