the demographics just aren't on the ute's side.

few ute fans don't realize they are a lot closer to the bottom completely falling out from under them, ie, ute basketball, than they are competing at the top of the conference in football.

every year, they'll battle arizona and colorado for dead dog last in the conference, and both of those schools have double the athletic budget.

i understand the mentality, losing to BYU in addition to losing in the PAC isn't worth it to their self-esteem. they are trying to protect the brand, but it's going to be exposed one-way or another. the ute administration will eventually realize the lesser of the two evils is to actually play the game, but it will be a learning curve, they're new at this.